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.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TUFFC.2006.154
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