Exact piezothermoelastic solution for simply supported laminated flat panel in cylindrical bending

Abstract

The three-dimensional exact solution is presented for infinite simply supported, cross-ply laminated flat panel with piezoelectric layers in cylindrical bending. The variables are expanded in Fourier series to satisfy the boundary conditions at the simply supported ends. The governing equations reduce to ordinary differential equations with constant coefficients. For each layer, the general solutions of the thermal and the piezoelastic problems involve two and six arbitrary constants, respectively. These are determined from the boundary and interface conditions. The response of panels consisting of cross-ply laminated substrate of graphite-epoxy composite with a PVDF layer bonded to its one face has been determined for prescribed sinusoidal surface temperature distributions and electric potential difference applied to the piezoelectric layer. The effect of span to thickness ratio on the response has been investigated. The feasibility of reducing deflection and stresses by applying potential difference to the piezoelectric layer is reported.