On the dynamic behavior of piezoelectric active repair by the boundary element method

The dynamic behavior of piezoelectric active repair bonded on cracked structures is analyzed in this article. The boundaryelement code used to perform the simulations is implemented in the framework of piezoelectricity in order tomodel the coupling between the elastic and the electric fields, which represents the most important feature of piezoelectricmedia. The fracture mechanics problem, i.e. the crack, as well as the bonding layer between the host structure andthe active patch is modeled by means of the multidomain technique provided with an interface spring model. More particularly,the spring interface model allows considering the bonding layer as a zero-thickness elastic ply characterized bynormal and tangential stiffness constants. The crack is also modeled as an elastic interface characterized by vanishingstiffness. The dual reciprocity method (DRM) has been used in the present time-dependent application for the approximationof the domain inertia terms. Numerical analyses have been carried out in order to characterize the dynamicrepairing mechanism of the assembled structure by means of the computation of the dynamic stress intensity factorsand discussions are presented to highlight the effect of the inertial forces on the fracture mechanics behavior of the overallassembled structure.