Numerical prediction of effective electro-elastic properties of three-dimensional braided piezoelectric ceramic composites

In this paper, a novel three-dimensional (3D) braided piezoelectric ceramic composites (BPCC) is developed to improve the mechanical properties of piezoelectric ceramics. Based on the reasonable three-cell model and finite element method, the numerical model of the 3D BPCC in displacement-electric coupling field is established. The effect of fiber volume fraction on the effective electro-elastic coefficients is investigated. The differences in the effective electro-elastic coefficients between the 3D BPCC and continuous straight fiber reinforced piezoelectric ceramic composites (SFPC) are demonstrated. Numerical results show that the 3D BPCC has excellent overall mechanical properties and electrical properties.