Design of Piezoelectric Actuator With In-Plane Motion Using Topology Optimization

In this paper, topology optimization is used to study the design of piezoelectric actuator with in-plane motion. Two case studies are reported, the maximization of the in-plane motion toward a pre-defined direction and the maximization of the output force. In addition to volume density as design variable used in the conventional topology optimization, a new design variable, electrode density, is introduced to model the electrode topology on the piezoelectric plate surface. Based on the electrode potential model, the relation between the nodal potential and the electrode density is established. Sensitivity analyses of objective function with respect to volume density and electrode density are derived from the adjoint method. Examples of optimized piezoelectric actuators from the proposed method are presented and discussed.Copyright © 2007 by ASME