Computational procedures for the analysis of advanced materials and structures

This paper deals with the development of a general finite element formulation of the layerwise theory that was proposed and advanced by the first author for laminated plate structures with piezoelectric materials (layers or patches). The formulation includes full electromechanical coupling. Several approximations are used for the primary variables of the theory in the thickness direction and different interpolation schemes are considered in the surface directions. A very good agreement is obtained for the models using cubic approximation in the thickness direction. The advantages of these models on the prediction of layer stresses are fully illustrated.