Studying the nonlinear behavior of the functionally graded annular plates with piezoelectric layers as a sensor and actuator under normal pressure

The present paper deals with the nonlinear analysis of the functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) annular plate with two smart layers as sensor and actuator. The normal pressure is applied on the plate. The geometric nonlinearity is considered in the strain-displacement equations based on Von-Karman assumption. The problem is symmetric due to symmetric loading, boundary conditions and material properties. The radial and transverse displacements are supposed as two dominant components of displacement. The constitutive equations are derived for two sections of the plate, individually. Total energy of the system is evaluated for elastic solid and piezoelectric sections in terms of two components of displacement and electric potential. The response of the system can be obtained using minimization of the energy of system with respect to amplitude of displacements and electric potential. The distribution of all material properties is considered as power function along the thickness direction. Displacement-load and electric potential-load curves verify the nonlinearity nature of the problem. The response of the linear analysis is investigated and compared with those results obtained using the nonlinear analysis. This comparison justifies the necessity of a nonlinear analysis. The distribution of the displacements and electric potential in terms of non homogenous index indicates that these curves converge for small value of piezoelectric thickness with respect to elastic solid thickness.