Comparison of Finite Element Models for Piezoelectric Materials

The presented work is focused on simulation of piezoelectric effect in thin ceramic layers using finite element method. The layers are the primary components of piezoelectric patches – flexural transducers used e.g. in vibration control or structural health monitoring. At first the model of piezoelectric bimorph beam was investigated. The beam is composed of two actuators loaded by opposite electric potentials which cause the beam to bend. Further, the influence of approximation of electric potential through the thickness was tested on a simple piezoelectric cantilever beam loaded by external tip force. The numerical results obtained using several finite element types are compared mutually and with simplified analytical solution.