ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150

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Asymptotic homogenization modeling and analysis of effective

properties of smart composite reinforced and sandwich shells
Gobinda C. Saha, Alexander L. Kalamkarov, Anastasis V. Georgiades
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Dalhousie University, P.O. Box 1000, Halifax, NS, Canada B3J 2X4
Received 19 July 2006; accepted 8 August 2006
Available online 2 October 2006

Abstract

General micromechanical models for smart composite shells with periodically arranged actuators and varying thickness are developed
using the asymptotic homogenization techniques. The models make it possible to determine both local elds, i.e., stresses, strains and
displacements, and effective elastic and piezoelectric coefcients of the smart composite shells. It is shown that the original boundary
value problem decouples into a set of simpler problems, known as unit cell problems. In particular, it is the solution of these unit cell
problems that yields the aforesaid effective coefcients. These coefcients are universal in nature and may be used to study a wide variety
of boundary value problems associated with a given smart composite structure. The derived models and the expressions for the effective
coefcients are illustrated by means of four examples pertaining to hexagonal honeycomb sandwich structures and rectangular-
reinforced, diagonally restrained and triangular-reinforced smart wafer shells. These structures are endowed with piezoelectric carrier
layers made of orthotropic material and isotropic core or wafer. It is shown that the derived models can be used to tailor the effective
properties of such smart composite structures to meet the requirements of particular applications of interest.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Smart composite shells; Effective piezoelastic coefcients; Asymptotic homogenization; Unit cell problems; Hexagonal honeycomb sandwich
shell; Reinforced wafer shells

1. Introduction Currently, the preponderance of uses for composite

An issue of practical interest in the mechanics of
advanced composites is the determination of the effective
properties of these structures which will naturally depend
on the spatial distribution, geometric characteristics and
mechanical properties of the different constituents. In fact,
the micromechanical analysis of regular composite struc-
tures made up of reinforcements in a matrix has been the
focus of investigation for many years. Among the earlier
works in this domain are the sphere model [1] and the self-
consistent scheme [2]. In general, and due to the micro-
mechanical nature of composites, most researchers have
adopted various averaging techniques to estimate their
effective elastic properties. Examples of such work can be
found in Refs. [37]. Analytical averaging schemes were
employed by Refs. [812].
Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 902 494 6072; fax: +1 902 423 6711.
E-mail address: alex.kalamkarov@dal.ca (A.L. Kalamkarov).
materials is in the form of plates and shells the optimum
strength-to-weight characteristics of which offer engineers
attractive alternatives for different applications. A parti-
cular class of these structures, the structural sandwich
shells and panels, is becoming increasingly popular in
lightweight construction, aerospace and automotive en-
gineering, naval architecture and many other platforms
[13]. A typical structural sandwich element consists of a
thick low-density core bonded between two high-density,
high-strength face carriers [14]. The majority of work to
date has focused on identication and prediction of stress
distributions and load transfer mechanisms in single-skin
laminated glass reinforced plastic constructions. Most
recently, Dulieu-Barton et al. [15] investigated the sand-
wich construction tee joints experimentally and numeri-
cally under static loading. The study showed the way how
to improve the longevity of joint geometry under compres-
sive mechanical loading. Bannister et al. [16] have
performed an analytical study on the mechanical

