Boundary-layer effects in wedges of piezoelectric laminates

An approach to investigate boundary-layer effects in wedges of piezoelectric laminated structures is presented with the aim of ascertaining the electromechanical response characteristics. The wedge layer behavior is described in terms of generalized stress functions, which lead to a model consisting of a set of three coupled partial differential equations. The strength of the solution singularity is determined by solving the eigenvalue problem associated with the resolving system. The solution of the model is obtained by an eigenfunction expansion method coupled with a boundary collocation technique. Correspondingly, the singularity amplitude is assessed by introducing and calculating the generalized stress intensity factors. The application of the approach to the free edge analysis of four-layer PZT-4 composite piezoelectric laminates is presented. The results obtained are discussed in terms of the method efficiency and the characteristic features of the electromechanical response.