Layer-Wise Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Piezoelectric Laminates

In this work, a novel high-order formulation for multilayered piezoelectric plates based on the combination of variable-order interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin methods and general layer-wise plate theories is presented, implemented and tested. The key feature of the formulation is the possibility to tune the order of the basis functions in both the in-plane approximation and the through-the-thickness expansion of the primary variables, namely displacements and electric potential. The results obtained from the application to the considered test cases show accuracy and robustness, thus confirming the developed technique as a supplementary computational tool for the analysis and design of smart laminated devices.