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doi:10.1016/j.ijmecsci.2006.08.019
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150
performance of 3-D woven sandwich composites under
coupled loading. Other researchers [1725] provided
excellent sources on recent developments in the modeling
of sandwich structures. A general model for doubly curved
sandwich shells with transversely incompressible core has
been presented by Hause et al. [26]. This model accounts
for initial geometric imperfections and for inertia effects.
On the other hand, Vinson [27] presented a simplied
model on honeycomb core sandwich cylindrical shell where
the face carriers are considered as at panels on an elastic
foundation with the material properties of the core.
In recent years, composite materials have, in many cases,
been endowed with sensors and actuators thus creating a
new eld of practical interest, the smart composite
structures. The sensors can monitor the structural
behavior of the composite and the actuators can perform
corrective action when disturbances occur. For example,
embedded or surface-attached piezoelectric actuators are
gaining popularity in shape and vibration control of
composites and other structures. The emergence of smart
composites however, has necessitated the development of
new analytical and numerical models which will take into
account not only the distribution of the various constitu-
ents such as sensors, actuators, reinforcements and matrix,
but also the differences in their mechanical, thermal and
electrical behavior. Examples of pertinent work can be
found in Refs. [2835].
The present paper develops the micromechanical model
for piezoelastic smart composite shells with hexagonal
honeycomb conguration and illustrates the use of the
model by considering different smart structures such as
rectangular-reinforced and diagonally restrained thin
wafers. The derived model is based on the application of
a modied two-scale asymptotic homogenization technique
(see Refs. [3642]). In this paper, we consider arbitrarily
oriented wafer or honeycomb elements; thus, signicantly
expanding the range of smart structures that can be
analyzed using unit cell-based asymptotic homogenization
modeling technique. The mathematical framework of
asymptotic homogenization is based on the developments
found in Refs. [39,40,4345]. The applied method is
mathematically rigorous and enables the prediction of
both the local stresses and the global effective properties.
The asymptotic homogenization model for an elastic plate
with a periodically inhomogeneous in-plane conguration
was rst introduced by Duvaut [46]. It is worth noting
however, that the direct application of the asymptotic
homogenization technique to a smart composite plate or
shell will not yield satisfactory results if the spatial
inhomogeneities of the material vary on a scale which is
comparable with the small thickness of structure being
studied. To overcome this problem, Caillerie [47] developed
a modied approach in his heat conduction studies, in
which he introduced two sets of variables, one for the
tangential directions (characterized by periodicity) and one
for the transverse direction for which periodic considera-
tions do not apply. The present paper uses this modied
139
asymptotic homogenization technique to a rigorously
formulated piezoelastic problem. The effective elastic and
piezoelectric coefcients of the homogenized shell are
calculated by means of solutions of a derived set of three-
dimensional (3D) unit cell problems. Subsequently, closed-
form expressions for the effective coefcients pertaining to
hexagonal honeycomb shells, as well as rectangular-
reinforced, diagonally restrained, and rectangular-rein-
forced thin wafers, are obtained.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: the
generalized asymptotic homogenization model pertaining
to a thin smart composite shell is developed in Section 2.
Section 3 illustrates the smart composite structures of
interest and summarizes the objectives of the work. Section
4 details the analysis of a simple unit cell which serves as
the building block for all the structures of Section 3. The
analytical formulae for the effective elastic and piezo-
electric coefcients of the smart sandwich and thin wafer-
reinforced shells made of a combination of isotropic and
generally orthotropic materials with piezoelectric charac-
teristics are given in Section 5. The variation of some
typical effective properties with geometric parameters of
interest is shown in Section 6 and nally, Section 7
concludes the work.
2. Generalized homogeneous shell model
Consider a thin smart composite shell representing an
inhomogeneous solid with wavy surfaces and containing a
large number of periodically arranged actuators as shown
in Fig. 1. This periodic structure is obtained by repeating a
certain small unit cell Od in the a1a2 plane (see Fig. 2). In
this gure, a1, a2, and g are the orthogonal curvilinear
coordinates, such that the coordinate lines a1 and a2
coincide with the main curvature lines of the midsurface of
the shell element, and coordinate line g is normal to its
midsurface (g 0). The thickness d of the element and the
tangential dimensions dh1 and dh2 of the periodicity cell of
D
d
Fig. 1. Curvilinear thin composite shell with wavy surfaces.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
140 G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150

and uk represent body forces, surface tractions, mechanical

strain, and displacement, respectively. Finally, nj is the unit
normal vector pertaining to surfaces g S7(a1, a2).
We observe that the problem at hand is characterized by
S+ two different scales: microscopic or rapid scale, which is a

Actuator consequence of the periodicity of the structure, and
macroscopic or slow scale, which is a manifestation of
Matrix
the global formulation of the problem. The presence of
these two different scales makes the problem amenable to
asymptotic homogenization techniques [4850]. To analyze
Reinforcing fiber it, we introduce a new set of variables, the so-called rapid
variables,
a1 A1 a2 A 2 g
x1 ; x2 ; z , (3)
1 2 dh1 dh2 d
h2 S- h1
where coefcients A1(a1, a2), A2(a1, a2), known as Lame
parameters, are components of the rst quadratic form of
the midsurface of the shell layer element. In terms of these
Fig. 2. A unit cell Od. new variables, the unit cell Od is dened by
A1 A1 A2 A2
the composite are assumed to be small compared with the  ox1 o ;  ox2 o ; z ozoz , (4a)
dimensions of the overall structure. Thus, the unit cell Od is 2 2 2 2
dened by the following inequalities: where
dh1 dh1 dh2 dh2  
 oa1 ;  oa2 o ; g ogog (1a)  1  x1 x2
2 2 2 2 z  F ; ; x x1 ; x2 ; a a1 ; a2 .
2 A1 A2
and (4b)
 
d a1 a2 Accordingly, the unit normal vector becomes
g   dF  ; . (1b)
2 dh1 dh2  
A1 qF  A2 qF 
Here, functions F7 model the shape of the reinforcing 
n  ; ;1
h1 qx1 h2 qx2
elements on the upper (S+) and lower (S) surfaces of the !1=2
shell. These functions are set to zero in the absence of  2  2
A21 qF  A21 qF 
surface reinforcements, in which case d becomes the  2 2 1 . 5
h1 qx1 h1 qx1
thickness of the entire smart structure. The piezoelastic
deformation of this structure can be characterized by Subsequently, we expand the stress and displacement
means of the following boundary value problem: elds in terms of power series of d:
qsij
 f i 0 in Od (2a) ui a; x; d u0 1 2 2
i a dui a; x d ui a; x    (6a)
qaj
and
in which
 
