On propagation of anti-plane shear waves in piezoelectric plates with surface effect

Based on the surface piezoelectricity model, the anti-plane or horizontally polarized shear (SH) waves propagating in an infinite piezoelectric plate of nano-thickness are investigated to show the surface effect on wave characteristics. The influence on the overall properties of piezoelectric structures resulting from the surface effect is treated as a spring force exerting on the boundary of the bulk. The frequency equations of anti-symmetric and symmetric waves are presented analytically for the electrically short-circuited case. Numerical results show that the wave properties are size-dependent, and the surface effect becomes very pronounced at a high frequency. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.