Piezoelasticity solution for edge stress field in weakly bonded piezoelectric composite laminates

The delamination/debonding failure in laminated structures is often caused by development of concentrated stress fields near the edges. Because of their three-dimensional (3D) nature, it is important to develop accurate elasticity solutions for these fields, which should include the possibility of non-rigid layer interfaces, to have realistic predictions. This article presents an accurate 3D piezoelasticity-based analytical solution for smart composite panels featured with piezoelectric sensor/actuator layers, having interfacial bonding imperfections and showing edge effects. The displacement and electric field discontinuities at the imperfectly bonded layer interfaces are represented by adopting the generalized spring–layer model. The model is implemented into the Reissner-type mixed variational principle for the piezoelectric medium. The partial differential equations thus developed are solved using the mixed-field multiterm Kantorovich method, which exactly satisfy all the mechanical and electric boundary conditions at the panel edges, top and bottom surfaces of the panel and interlaminar continuity/jump conditions. The accuracy and convergence of the present results are established in comparison with the available exact piezoelasticity solutions for simply supported panels. The effect of compliance and imperfection location on the electromechanical response of piezolaminated composite panels with edge effects is investigated. The influence of actuator debonding on the interlaminar stress transfer and actuation authority is also shown.