Shape Control for Composite Structures of Photostrictive Actuators Using Topology Optimization Method

Abstract

This paper aims to present an alternative design method for remote wireless shape control of laminated composite structures using topology optimization. The photostrictive material is introduced to implement the active control of the structure by making use of its photostriction mechanism, which is actually the superposition of photovoltaic effect and converse piezoelectric effect when exposed to the illumination of near ultraviolet light. The finite element formulation including multiphysics effects of photovoltaic, pyroelectric and thermal expansion is developed to model composite structures of ferroelectric materials, based on the Mindlin plate theory of first-order shear deformation. The topology optimization method is used to seek the optimal topologies for material layouts of both the smart actuation and elastic host layers. A typical numerical example is used to demonstrate the feasibility of this method in shape control of composite structures.