Vertically reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composites for active damping of functionally graded plates

The performance of vertically reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composite distributed actuator in the active constrained layer damping (ACLD) treatment of functionally graded (FG) plates, was analyzed. The technique involved a functionally graded plate combined with patches of a viscoelastic layer and a constraining layer and the implementation of theories, such as the first-order shear deformation plate theory (FSDT) and the finite element method (FEM). The FGM was supposed to be made up of two homogenous phases, ceramic and metal, and was considered to be isotropic and linear elastic with Young's modulus and mass density. The strain vectors were expressed at a point in a finite element, using strain-displacement relations. The constraining layer of the patch was activated with a voltage, proportional to the transverse velocity. Results show that transverse deformations of the constrained layer initiate larger damping of the FG plate than that caused by their in-plane deformations.