THERMOPIEZOELECTRIC ANALYSIS OF A FUNCTIONALLY GRADED PIEZOELECTRIC MEDIUM

Abstract

The thermopiezoelectrical behavior of a functionally graded piezoelectric medium (FGPM) is investigated in the present work. For the special case, the dynamic response of an FGPM rod excited by a moving heat source is studied. The material properties of the FGPM rod are assumed to vary exponentially through the length, except for specific heat and thermal relaxation time which are held constant for simplicity. The governing differential equations in terms of displacement, temperature, and electric potential are obtained in a general form that includes coupled and uncoupled thermoelasticity. The coupled formulation considers classical thermoelasticity as well as generalized thermoelasticity. Employing the Laplace transform and successive decoupling method, unknowns are given in the Laplace domain. Employing a numerical Laplace inversion method, the solutions are gained in the time domain. Numerical examples for the transient response of the FGPM rod are displayed to clarify the differences among the results of the generalized, coupled, and uncoupled theories for various nonhomogeneity indices. The results are verified with those reported in the literature.