1 quk qul sij a; x; d s0 1 2 2
ij a; x dsij a; x d sij a; x    .
sij C ijkl ekl  d r
klm Rm ; ekl (2b)
2 qal qak (6b)
with boundary conditions, Based on the asymptotic homogenization technique, it is
sij nj pi on S d ; ui ui on S u . (2c) possible to calculate the effective properties of the smart
shell by means of rst solving the following set of
Eq. (2) is completed by adjoining proper specication of problems, known as unit cell problems:
the boundary conditions at the lateral surfaces of the shell. 0
The usual practice is to make some requirements on the
lm
1 qbin qblm
qz 0;
i3
h qx
stress, voltage or displacement elds on these surfaces. Cijkl @ n n
(7a)
is a fourth-order tensor of the elastic coefcients and dklm(r) blm 
ij N j 0 on z ;


represents the piezoelectric strain coefcients describing the

effect of a control signal R on the stress eld sij. The 0 lm lm
1 qbin qb
coefcients Cijkl and dklm(r) in Eq. (2b) are periodic in a1 @ h n qx n
qzi3 0;
and a2 with respective periods dh1 and dh2, but are not (7b)
blm 
ij N j 0 on z ;

periodic in the transverse coordinate g. Functions fi, pi, ekl,
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G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150 141

0 k
1 qd in qd ki3 functions blm nlm k nk
ij ; bij ; d ij ; d ij are not calculated directly from
hn qxn qz 0;
@ (7c) Eqs. (7a)(7d). Instead, they are rst expressed in terms of
d kij N  
j 0 on z ; functions U lm lm k k
k ; V ij ; U j ; V j as follows:

0 bnm nm
ij Lijk U k C ijnm , (8a)
k
1 qd in qd k
i3
0;
@ hn qxn qz
(7d) nm
d k 
ij N j 0 on z : bnm
ij Lijk V k zC ijnm , (8b)

Here, we assume that Greek indices l, m, n range from 1

to 2 and Latin indices i, j, k range from 1 to 3. The local d kij Pijk  Lijm U km , (8c)

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Fig. 3. Smart structures of interest: (a) honeycomb sandwich structure; (b) wafer thin structure with rectangular reinforcements; (c) diagonally restrained
wafer thin structure; and (d) wafer thin structure with equilateral triangular reinforcements.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
142 G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150

