An exact axisymmetric solution for a simply supported piezoelectric cylindrical shell

Three-dimensional axisymmetric solution is presented for a simply supported piezoelectric cylindrical shell. The variables are expanded in Fourier series to satisfy the boundary conditions at the ends. The solution of the governing differential equations with variable coefficients is constructed as a product of an exponential function and a power series. The coefficients of terms of all degrees in the governing equations are set to zero, yielding a characteristic equation for the exponent and recursive relations for the coefficients of the power series. Results are presented illustrating the effect of thickness parameter of the shell. An inverse problem of inferring the applied temperature from the measured potential difference has been solved.