Composite sandwich plates with piezoelectric layers: Structural design, modal attributes and electric potential

This study investigates the electromechanical performance of piezoelectric sandwich plates both numerically and experimentally. The effect of different inner design parameters, namely the length-to-thickness, core-to-face thickness, boundary conditions and aspect ratio on both the eigenfrequency and electric potential attributes is assessed. Moreover, vibration amplitude-dependent effects are investigated. Polymer-based, sandwich plates are additively manufactured (AM) and commercially available PZT layers are surface-bonded and experimentally probed. AM smart plates are found to yield comparable eigenfrequency properties with the ones reported for fiber-reinforced smart sandwich composites. Low length-to-thickness, low core-to-face, and rectangular rather than square designs favor the electric potential performance.