k
d k
ij zPijk  Lijm V m , (8d) associated with the rotated elements that comprise the
wafer or honeycomb core of the structures. As such, it is
where prudent to rst deal with a simpler type of unit cell
1 q q problem, consisting of only a single element rotated at an
Lijk C ijka C ijk3 , (8e) arbitrary angle j with respect to the x2 axis. Once the
ha qxa qz
solution for this is obtained, it is a trivial matter to
Pijm C ijkl d klm . (8f) compute the solution for the entire structure by simple
superposition. In doing so, we ignore the error incurred at
Eqs. (8a)(8d) are rst substituted in Eqs. (7a)(7d) and
the regions of overlap of the various elements because
functions Ukmm(x, z), Vkmm(x, z), Umk(x, z) and Vmk(x, z)
stress concentrations and other complications at these
are determined. The latter are then substituted back in
regions are assumed to be highly localized and do not
Eqs. (8a)(8d) and the local elastic and piezoelectric
contribute signicantly to the integral over the domain of
functions blm nlm k nk
ij ; bij ; d ij ; d ij are determined [42]. Finally, the
k the unit cell.
effective properties of the smart shell, hblZ lZ
mn i; hbmn i; hd mn i,
k
and hd mn i are obtained by means of the homogenization
equation, 4. A unit cell consisting of a single element at an arbitrary
Z angle u
1
hcx1 ; x2 ; zi cx1 ; x2 ; z dx1 dx2 dz (9)
jOj O Referring to Fig. 4, we perform a coordinate transfor-
by integration over the domain of the periodicity cell O. It mation from {x} to {Z} such that element Oi lies along
is worthwhile to note that there exists one-to-one coordinate line Z2.
correspondence between the effective elastic coefcients By this selection of coordinate system, the order of the
and the familiar Aij (or extensional), Bij (or bending) and differential equations associated with the unit cell problem
Dij (or coupling) coefcients used extensively in Classical is now reduced because the solution of the problem will
Composite Laminate Theory (see Ref. [41]). These are depend only on coordinates Z1 and z, but not Z2. The
local functions bijlm(Z1, z) and bij*lm(Z1, z) for this rotated
A11 dhb11
11 i; A22 dhb22
22 i; A12 dhb12
11 i, element must rst be determined through the evaluation of
A16 dhb12
11 i; A26 dhb12
22 i; A66 dhb12
12 i,
Uklm(Z1, z) and Vklm(Z1, z). This is discussed in the sequel.
B11 d2 hzb11 2 11
11 i d hb11 i; B22 d2 hzb22 2 22
22 i d hb22 i,
4.1. bijlm-type local problems
B12 d2 hzb22 2 22
11 i d hb11 i; B16 d2 hzb12 2 12
11 i d hb11 i,
B26 d2 hzb12 2 12
22 i d hb22 i; B66 d2 hzb12 2 12
12 i d hb12 i
Substitution of Eq. (8a) into the unit cell problem (7a)
3 3 3 with a simultaneous consideration of the denition
D11 d hzb11
11 i; D22 d hzb22
22 i; D12 d hzb22
11 i, Lijk U lm lm
k tij gives, in view of the coordinate transforma-
3 3 3
D16 d hzb12
11 i; D26 d hzb12
12 i; D66 d hzb12
12 i. 10 tion dened by Fig. 4, the following equation:
Similar considerations apply for the effective piezo- cos j q lm sin j q lm q lm
t t t 0 (11a)
electric coefcients. It is seen therefore, from the way the h1 qZ1 i1 h2 qZ1 i2 qz i3
above model is presented, that the local problems are
in which
completely determined by the structure of the unit cell of
the smart composite. It follows that the solution of these cos j qU lm sin j qU lm qU lm
problems and, in particular, the effective elastic and tlm
11 C 11 1
C 12 2
C 13 3
,
h1 qZ1 h2 qZ1 qz
piezoelectric coefcients of the smart homogenized shell,
can be utilized in studying various types of boundary value cos j qU lm sin j qU lm qU lm
tlm
22 C 21 1
C 22 2
C 23 3
,
problems associated with a given composite geometry. h1 qZ1 h2 qZ1 qz
cos j qU lm sin j qU lm qU lm
tlm
33 C 31 1
C 32 2
C 33 3
,
3. Smart structures of interest and objective of research h1 qZ1 h2 qZ1 qz
!
sin j qU lm qU lm
Examples of smart structures that are of interest for the tlm
23 C 44 3
2
,
purpose of the present research are given in Fig. 3. The h2 qZ1 qz
!
objectives of our work are to solve unit cell problems in cos j qU lm qU lm
Eqs. (7a)(7d) for these smart structures and determine the tlm
13 C 55 3
1
,
h1 qZ1 qz
pertinent effective elastic and piezoelectric coefcients. We !
will assume that the top and/or bottom carrier layers are sin j qU lm cos j qU lm

made of orthotropic material and exhibit piezoelectric tlm

12 C 66 1
2
. 11b
h2 qZ1 h1 qZ1
behavior, whereas the honeycomb core and wafers are
made of isotropic material. It is evident from Fig. 3 that Referring to Fig. 5, we see that Eq. (11) is valid on
one complication shared by all of these structures is {|Z1|ot1/2, |Z2|ol//2, 0ozoH}. Thus, to solve for blm
ij , we
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150 143

Fig. 5. Element boundary conditions on surfaces Z1 7t1/2 and on

surfaces z 0 and H.

