Influence of applied electric field on the energy release ratefor cracked PZT/elastic laminates

Abstract

Since the delamination induced failure of a laminated smartstructure always occurs under the action of mechanical and electricalfields, a generalized two-dimensional model for a piezoelectric/elasticlaminate is established in order to analyze the effect of an applied electricfield on its delamination. First, based on the double Fourier series method, ageneral analytical solution of the mid-plane displacement is derived for anyboundary condition. Furthermore, the energy release rate is employed to studythe influence of the applied electric field and mechanical loading on thefracture characteristics of the piezoelectric/elastic laminate. The energyrelease rates for modes I and II fracture behavior of the PZT/elasticlaminates are calculated in detail. Such calculations indicate that it isfeasible to choose not only suitable material properties of the piezoelectricand elastic layers, but also their thicknesses, to improve the smartstructure's fracture strength within a specified range.