Nonlinear analysis of RAINBOW actuator characteristics

Journal article

Authors/Editors

SONTIPEE AIMMANEE

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Publication Details

Author list: Aimmanee S., Chutima S., Hyer M.W.

Publisher: IOP Publishing

Publication year: 2009

Journal: Smart Materials and Structures (0964-1726)

Volume number: 18

Issue number: 4

ISSN: 0964-1726

eISSN: 1361-665X

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-68549127132&doi=10.1088%2f0964-1726%2f18%2f4%2f045002&partnerID=40&md5=86795c6855d8f513e7bb272b787f0612

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

This paper discusses an investigation into deformations of rectangular RAINBOW actuators, which are classified as a type of laminated actuator. The actuators consist of a piezoelectric active layer and a reduced passive layer formed in an elevated temperature reduction process. An energy-based Rayleigh-Ritz model is used to approximate the thermally induced deformations with 23-term polynomials. Due to large out-of-plane displacements of the RAINBOW actuators after cooling down to room temperature, inclusion of geometric nonlinearities in the kinematic relations is taken into consideration. Actuation characteristics of these actuators caused by a quasi-static electric field applied to the piezoelectric layer are also modeled with the Rayleigh-Ritz approach. Material nonlinearities in the piezoelectric layer are included in the constitutive equation to capture the effects of a strong electric field. Piezoelectrically induced tip deflections of a series of RAINBOW cantilever actuators are calculated and compared with experiment. With the geometrical and material nonlinearities taken into account, numerical simulation reveals the computed tip deflections agree very well with the experimental data. In addition, tip blocking forces representing the load-carrying capability of the RAINBOW actuators are approximately evaluated by equating the magnitude of force-induced displacement to that of the piezoelectrically induced tip deflection. Again, good agreement between numerical results and experiment can be observed in the case of the tip blocking force. This evidently shows that the pertinent nonlinearities have very crucial effects on the responses and performances of the RAINBOW actuators. ฉ 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.

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