A Micro-Electromechanics Model for the 3-D PFRC Materials

Abstract

A micro-electromechanics model is proposed for predicting the effective electroelastic and thickness electromechanical coupling constants of 3-D piezoelectric fiber reinforced composite (PFRC) materials. A numerical study is carried out to investigate the effects of some geometrical parameters and composite constituent properties on the effective constants for 3-D PFRC materials. Choosing the optimal PFRC microstructure parameters and composite constituents using the present model can optimize the 3-D PFRC material performance. The comparison between the predicted results of 3-D PFRC materials and the existing experimental results of the 3-3 connectivity Pz34/PVDF piezoelectric composite is conducted. A good agreement exists for the dielectric constant " 33/" o, however a discrepancy is noted for the thickness electromechanical coupling constant Kt.