Analytical Solution of Electromechanical Coupling Effect on Interlaminar Stresses at Free-Edges of Angle-Ply Piezoelectric Laminates under Mechanical Loading

In this paper, an analytical solution is presented to consider the effect of electromechanical coupling on the interlaminar stresses at the free-edge of an angle-ply piezoelectric laminated plate. To this end, a variational approach is used to investigate the free-edge effect in a long laminated piezoelectric plate under uniform axial strain. A comparison of coupled and uncoupled piezoelectric analysis is performed using the second-order shear deformation plate theory. The analytical solutions are discussed and compared with numerical results available in the literature. It is found that the interlaminar stresses at the free-edge are significantly higher in the coupled case for cross-ply laminates, whereas the coupling effect for the symmetric angle-ply laminate is of minor significance