cell problem,
cos j q lm sin j q lm q lm
t t t C i3lm (13a)
h1 qZ1 i1 h2 qZ1 i2 qz i3
Fig. 4. A rotated unit cell.
in which
lm
cos j qV lm sin j qV lm qV 3
t lm
11 C 11 1
C 12 2
C 13 ,
must also supply boundary conditions on surfaces h1 qZ1 h2 qZ1 qz
Z1 7t1/2 and on surfaces z 0 and H.
cos j qV lm sin j qV lm qV lm
Referring to Eq. (7a), the boundary conditions on t lm
22 C 21 1
C 22 2
C 23 3
,
Z1 7t1/2 and on z 0 and H can be written as h1 qZ1 h2 qZ1 qz
lm
cos j qV lm sin j qV lm qV 3
t lm
33 C 31 1
C 32 2
C 33 ,
cos j 11 sin j 11 1 h1 qZ1 h2 qZ1 qz
t11 t12  C 11 cos j, !
h1 h2 h1 sin j qV 3
lm
qV lm
cos j 22 sin j 22 1 t lm
23 C 44 2
,
t11 t12  C 12 cos j, h2 qZ1 qz
h1 h2 h1 !
cos j 12 sin j 12 1 cos j qV lm qV lm
t11 t12  C 66 sin j, t lm
13 C 55 3
1
,
h1 h2 h2 h1 qZ1 qz
cos j 11 sin j 11 1 !
t12 t22  C 12 sin j, sin j qV lm cos j qV lm
h1 h2 h2 t lm
12 C 66 1
2
. 13b
h2 qZ1 h1 qZ1
cos j 22 sin j 22 1
t12 t22  C 22 sin j,
h1 h2 h2 As well, the following boundary conditions must be
cos j 12 sin j 12 1 supplied on surfaces Z1 7t1/2 and on z 0 and H:
t12 t22  C 66 cos j,
h1 h2 h1
cos j 11 sin j 11 z
cos j lm sin j lm t 11 t 12  C 11 cos j,
t13 t23 0 12a h1 h2 h1
h1 h2
cos j 22 sin j 22 z
and t 11 t 12  C 12 cos j,
h1 h2 h1
cos j 12 sin j 12 z
t 11 t 12  C 66 sin j,
tlm lm
13 t23 0; t11
33 C 13 ; t22
33 C 23 ; t12
33 0. h1 h2 h2
(12b) cos j 11 sin j 11 z
t 12 t 22  C 12 sin j,
h1 h2 h2
cos j 22 sin j 22 z
4.2. bij*lm-type local problems t 12 t 22  C 22 sin j,
h1 h2 h2
cos j 12 sin j 12 z
To determine the Vklm(Z1, z) functions pertaining to the t 12 t 22  C 66 cos j,
unit cell in Fig. 4 we proceed in the same way as for the h1 h2 h1
corresponding Uklm(Z1, z) functions. This gives, on account cos j lm sin j lm
t 13 t 23 0 14a
of denition Lijk V lm
k t
lm
ij , the following transformed unit h1 h2
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
144 G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150

and 5. Examples and analysis of effective properties

5.1. Hexagonal honeycomb sandwich structure

t lm
13 t
lm
23 0; t 11
33 zC 13 ; t 22
33 zC 23 ; t 12
33 0.
(14b) To estimate the non-vanishing effective properties of the
three-layered sandwich plane shell in Fig. 3(a), we now use
The solution of Eqs. (11a) and (13a) with a simultaneous the results of Section 4. Referring to Fig. 6, it is evident
consideration of the appropriate boundary conditions gives that a unit cell of the structure is composed of elements O1,
Uklm(Z1, z) and Vklm(Z1, z) which in turn yield functions O2, y ,O10.
bijlm(Z1, z) and bij*lm(Z1, z) from respective Eqs. (8a) and We will assume that the elements comprising the honey-
(8b). These latter functions are expressed in terms of a comb core are made of isotropic material while the top and
generic angle j. Once the solutions for bijlm(Z1, z) and bottom carrier layers that are made of generally ortho-
bij*lm(Z1, z) are obtained, it is a matter of convenience to tropic material which exhibits piezoelectric behavior. The
obtain global solutions for the entire honeycomb or wafer effective elastic and piezoelectric coefcients for the smart
structure by a simple substitution of angle j associated hexagonal honeycomb sandwich structure are found to be:
with each element making up the unit cell. To calculate the
effective elastic and piezoelectric properties for the carrier p
2E 0 t0 3 EHt
layers of the smart structures, we need to take into account hb11
11 i hb22
22 i ,
1  u20 4 a
that these layers are made of orthotropic material p
exhibiting piezoelectric behavior. Thus, for these elements, 2u0 E 0 t0 3 EHt
hb11 22
22 i hb11 i ,
in addition to elastic functions blm nlm
ij and bij , we need to 1  u0 2 12 a
k nk
calculate the piezoelectric d ij ; d ij functions as well. p
12 E 0 t0 3 EHt
The procedure is straightforward and can be found in hb12 i , 15a
1 u0 12 a
Ref. [42].
Finally, with the help of superposition and the homo-  2 
E0 H t0 2 2t30
genization procedure in Eq. (9), the effective elastic and hzb11
11 i hzb 22
22 i Ht 0
121  u20 2 3
piezoelectric properties for the smart structures of Fig. 3 p 3
can be readily determined. The results are presented in the 3 EH t
,
next section. 48 a

Fig. 6. A unit cell of a hexagonal honeycomb sandwich shell element in coordinate system x1, x2 and z.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150 145

