SMART STRUCTURES - VIBRATION OF COMPOSITES WITH PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIALS

A manufacturing technique is developed for embedding piezoelectric mat erial in composite laminates while maintaining the structure strength and piezoelectric effectiveness. An ultrasonic C-scan test is applied to screen out the specimen with possible delamination along the interf ace of the piezoelectric material and glass fiber layer. It is shown t hat the problem of electrical insulation and piezoelectric material cr acking can be prevented. In addition, tensile and static tests are con ducted to validate the manufacturing technique. An analytical model is also presented to predict the natural frequencies and mode shapes of a composite structure with embedded piezoelectric materials, and the p redictions are verified by modal testing.