ABSTRACT
In the present work, stress modeling using finite element technique is proposed to
describe the response of laminated composite beam with piezoelectric actuators due
to mechanical, electrical, and thermal loads. The assumed field displacements
equations are represented by first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT), the
Timoshenko beam theory. The equation of motion of the smart beam system is
derived using the principle of minimum potential energy. A cubic shape function is
used to represent the axial displacement u, a quadratic shape function for the
transverse displacement w, where the normal rotation x f , electric potential j , and
thermal temperature q are represented by a linear shape. A MATLAB code is
developed to compute the static and stresses deformations of the structure system
due to the thermal loads. The shear correction factor is used to improve the obtained
results. The obtained results are compared to the available results of other
investigators, good agreement is generally obtained.