 2 
u0 E 0 H t0 2 2t30 appropriate angle j associated with each element in the
hzb11
22 i hzb22
11 i Ht0 general results of Section 4. The effective coefcients are
121  u20 2 3
p
3 EH t 3 p
, 4E 0 t0 3 3 EHt
144 a hb11
11 i hb22
22 i
,
51  u20 20 a
 2 
12 E0 H t0 2 2t30 EH 3 t p
hzb12 i Ht0 11 22 4u0 E 0 t0 3 EHt
21 u0 2 3 121 ua hb22 i hb11 i ,
! 2
51  u0 20 a
1 128H X1
tanhp2n  1t=2H
 p p , 15b p 16a
3 3p5 n1 2n  15 12 2E 0 t0 3 EHt
hb12 i ,
51 u0 20 a
2t0 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32
dhd 311 i dhd 322 i ,
1  u20 hzb11 22
11 i hzb22 i
p  
t0 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32 E 0 t30 3 3 Et Ht20 2 2H 3
dhzd 3
11 i dhzd 3
22 i   H t0 ,
181  u20 180 1  u20 40 a 2 3
 2 
3H 3Ht0 2
 t0 . 15c
4 2 hzb11 22
22 i hzb11 i
In Eqs. (15a) and (15b), the rst terms dene the p  2 
u0 E 0 t30 3 Et Ht0 2 2H 3
contribution from the top and bottom carrier layers while H t 0 ,
the latter terms represent the contribution from the ller 1801  u20 40 a 2 3
core. Eq. (15c) represents the effective piezoelectric  2 
E 0 t30 p Et Ht0 2H 3
coefcients for the smart structure and, as expected, only hzb12
12 i 3 H 2 t0
the top and bottom elements make a contribution; on 301 u0 1 ua 2 3
account of the fact that the core is isotropic and does not !
1 32H X 1
tanhp2n  1t=2H
exhibit piezoelectric characteristics. It is seen from Eq. (15)   5 , 16b
that the effective properties of the smart composite can be 5 9p h1 n1 2n  15
tailored to satisfy the requirements of any particular
application by changing either the material of the core 4t0 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32
and/or carrier layers, or by changing some geometric dhd 311 i dhd 322 i ,
51  u20
parameter such as H, t and a. Plots of the variation of some
typical effective coefcients vs. H will be given in Section 6. 16c
t3 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32
dhzd 3
11 i dhzd 3
22 i 0 2
.
1801  u0
5.2. Smart wafer thin structure with rectangular
reinforcements
5.3. Smart diagonally restrained wafer thin structure
The unit cell of the structure in Fig. 3(b) is given in
Fig. 7. The unit cell of the structure in Fig. 3(c) is given in Fig. 8.
The solution of this local unit cell problem composed of Following the same methodology as before, the non-
elements O1, O2,y,O5 may be obtained by using the vanishing effective elastic and piezoelectric coefcients are

Fig. 7. A unit cell of rectangular-reinforced thin wafer structure in Fig. 8. A unit cell of diagonally restrained smart thin wafer structure in
coordinate system x1, x2 and z. coordinate system x1, x2 and z.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
146 G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150

given as
 p p 
4E 0 t0 3 3 9 34 9 EHt
hb11
11 i hb22
22 i
p ,
51  u20 20 100 26 10 a
p p 
11 22 4u0 E 0 t0 3 3 34 9 EHt
hb22 i hb11 i p ,
51  u20 20 100 26 10 a
p p  17a
12 2E 0 t0 3 3 34 9 EHt
hb12 i p ,
51 u0 20 100 26 10 a
 p p 
E 0 t30 3 3 9 34
hzb11
11 i hzb22
22 i p
1801  u20 40 200 26
 
Et Ht20 2H 3
 H 2 t0 ,
a 2 3
p p 
11 22 u0 E 0 t30 3 3 34
hzb22 i hzb11 i p
1801  u20 40 200 26
Fig. 9. A unit cell of equilateral triangular reinforced smart thin wafer
  structure in coordinate system x1, x2 and z.
Et Ht20 2H 3
 H 2 t0 ,
a 2 3 p
E 0 t30 91 2 3 Et
 2  hzb11
11 i hzb22
22 i
E 0 t30 Et Ht0 2 2H 3 1441  u20 64 a
hzb12
12 i H t0  2 3
3601 u0 1 ua 2 3 Ht0 2H
 H 2 t0 ,
p p  2 3
3 34 p
 p u0 E 0 t30 31 2 3 Et
5 50 26 hzb11
22 i hzb 22
11 i
1441  u20 64 a
! 17b  2 3
120H X 1
tanhp2n  1t=2H 
Ht0
H 2 t0
2H
,
 5 , 2 3
9p h1 n1 2n  15
p
E 0 t30 1 2 3 Et
hzb12
12 i
4t0 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32 2881 u0 8 1 ua
dhd 311 i dhd 322 i ,  2 3
51  u20 Ht0 2H
 H 2 t0
17c 2 3
t3 E 0 d r r !
dhzd 3 31 u0 E 0 d 32
11 i dhzd 3
22 i 0 . 3 8H X tanhp2n  1t=2H
1
1801  u20   ,
16 3p5 h1 n1 2n  15
18b
5.4. Smart thin wafer structure with triangular
reinforcements t0 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32
dhd 311 i dhd 322 i ,
1  u20
The unit cell of the structure in Fig. 2(d) is given in
Fig. 9. t30 E 0 d r r
31 u0 E 0 d 32
dhzd 3 3
11 i dhzd 22 i . 18c
The non-vanishing effective elastic and piezoelectric 1441  u20
coefcients are:
In the following section, we will illustrate the use of
p Eqs. (15)(18) by selecting appropriate materials for the
11 22 E 0 t0 91 2 3 EHt carrier layers and the core and/or wafer.
hb11 i hb22 i ,
1  u20 32 a
p
11 22 u0 E 0 t0 31 2 3 EHt 6. Comparison of results and discussion
hb22 i hb11 i ,
1  u20 32 a
p We consider that the honeycomb core of the sandwich
E 0 t0 31 2 3 EHt structure and the wafer reinforcements of the plane shell
hb12
12 i , 18a
21 u0 32 a structures are made of cross-linked closed-cell poly(vinyl
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150 147

