Laminated Piezoelectric Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring: Interphase Degradation Effects
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Laminated piezoelectric composites are widely used as smart materials due to their outstanding performance in sensing, actuating, and energy harvesting, especially in the aerospace, automotive, and medical industries. However, their structural integrity and reliability are often compromised by delamination. This research investigates the combined influence of delamination and interphase degradation on laminated piezoelectric composites. Using a multidisciplinary strategy that integrates analytical techniques with numerical simulations, the present investigation simulates the mechanisms responsible for accelerated delamination under interphase degradation. A two-scale asymptotic homogenization method (AHM) is employed to determine the effective piezo-electromechanical properties, while finite element analysis (FEA) with periodic boundary conditions provide accurate and realistic simulation results. The findings reveal reductions in stiffness with increasing interphase degradation, emphasizing its critical role in governing the piezo-electromechanical performance of these composites as sensors. These results highlight the necessity of incorporating interphase effects into structural health monitoring (SHM) frameworks to enhance the robustness and reliability of composite structures.