Application of patch test in meshless analysis of continuously non-homogeneous piezoelectric circular plate

Abstract

Proposed paper presents application of the patch test for meshless analysis of piezoelectric circular plate with functionally graded material properties. Functionally graded materials (FGM) are the special class of composite materials with continuous variation of volume fraction of constituents in predominant direction. Patch test analysis is an important tool in numerical methods for addressing the convergence. Meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method together with moving least-squares (MLS) approximation scheme is applied in the analysis. No finite elements are required for approximation or integration of unknown quantities. Circular plate is considered as a 3-D axisymmetric piezoelectric solid. Considering the axial symmetry, the problem is reduced to a 2-dimensinal one. Displacement and electric potential fields are prescribed on the outer boundaries in order to reach the state of constant stress field inside the considered plate as required by the patch test and the governing equations. Values of prescribed mechanical and electrical fields must be determined in order to comply with applied FGM gradation rule. Convergence study is performed to assess the considered meshless approach and several conclusions are finally presented.