Dynamic Study of the Mechanic-Electro Coupling Overlapping Finite Element Method for Piezoelectric Structures

The mechanic-electro coupling overlapping finite element method (ME-OFEM) is proposed to improve the accuracy of dynamic characteristic analysis of piezoelectric structures. This method integrates the fundamental governing equations of piezoelectric materials, boundary conditions, and the principles of the overlapping finite element method (OFEM) through the Hamilton principle of dynamic characteristics. Then the ME-OFEM is combined with the Newmark method to analyze the dynamic response of piezoelectric structures. In this study, triangular elements are employed for structural discretization. The method is applied to the dynamic characteristic analysis of equivalent models of piezoelectric cantilever beam sensors and perforated energy harvesters, including the analysis of natural frequencies, modes, and transient responses. The analysis is performed through curve comparison, error comparison, and stress contour results. The results demonstrate that ME-OFEM can better solve the dynamics of piezoelectric structures in the case of low-order mesh accuracy. Under the condition of ensuring the accuracy and validity of the solution, our requirements for meshing can be lower during pre-processing. These findings highlight the great potential of ME-OFEM for the dynamic analysis of intelligent piezoelectric structures.