Abstract
The response of a thin piezothermoelastic composite plate subjected to stationary thermal and electric fields is investigated. Solutions are obtained using the thin plate theory and the Rayleigh-Ritz method. As an analytical model, we consider a simply supported antisymmentric angle-ply laminate poezothermoelastic plate. The plate is exposed to an environment with a temperature rise on the upper surface only. To reduce the deflection produced by the thermal loading, electric potential is applied to the piezoelectric layer in the composite. Numerical results show the effects of the ply angle of the laminate configuration and the number of layers on the response of the thermal deflection and the applied voltage.
