Modelagem por elementos finitos de placas compostas dotadas de sensores e atuadores piezoelétricos : implementação computacional e avaliação numérica

Abstract

This Dissertation presents a methodology based on the Finite Element method for the modeling of laminated composite beams and plates containing piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The fundamental concepts and the theoretical developments are presented, followed by a number of numerical simulations performed in MATLAB® environment. The finite element used is a Serendipity-type element with rectangular shape, eight nodes, eleven mechanical degrees-of-freedom per node and eight electrical degrees-of-freedom per interface of piezoelectric layer. Temperature effects are neglected. A Mixed Theory is adopted, which uses a single equivalent layer for discretization of the mechanical displacement field and a layerwise representation of the electrical field. For the approximation of the mechanical displacements, two different theories are used, namely: the Higher-order Shear Deformation Theory (HSDT) and the First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT). Both theories are numerically implemented and used in a number numerical simulations whose results are available in the literature. In these simulations, some relevant aspects of the static and dynamic behavior of beams and rectangular plates containing piezoelectric sensors and actuators are appraised. The main advantages and drawbacks of the theories, as applied to the modeling of intelligent composite structures are pointed-out.