Analytical modelling of the electromechanical behaviour of surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators including the adhesive layer

The behaviour of a piezoelectric actuator is strongly affected by the bonding condition along the interface between the actuator and the host structure. The current paper represents an analytical study of the static effect of the mechanical and geometrical properties of the adhesive layer on the coupled electromechanical behaviour of a thin piezoceramic actuator bonded to an elastic medium. An actuator model with an imperfect adhesive bonding layer, which undergoes a shear deformation, is proposed to simulate the two dimensional electromechanical behaviour of the integrated system. Analytical solution of the problem is provided by solving the resulting integral equations in terms of the interfacial stress. Numerical simulation is conducted to study the effect of the bonding layer upon the actuation process. The effect of interfacial debonding on the response of the layered structure and on the interlaminar strain and stress transfer mechanisms is discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.