Evaluation of flexural displacement in piezoelectric actuators considering the thermal deformation

In this article, the flexural displacement of plate-type piezoelectric composite actuators (PCA) with various lay-up configurations has been evaluated considering the thermal deformations induced by a temperature drop using a three-dimensional finite element simulation. The results reveal that the flexural displacement of PCA subjected to electrical loadings is significantly affected by their lay-up configurations, the thickness of constituent PZT ceramic and applied boundary conditions, which is associated with the location of the neutral plane by moment equilibrium and the bending stiffness of PCA. For the displacement performance of PCA, an adequate choice of layup configuration together with the proper thickness of PZT ceramic is required.