Vibration and buckling analysis of a piezoelectric nanoplate considering surface effects and in-plane constraints

This work investigates the surface effects on the vibration and buckling behaviour of a simply supported piezoelectric nanoplate (PNP) by using a modified Kirchhoff plate model. Two kinds of in-plane constraints are defined for the PNP, and the surface effects are accounted in the modified plate theory through the surface piezoelectricity model and the generalized Young–Laplace equations. Simulation results show that the influence of surface effects on the plate resonant frequency depends on the in-plane constraints significantly. For the PNP with different in-plane constraints, the effects of the applied electric potential, the mode number, the plate aspect ratio and the plate thickness on the resonant frequency are examined with consideration of the surface effects. The possible mechanical buckling of the PNP is also studied, and it is found that the surface effects on the critical electric voltage for buckling are sensitive to the plate thickness and aspect ratio. Our results also reveal that there exists a critical transition point at which the combined surface effects on the critical electric voltage may vanish under certain conditions.