Finite element and asymptotic homogenization methods applied to smart composite materials

The piezoelectric effect is studied for bending and traction tests for two types of structure configurations: homogeneous and composite structures. Mechanical displacements are calculated for traction and bending tests, using FEM for the homogeneous body, where the input material properties are taken from the overall coefficients reported by the Asymptotic Homogenization Method (AHM). A brief theoretical description about the basics of the piezoelectric finite elements and the AHM is given. On the other hand, the calculations of the mechanical displacements are done for the composite structure using FEM where the real data of the material parameters for cylindrical fibers (PZT-5) embedded in a matrix (elastic isotropic polymer) were taken from reported references. A comparison between the results obtained using AHM + FEM and FEM for the homogeneous and the composite structures respectively is reported and shows a favorable result.