A single-walled carbon nanotube reinforced 1–3 piezoelectric composite for active control of smart structures

We propose a new 1–3 piezoelectric composite comprised of armchair single-walled carbon nanotubes imbedded in a piezoceramic matrix which we call a NRPEC (nanotube reinforced 1–3 piezoelectric composite). Values of effective piezoelectric and elastic moduli of the NRPEC determined through a micromechanical analysis are found to be significantly higher than those of the 1–3 piezoelectric composite comprised of piezoelectric fibers imbedded in an epoxy matrix. The performance of the NPREC as a constraining layer in an active constrained layer damping (ACLD) treatment of a laminated composite beam has been studied by the finite element method. Both in-plane and out-of-plane actuations by the constraining layer of the ACLD treatment have been considered, and its length has been optimized by implementing a controllability criterion. The computed controllability measure and the frequency response reveal that the proposed constraining layer performs better than the 1–3 piezoelectric/epoxy composite layer.