Author(s)

M. Kuna

Abstract

Numerical analysis of fracture in smart composite structures Meinhard Kuna Freiberg University of Mining and Technology, Germany, Institute of Mechanics and Machine Components Abstract Modern adaptive mechanical systems consists of composite structures with inte- grated sensors and actuators made of smart materials, as e.g. piezoelectric ce- ramics. For the development and application of such smart composite structures, problems of fracture and fatigue play an essential role. In the paper, the concepts of piezoelectric fracture mechanics are applied to crack-like defects in smart composite structures subjected to electrical and mechanical loads. Effective finite element techniques are suggested for computing the singular coupled electrome- chanical fields at the crack tips and for determining the fracture controlling pa- rameters like mechanical as well as electrical stress intensity factors and energy release rates. Their potential use for fracture analysis

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