The existing studies indicate that the application of piezoelectric polymers is becoming more and more extensive, especially in the analysis and design of sensors or actuators, but the problems of piezoelectric structure are usually difficult to solve analytically due to the force-electric coupling characteristics. In this study, the bending problem of a piezoelectric cantilever beam was investigated via theoretical and experimental methods. First, the governing equations of the problem were established and non-dimensionalized. Three piezoelectric parameters were selected as perturbation parameters and the perturbation solution of the equations was finally obtained using a multi-parameter perturbation method. In addition, the relevant experiments of the piezoelectric cantilever beam were carried out, and the experimental results were in good agreement with the theoretical solutions. Based on the experimental results, the effect of piezoelectric properties on the bending deformation of piezoelectric cantilever beams was analyzed and discussed. The results indicated that the multi-parameter perturbation solution obtained in this study is effective and it may serve as a theoretical reference for the design of sensors or actuators made of piezoelectric polymers.
Keywords: cantilever beam; experimental verification; force–electric coupling characteristics; multi-parameter perturbation method; piezoelectric polymers.