Shape Control of Composite Plates by Bonded Actuators with High Performance Configuration

The electrical fields and configuration parameters such as location, size and thickness of piezoelectric actuators are very important for shape control of structures. By using a performance index, the configuration parameters of actuators and adhesive can be chosen by some rules for improving performance. In this study a procedure combining a finite element model and the gradient projection algorithm is proposed for optimum design of shape control. This finite element model contains the actuator element, the adhesive interface element, and an eight-node isoparametric plate element which is employed for the calculation of plate shape. The gradient projection algorithm is used to choose the optimal values of design variables. Some numerical examples are illustrated and results reveal that the present method is effective and can be applied to the problem of shape control.