Stress analysis of thick functionally graded plates with piezoelectric layers under static loading using layerwise finite element model

In this paper, static analysis of a thick functionally graded material (FGM) plate with surface-bonded piezoelectric layers is studied. A general finite element formulation based on the layerwise theory is developed for modelling an FG plate with piezoelectric layers or patches. The developed FE model is used for analysing the effects of span-to-thickness ratio and the volume fractions of constituents on the transverse and in-plane deflections, stress distribution and induced electric potential in piezoelectric layers and the results are compared with the previously reported analytical and numerical works in the literature, where available.