Numerical study of two-dimensional smart structures

• Main Author: Vigilante, Domenico
• Other Authors: Engineering Science and Mechanics
• Format: Others
• Published: Virginia Tech 2014
• Subjects: Piezo-electromechanical Coupling; Piezoelectric Transducers; Non Conforming Element; Finite Element Method; Vibrations Control; Smart Structures
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10919/42706; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05182002-110759/

In this thesis we use a new numerical code, based upon a mixed FEM-Runge-Kutta method, for the analysis and the design of plane 2-dimensional smart structures. We applied the developed code to the study of arbitrarily shaped piezo-electromechanical (PEM) plates. This code is based on a weak formulation of their governing equations as found in [18]. The optimal parameters needed to synthesize the appropriate electric networks are computed, and the overall performances of such plates are investigated. In particular, two examples are studied: firstly, a simple case is used to test the main features of the code; secondly, a more complex PEM plate is designed and analyzed by means of the proposed numerical approach. === Master of Science