Abstract:

Previous works have explored the application of Functionally Graded Material (FGM) concept to improve piezo-electric response of extensional devices. Increased static actuation displacements of graded structures, reduction of stress concentrations and greater reliability were shown, which motivated the study of these piezoactuators for dynamic applications. The idea behind multi-material structures subjected to dynamic loads is to take advantage of the continuous change of its property values to design new systems such as piezoelectric motors and energy harvesters tailoring speci c vibrating modes. Thus, this work focuses on optimization of graded topologies of piezoactuator devices aiming dynamic applications by using Topology Optimization Method (TOM), which is based on SIMP model to de ne the material at each point of the design domain and MMA algorithm to solve the optimization problem that aims to achieve maximum and/or minimum vibration amplitude at speci ed points of the structure for a desirable vibration mode at speci ed frequency. Two-dimensional results are presented to illustrate the method. Prototypes of optimal homogeneous and graded topologies devices are fabricated through Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS), Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) and laser cutting techniques. Actuator displacements and resonance frequency are measured with Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV) and compared with numerical results.