Extended Kantorovich method for coupled piezoelasticity solution of piezolaminated plates showing edge effects

The powerful extended Kantorovich method (EKM) originally proposed by Kerr in 1968 is generalized to obtain a three-dimensional coupled piezoelasticity solution of smart piezoelectric laminated plates in cylindrical bending. Such solutions are needed to accurately predict the edge effects in these laminates under electromechanical loading. The Reissner-type mixed variational principle extended to piezoelasticity is used to develop the governing equations in terms of displacements, electric potential as well as stresses and electric displacements. It allows for exact satisfaction of the boundary conditions, including the non-homogeneous ones at all points. Ann -term solution generates a set of 11n algebraic ordinary differential equations in the inplane direction and a similar set in the thickness direction for each lamina, which are solved in closed form. The multi-term EKM is shown to predict the coupled electromechanical response, including the edge effects, of single-layer piezoelectric sensors as well as hybrid laminated panels accurately, for both pressure and electric potential loadings. This work will facilitate development of accurate semi-analytical solutions of many other unresolved problems in three-dimensional piezoelasticity, such as the free-edge stresses in hybrid laminates under bending, tension and twisting.