Optimum response of functionally graded piezoelectric plates in thermal environments

In this article, the static response of the functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) plates with piezoelectric layers (sandwich FGPM) is studied based on the first order shear deformation plate theory. The plate is under mechanical, electrical and thermal loadings and finite element method is employed to obtain the solution of the equation. All mechanical, thermal and piezoelectric properties, except Poisson ratio, obey the power law distribution through the thickness. By solving the governing equation, optimum value of power law index is investigated in each type of loading. The effects of different volume fraction index, layer arrangements, various boundary conditions and different loading types, are studied on the deflection of FGPM plate. It is inferred that, the correlations between the deflection, power law index and layer arrangement are completely different in the mechanical and thermal loading and the optimum value of the power law index should be selected in each case separately. This optimum values can be used as a design criterion to build a reliable sensors and actuators in thermal environments.