Nonlinear magnetoelectric effect in unsymmetric laminated composites

This work is aimed at the development of a finite element formulation for the analysis of unsymmetric magneto-electric (ME) laminated structures. While analytical solutions are readily available for symmetric structures, the coupling between axial and bending deformations in unsymmetric structures impedes such an analytical solution thus motivating the search for a numerical solution. The proposed finite element model includes this coupling under Euler–Bernoulli assumptions and further includes the material nonlinearity exhibited by the ferromagnetic phase. The enhancement of the ME coefficient under resonant conditions has also been studied under bending and axial resonant regimes. Resonant ME coefficients of magnitude at least 30 times higher than the quasi-static values were estimated. A parametric study has also been performed with the aim of optimizing the ME coefficient with respect to the applied DC bias field, operating frequency, volume fraction and the modulus ratio of the constituents and the different boundary conditions. The boundary conditions yielding a cantilever configuration were found to offer the least bending resonant frequency and the highest axial resonant ME coefficient, thus proving to be the most viable in practice. (paper)