Numerical field intensity factor calculations for 1-3 piezocomposite structures.

ABSTRACT

The 1-3 piezocomposite transducers used in specific medical applications--as lithotripsy--must be excited by intense electrical impulses. By inference, the composite material is subjected to high-stress levels. To explain possible failure, a numerical tool for analyzing singular two- and three-dimensional stress fields in piezocomposite structures is proposed. Following a finite-element iterative method, singularity parameters values and intensity factors for the mechanical stresses and the electrical field are computed in several bimaterial configurations. The finite-element analysis uses commercial software.