Optimal design of piezoelectric microstructures (Q1372136)

The paper deals with designing piezoelectric microstructures with high performance characteristics using topology optimization techniques and homogenization method. This method was implemented considering two-dimensional plane strain microstructures. The optimization procedure determines the distribution of two phases (one material phase and one void phase) in the composite unit cell that maximize the composite performance characteristics. Two different models are considered for the optimization. In the first one, the design domain is made of polymer, and the piezoelectric material remains unchanged during the analysis. In the second one, the entire domain consists of piezoceramic (no polymer, at all). Due to the importance of the homogenization method in the optimization procedure, its application to the calculation of effective properties of piezocomposite materials is described. The homogenization results are compared with the result of the differential effective medium theory by Avellaneda and Swart, and a very good agreement is observed. The new microstructures obtained show a large improvement in the performance characteristics for pure piezoelectric material and simple design of piezocomposite unit cells. However, the maximization of these quantities implies a reduction in stiffness. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the maximization of the piezocomposite performance and decrease in stiffness. The paper considers only computer simulation, and not the practical aspects of design and manufacture. The paper is addressed to researches and engineers working in the area of mechanical engineering.