AN IMPROVED REISSNER-MINDLIN-TYPE MODEL FOR THE ELECTROMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF MULTILAYERED PLATES INCLUDING PIEZO-LAYERS

Dealing with multilayered plates including piezo-layers, this paper pr esents a mechanical model which allows an accurate description of both the in-plane displacement (zig-zag effect is included) and the transv erse shear stress fields (interlaminar equilibrium is fulfilled). More over, it preserves the computational advantages of the standard Reissn er-Mindlin finite element formulation. The electrical stiffnesses are taken into account through assuming a quadratic distribution along the thickness for the voltage field. Von Karman-type nonlinearities are c onsidered. The weak form of the coupled system of governing equations, in the dynamic case, has been written by employing the principle of t he virtual displacements. Approximate governing equations in the form of nonlinear systems of algebraic equations have been obtained for the particular case of finite element applications. Newton-Raphson linear ization technique has been applied and the consistent tangent matrix h as treen derived. Explicit forms of the derived electromechanical arra ys have been quoted in the form of an Appendix. Same numerical results are given to furnish a preliminary assessment of the novel model.