Exact solutions for the functionally graded plates integrated with a layer of piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite

This paper deals with the derivation of exact solutions for the static analysis of functionally graded (FG) plates integrated with a layer of piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) material. The layer of the PFRC material acts as the distributed actuator of the FG plates. The Young's modulus of the FG plate is assumed to vary exponentially along the thickness of the plate while the Poisson's ratio is assumed to be constant over the domain of the plate. The numerical values of the exact solutions are presented for both thick and thin smart FG plates and indicate that the activated PFRC layer potentially counteracts the deformations of the FG plates due to mechanical load. The through-thickness behavior of the plates revealed that the coupling of bending and extension takes place in the FG plates even if the PFRC layer is not subjected to the applied voltage. The solutions also revealed that the activated PFRC layer is more effective in controlling the deformations of the FG plates when the layer is attached to the surface of the FG plate with minimum stiffness than when it is attached to the surface of the same with maximum stiffness. The solutions of this benchmark problem may be useful for verifying the other approximate and numerical models of the smart functionally graded plates for which exact solutions cannot be derived. [DOI: 10.1115/1.2165230]