Importance of Three-Dimensional Piezoelectric Coupling Modeling in Quantitative Analysis of Piezoelectric Actuators

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the importance of three-dimensional (3-D) piezoelectric coupling in the electromechanical behavior of piezoelectric devices using three-dimensional finite element analyses based on weak and strong coupling models for a thin cantilevered piezoelectric bimorph actuator. It is found that there is a significant difference between the strong and weak coupling solutions given by coupling direct and inverse piezoelectric effects (i.e., piezoelectric coupling effect). In addition, there is significant longitudinal bending caused by the constraint of the inverse piezoelectric effect in the width direction at the fixed end (i.e., 3-D effect). Hence, modeling of these effects or 3-D piezoelectric coupling modeling is an electromechanical basis for the piezoelectric devices, which contributes to the accurate prediction of their behavior.

Algorithm Selection Method Based on Coupling Strength for Partitioned Analysis of Structure-Piezoelectric-Circuit Coupling

“…The electromechanical behavior of typical piezoelectric energy harvester models, such as a uniformly laminated thin straight cantilevered composite, has been extensively studied [16]. However, in some cases direct numerical modeling is required for accurate prediction, even for such simple models [17][18][19]. Here, the term direct means that, prior to the finite element discretization, the governing equations are not transformed into a different form [20].…”