Effect of damping on dynamic behavior of a piezothermoelastic laminate considering the effects of transverse shear

In this paper, we analyze dynamic behavior of a piezothermoelastic laminate considering the effect of damping due to interlaminar shear and the effect of transverse shear. The analytical model is a rectangular laminate composed of fiber-reinforced laminae and piezoelectric layers. The model is assumed to be a symmetric cross-ply laminate with all egdes simply supported and to be subjected to mechanical, thermal and electrical loads varying arbitrarily with time. Behavior of the laminate is analyzed based on the first-order shear deformation theory. The effect of damping due to interlaminar shear is incorporated into our analysis by introducing the interlaminar shear stresses which satisfy the Newton’s law of viscosity. Solutions of the following quantities are obtained: (1) natural frequencies of the laminate, (2) weight functions for the deflection and rotations and (3) unsteady deflection due to loads varying arbitrarily with time. Moreover, numerical examples of the solutions are shown to examine the effects of damping and transverse shear on dynamic behavior of the laminate and how the voltage applied to the laminate decreases the deflection due to mechanical or thermal loads.