Piezoelectric control of delamination response in woven fabric composites under mode i loading

This paper investigates the application of piezoelectric actuators to control the delamination response in woven fabric composites subjected to Mode I loading. Experiments were conducted on a double cantilever beam (DCB) specimen of woven glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite laminates with piezoelectric ceramic actuators bonded on the surfaces, in order to evaluate the dependence of the delamination behavior on the applied electric fields. A finite element analysis of the DCB specimen with surface-bonded actuators was also performed, and a comparison was made between the finite element predictions and the test results. In addition, the effect of the actuator location on the effectiveness of the piezoelectric control was examined numerically.