Geometrically nonlinear FE analysis of piezoelectric laminated composite structures under strong driving electric field

To give a precise prediction of piezolaminated smart structures under strong electric field resulting in large displacements and rotations, the paper develops various geometrically nonlinear models with taking into account the electroelastic material nonlinear effect. The present nonlinear FE formulations are derived based on the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) with taking into account various geometric nonlinearities, which include von Kármán type nonlinearity, moderate rotation nonlinearity, and large rotation nonlinearity. The constitutive equations with consideration of piezoelectric material nonlinearity are integrated into the present FE formulations. The proposed nonlinear FE models are first validated by experimental and numerical examples in the literature, and later on implemented into numerical analysis for piezolaminated smart plates and shells with applied strong electric field.