Electromechanical response of 1-3 piezoelectric composites: An analytical model

An analytical model that captures the complete electromechanical response of a 1-3 piezoelectric composite system where both the matrix and fiber phases are, in general, elastically anisotropic and piezoelectrically active is developed. Upon identifying 36 classes of 1-3 composites based on the nature of the isotropy and the piezoelectric properties of the constituents, a detailed methodology for determining all the 45 independent material constants of a general 1-3 composite is presented. By comparing the predictions of the analytical model with that of a finite element model for a range of composite materials, it is demonstrated that the composite material properties in the longitudinal direction (i.e., C33, κ33 and ε33) are well predicted by the analytical model. However, as a consequence of the approximation introduced in the model formulation (where the fiber composite is modeled as a layered composite) the analytical model could significantly underpredict the composite material properties in the transverse direction (especially the dielectric properties, κ11 and κ22) for some (“matrix-dominant”) composite material systems.