A Novel Analytical Model to Design Piezoelectric Patches Used to Repair Cracked Beams

In this paper, an analytical solution describing the deflection of a cracked beam repaired with piezoelectric patch is introduced. The solution is derived using perturbation method. A novel analytical model to calculate the proper dimensions of piezoelectric patches used to repair cracked beams is also introduced. This model shows that the thickness of the piezoelectric patch depends mainly on the thickness of the cracked beam, the electro-mechanical properties of the patch material, the applied load and the crack location. Furthermore, the model shows that the length of the piezoelectric patches depends on the thickness of the patch as well as it depends on the length of the cracked beam and the crack depth. The additional flexibility of the beam caused by crack is modeled depending on a dimensionless parameter identified from finite elements method. Different piezoelectric patches were designed and investigated using analytical and finite elements models. The results show that increasing the patch thickness enhances the beam resistance to crack and load effects, while increasing the length of the piezoelectric patch reduces the magnitude of the voltage required to repair the cracked beam