The actuation performance of a piezoelectric laminated plate actuator via Galerkin method

PurposePiezoelectric materials are widely used as actuators, due to the advantages of quick response, high sensitivity and linear strain-electric field relationship. The previous work on the piezoelectric material plate structures is not enough; however, such structures play a very important role in the practical design. In this paper, the actuation performance of piezoelectric laminated plate actuator (PLPA) is analyzed based on Galerkin method to parametric study the shape control.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the actuation performance of PLPA is analyzed based on Galerkin method to parametric study the shape control. The stress components of the matrix plate are formulated based on electro-mechanical coupling theory and Kirchhoff's classical laminated plate theory. The effectiveness of the developed method is validated by the comparison with finite element method.FindingsThe actuation performance of PLPA and its influencing factors are numerically analyzed through the developed method. The deflection of PLPA is reasonably increased by optimizing the electric fields, the piezoelectric patch and the matrix plate.Originality/valueThe Galerkin method can be used for engineering applications more easily, and it does not require to rebuild the calculation model as finite element method during the calculation and analysis of PLPA. This paper is a valuable reference for the design and analysis of PLPAs.