Finite element analysis of the piezoelectric-based repair of a delaminated beam

This paper provides the methodology on the use of piezoelectric patches for the repair of delaminated beams subjected to static loading, considering moment equilibrium. The singularity of the shear stresses induced at the crack tip of the delamination in the beam may result in sliding mode fracture, and a method to erase this singularity via piezoelectric materials is developed. An index defined to measure the effectiveness of repair is proposed. To facilitate design of the repair, a numerical solution obtained using the commercial finite element software ABAQUS is used, and simplified expressions based on simple beam theory are derived and validated. Parametric studies based on the geometry and material properties of the delaminated beam and piezoelectric materials are performed numerically to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed repair methodology.