Bending analysis of a piezoelectric curved actuator with a generally graded property for the piezoelectric parameter

An analytical study on the bending behavior of a piezoelectric curved actuator with generally graded properties for the piezoelectric parameter g31 is performed. The external electric potential is acting between the inner and outer surfaces of the actuator. A Taylor series expansion method is introduced and the exact solutions of the problem are obtained based on the theory of piezo-elasticity. The present analytical solutions are compared with the numerical results and good agreement is found. This work gives a sound background for the design and optimization of functionally graded piezoelectric curved actuators.