Heung Soo Kim

Analysis of Electromechanical Performance of Energy Harvesting Skin Based on the Kirchhoff Plate Theory

As a compact and durable design concept, energy harvesting skin (EH skin), which consists of piezoelectric patches directly attached onto the surface of a vibrating structure as one embodiment, has been recently proposed. This study aims at developing an electromechanically-coupled analytical model of the EH skin so as to understand its electromechanical behavior and get physical insights about important design considerations. Based on the Kirchhoff plate theory, the Hamilton’s principle is used to derive the differential equations of motion. The Rayleigh-Ritz method is implemented to calculate the natural frequency and the corresponding mode shapes of the EH skin. The electrical circuit equation is derived by substituting the piezoelectric constitutive relation into Gauss’s law. Finally, the steady-state output voltage is obtained by solving the differential equations of motion and electrical circuit equation simultaneously. The results of the analytical model are verified by comparing those of the finite element analysis (FEA) in a hierarchical manner.Copyright

Peeling stress analysis of piezo-bonded laminated composite plate

A stress function based method is proposed to analyze the interlaminar stresses at the free edge of a piezo-bonded composite laminated structure. Two piezoelectric actuators are symmetrically surface bonded on composite laminate. Same electric fields are applied to the two symmetric piezoelectric actuators which can generate induced strain, resulting in pure extension on the laminated plate. The stresses that satisfy the traction-free boundary conditions at the free edge and at the top and bottom surfaces of the laminate were obtained by using the complementary virtual work principle. Cross-ply and angle-ply laminates were analyzed. To verify the proposed method, the stress concentrations predicted by the present method were compared with those analyzed by the finite element method. The results provided that the stress function based analysis of piezo-bonded laminated composite structure is an efficient and accurate method for initial design stage of piezo-composite structure.