Meshless analysis of piezoelectric devices

The sensor and actuator properties of piezoelectric materials make them wel l suited for applications in a variety of microelectromechanical systems (M EMS). Simulating the response of piezoelectric devices requires solving cou pled electrical and mechanical partial differential equations. In this pape r, we have implemented a meshless point collocation method (PCM) to solve t he governing equations. Interpolation functions are constructed from a repr oducing kernel approximation, and the governing equations are discretized u sing a collocation approach. PCM is implemented using either a relaxation a lgorithm or a fully-coupled algorithm. Comparisons between the two algorith ms are given. To demonstrate the performance of PCM, the behavior of two st atic singlelayer problems and a piezoelectric bimorph have been modeled. Th e bimorph analysis is extended to model a prototype MEMS device.