Nonlinear thermo-electro-mechanical analysis of piezoelectric laminated composite beams considering strong electric field

In order to accurately predict the static and dynamic behaviors of piezoelectric laminated composite (PLC) structures under thermo-electro-mechanical loads, this paper develops a comprehensive nonlinear model considering both geometric nonlinearity and piezoelectric material nonlinearity which includes strong electric field nonlinearity and temperature dependence. Based on piezoelectric nonlinear constitutive equations and von Kármán type geometric nonlinearity, the nonlinear governing equations of PLC beams under thermo-electro-mechanical loads are derived. The proposed nonlinear model is validated by numerical examples in this paper, and then the effects of geometric nonlinearity and material nonlinearity on static behavior, dynamic behavior, and active control of PLC beams are investigated. The results demonstrate that both geometric nonlinearity and material nonlinearity significantly impact the static and dynamic analysis of PLC beams. Therefore, both should be taken into account otherwise the structural behaviors cannot be predicted accurately, particularly under large thermo-electro-mechanical loads.