Three-dimensional analysis of an antiparallel piezoelectric bimorph

Three-dimensional electromechanical responses of a piezoelectric bimorph are studied. The bimorph is antiparallel in the sense that it consists of two identical, plate-like piezoelectric elements with opposite poling directions. Both the top and bottom surfaces of the bimorph are fully covered with negligibly thin conductive electrodes. By introducing a small parameter and using the transfer matrix method it is shown that a three-dimensional solution of the problem can be readily constructed, provided the solution to a set of two-dimensional equations very similar to those in the classic plate theory is obtainable. The three-dimensional solution satisfies all the field equations as well as the boundary conditions on the major surfaces and at the interface between the two piezoelectric plates. In many special cases, the electric edge condition can be fulfilled point by point, and thus the solution is exact in Saint-Venant's sense. The formulation and new analytical results for a strip-shaped cantilever bimorph under the action of applied voltage and end moment are presented.