Electrical and vibration analysis of pre-compressed and pre-deflected laminated piezoelectric actuators

The electrical and vibration characterization of a novel piezoelectric actuator is performed. The actuator is a rectangular laminated flat plate with two opposite sides simply supported and two others free. Under an axial compression from the supports, the plate deforms into a stressed shallow shell. Electrical high frequency harmonic signals within relatively low-frequency "bursts" are applied to the piezoelectric layers. Depending on the precompression, pre-deflection, frequency and magnitude of electrical input, the tunable actuator can exhibit frequency/mode-controlled high-force over large area vibrations with intense displacement jumps. Novel SDoF model and simplified 1-D models have been developed. Theoretical results are compared with experimental observations and measurements.