Linear and quadratic solid–shell finite elements SHB8PSE and SHB20E for the modeling of piezoelectric sandwich structures

Abstract

In this paper, hexahedral piezoelectric solid–shell finite element formulations, with linear and quadratic interpolation, denoted by SHB8PSE and SHB20E, respectively, are proposed for the modeling of piezoelectric sandwich structures. Compared to conventional solid and shell elements, the solid–shell concept reveals to be very attractive, due to a number of well-established advantages and computational capabilities. More specifically, the present study is devoted to the modeling and analysis of multilayer structures that incorporate piezoelectric materials in the form of layers or patches. The interest in this solid–shell approach is shown through a set of selective and representative benchmark problems. These include numerical tests applied to various configurations of beam, plate and shell structures, both in static and vibration analysis. The results yielded by the proposed formulations are compared with those given by state-of-the-art piezoelectric elements available in ABAQUS; in particular, the C3D20E quadratic hexahedral finite element with piezoelectric degrees of freedom.