Finite element modelling and shape control for piezoelectric composite plates under thermal load

The deformation induced by thermal loads in flexible spacestructures may be actively compensated using piezoelectric materials. Inorder to develop the finite element formulations coupled withthermo-mechanical-electric effects, the refined higher order displacement field, thehigh order electrical potential field and the linear temperature field wereadopted. The numerical examples of the piezoelectric bimorph beam andcomposite plate were taken. The parabolic through-thickness distributionof electric potential at the middle of the beam is found by the presentmodel, which is different from the linear distribution assumption. Numericalexamples show that the present model can well predict the thermaldeformation with or without active compensation and the voltage of sensor, all ingood agreement with those from literature. The pyroelectric effects mayinfluence the structural deflection and sensor's voltage significantly.