Piezo-control of forced vibrations of a thermoelastic composite plate

In this paper equations governing the linear response of piezothermoelastic plate are outlined based on the Hamilton's principle and finite element methods. Linear shape functions are used and the first-order shear deformation theory of laminated plates is considered. The governing equations are solved using the Newmark time marching method. The numerical results are presented for cases of a prescribed thermal loading and the conventional piezo-control of the forced vibrations in a thermoelastic composite plate caused by sudden mechanical loading. Vibration amplitudes are suppressed through application of electric potential differences across the piezoelectric layers attached to the surfaces of the composite plate. Controlled and uncontrolled responses are compared graphically. The numerical studies demonstrate the effectiveness of thermal environment, as well as the piezo-control of these thermal deformations using piezoelectric structures. It is found that the displacements caused by the temperature effects are important in the precision of piezo-control systems. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.