Nonlinear analysis of smart cross-ply composite plates integrated with a distributed piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite actuator

This paper is concerned with the static analysis of simply supported cross-ply substrate plates integrated with a layer of piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite material undergoing nonlinear deformations. The von Karman type nonlinear strain displacement relations and first order shear deformation theory are used to formulate the variational model of this electromechanical coupled problem. Subsequently, Galerkin procedure is employed to derive the nonlinear algebraic governing equations which are solved by using Newton-Raphson method. The results suggest the potential use of PFRC material for distributed control of nonlinear deformations of smart composite structures. The effect of variation of piezoelectric fiber orientation on the actuating capability of the PFRC actuator for counteracting the nonlinear deformations of the smart composite plates has also been investigated.