Free and forced vibration of composite plates with and without PZT layer for various fibre orientations

Abstract

This paper conducts a detailed analysis on free and forced vibration characteristics of metals and composite plate structures with and without a piezoelectric layer bonded over it. More significantly, this paper presents results for various ply orientations for different modes. Piezoelectric materials are ones that generate electric current under mechanical stress. The software used for this work is ANSYS APDL. Results are presented for the effects of PZT over metals and composites. The paper discusses the effect of using smart materials to control vibration in the simple plates as well as in composite plates and provides the natural frequencies of each mode of vibration and for various fibre orientations.