chloride) type Divinycell H130 sheet and the carrier layers
are made of orthotropic piezoelectric material such as
PZT4. Pertinent material properties can be found in
Table 1 [15].
It is noted that in Eqs. (15)(18), the rst terms describe
the contribution from the carrier layers, and, where
appropriate, the second terms describe the contribution
from the honeycomb ller and wafer reinforcements. It is
The derived models will now be used to tailor the
effective properties of the smart structures of Fig. 3 to meet
the requirements of any particular application, by modify-
ing some geometric parameters. To this end, Figs. 1013
represent plots which show the variation of some typical
effective coefcients with H, the height of the elements
comprising the core or wafer.
Fig. 10 shows the variation of /b11 11S and /b22S vs. H
11

seen that the latter contribution may be made comparable for the triangular reinforced smart wafer. As expected, the
with or even greater than, the former by appropriately /b1111S stiffness is greater than the corresponding /b22S
11

varying the parameters E, H, t and a. This is clearly shown stiffness. Fig. 11 shows the variation of /b22S vs. H for the
22

in Table 2 for smart sandwich structure and in Table 3 for hexagonal honeycomb, rectangular-reinforced and diagon-
smart wafer thin structures, where the results based on ally restrained wafer structures. It can be observed that the
Eqs. (15)(18) are numerically presented. latter two smart structures have nearly the same /b22 22S
stiffness. This may seem a little odd on account of the fact
that the diagonally restrained structure has more reinfor-
Table 1 cing elements than its rectangular-reinforced counterpart.
Material properties [15] However, we can observe from Table 1 that the Youngs
Material E0 (GPa) E (GPa) n0 n d31 (1010 d32 (1010
modulus of the carrier layers is signicantly higher than
C/N) C/N) that of the core/wafers. As such, the contribution of the
wafers is much less than that of the carrier layers and,
H130 0.13 0.320 consequently, the presence of two extra elements in the
PZT4 81.23 0.327 1.24 1.24
diagonally restrained composite is not as pronounced.

Table 2
Effective properties <b1111>

Effective elastic and piezoelectric characteristics of smart hexagonal 200

honeycomb sandwich structure (Fig. 3(a)): H 25, a 2.5, t0 1,
and <b2211>, N/mm

175
t 0.5, u0 0.327, u 0.32, A1 A2 1
150 <b1111>
Effective elastic and The contribution of The contribution of 125
piezoelectric moduli both carrier layers honeycomb core 100
75
11S /b22S
/b11 22
2.1978E0 2.1651E <b2211>
50
/b11
22S /b11S
22
0.6593E0 0.7215E
/b12 S 0.7692E0 0.7215E 25
12
/zb*11
11 S /zb22 S
*22
30.9676E0 112.8125E 0
/zb*11
22 S /zb 11 S
*22
9.2903E0 37.5000E 0.1 2.1 4.1 6.1 8.1 10.1
/zb12 S
*12
130.0641E0 77.6691E H, mm
d/d311S d/d322S 0.3813E0
11S d/zd22S
d/zd*3 *3
5.3729E0 Fig. 10. Effective elastic properties /b11
11S and /b22S of triangular-
11

reinforced smart wafer with H.

Table 3
Effective elastic and piezoelectric characteristics of smart wafer thin structures (Figs. 3(b)(d)): H 25, a 2.5, t0 1, u0 0.327, u 0.32, A1 A2 1

Effective elastic and Wafer thin structures

piezoelectric moduli
The insertion of base layer (xE0) The insertion of wafer (xE)

Rect. Diag. Trian. Rect. Diag. Trian.

t 0.1 t 0.5 t 0.1 t 0.5 t 0.1 t 0.5

11S /b22S
/b11 22
0.879 0.879 1.099 0.26 1.30 1.26 6.31 1.26 6.28
/b11
22 S /b 11S
22
0.264 0.264 0.330 0.09 0.43 1.02 5.10 0.42 2.09
/b12S
12
0.308 0.308 0.385 0.09 0.43 1.02 5.10 0.42 2.09
/zb*11
11 S /zb22 S
*22
0.006 0.006 0.008 57.44 287.19 80.21 401.05 277.59 1387.9
/zb22 S /zb*22
*11
11 S 0.002 0.002 0.002 19.15 95.73 26.75 133.76 92.55 462.73
12 S
/zb*12 0.026 0.002 0.003 117.57 582.91 125.07 614.61 35.53 176.43
d/d311S d/d322S 0.153 0.153 0.191
11S d/zd22S
d/zd*3 *3
0.001 0.001 0.001
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
148 G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150
Effective property <b2222>,

Effective property <zd11*3>,

400 0
350 Hexagonal 0.1 0.6 1.1 1.6 2.1
sandwich -400
300

N.mm x C/N
250
N/mm

-800
200
Diagonally-
150 restrained wafer -1200
100
Rectangular-
50 -1600
reinforced wafer
0
0.1 2.1 4.1 6.1 8.1 10.1 -2000
H, mm
H, mm
11S of sandwich structure
Fig. 14. Effective piezoelectric property d/zd*3
Fig. 11. Effective elastic property /b22
22S of sandwich, rectangular-, and
with H.
diagonally reinforced wafer structures with H.
Effective property <zb12*12>,

7. Conclusions
3.5
3
The method of asymptotic homogenization is used to
2.5
analyze the periodic smart composite shells with a large
N/mm

2 number of embedded actuators and varying thickness. It is

1.5 shown that the original boundary-value problem decouples
1 into a set of four simpler 3D unit cell problems. Two of
0.5 these problems pertain to the purely mechanical response
0 of the structure and the other two pertain to its piezo-
0.1 2.1 4.1 6.1 8.1 10.1 electric behavior. The solution of the unit cell problems
H, mm yields a set of local functions which are subsequently
Fig. 12. Effective elastic property /zb*12
averaged over the domain of the unit cell to determine the
12 S of triangular-reinforced smart
wafer with H. effective elastic and piezoelectric coefcients of the smart
composite shell. From the way they are derived, the unit
cell problems are completely characterized by the nature of
the unit cell of the smart composite shell and are totally
0 independent of the global formulation of boundary-value
Effective property <zd11*3>,

-10 0.1 0.6 1.1 1.6 2.1 problem. As such, the effective coefcients are universal in
-20 nature and may be used to study a wide variety of
N.mm x C/N

-30 Rectangular-reinforced & boundary-value problems associated with a given struc-

-40 diagonally-restrained ture.
-50
wafers The derived model and the expressions for the effective
coefcients are illustrated by means of four examples
-60
pertaining to hexagonal honeycomb sandwich structures
-70
and rectangular-reinforced, diagonally restrained wafer
-80
and triangular-reinforced smart wafer shells. These struc-
H, mm
tures are endorsed with piezoelectric carrier layers made of
11S of rectangular- and
Fig. 13. Effective piezoelectric property d/zd*3 orthotropic material and isotropic core or wafer (non-
diagonally reinforced wafer structures with H. piezoelectric). From the numerical illustrations, it is
observed that, in case of hexagonal honeycomb sandwich
shell, the /b22
22S stiffness is greater than the same /b22S in
22

any other studied wafer shell structures. Furthermore, in

Finally, Fig. 12 shows the variation of /zb*12
12 S vs. H for
the triangular-reinforced smart structure.
Fig. 13 shows the variation of d/zd*3 11S for the
rectangular-reinforced and diagonally restrained struc-
tures. The d/zd*311S value is the same for both of these
structures because their unit cells have the same dimen-
sions, and also because the effective piezoelectric coef-
cients are only affected by the carrier layers. Finally,
Fig. 14 shows the variation of d/zd*311S for the hexagonal
honeycomb structure.
case of effective piezoelectric behavior, the rectangular-
reinforcement and diagonally restrained wafer shells have
an identical stiffness change. This is due to the fact that
both the carrier layers associated with these structures are
made of same PZT4 material and they do have an identical
geometrical conguration.
Finally, it is shown that the derived models can be used
to tailor the effective elastic and piezoelectric coefcients of
the smart composite structures to meet the requirements of
a particular application.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
G.C. Saha et al. / International Journal of Mechanical Sciences 49 (2007) 138150
Acknowledgements
The support by the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Killam
Foundation is gratefully acknowledged.
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