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Journal of Applied Mechanics.

Received November 17, 2017;


Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

A 3D mixed finite element for flexoelectricity

Feng Deng, Qian Deng* ,Shengping Shen*

State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Structures, School of Aerospace

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Engineering,

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Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, People’s Republic of China

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*
E-mail: tonydqian@mail.xjtu.edu.cn , sshen@mail.xjtu.edu.cn

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Abstract

Flexoelectric effect is a universal and size dependent electromechanical coupling between the

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strain gradient and electric field. The mathematical framework for flexoelectricity, which
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involves higher order gradients of field quantities, is difficult to handle using traditional finite
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element method. Thus, it is important to develop an effective numerical method for


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flexoelectricity. In this paper, we develop a 3D mixed finite element considering both


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flexoelectricity and strain gradient elasticity. To validate the developed element, we simulate the

electromechanical behavior of a flexoelectric spherical shell subjected to inner pressure and


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compare the numerical results to analytical results. Their excellent agreement shows the
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reliability of the proposed finite element method. The developed finite element is also used to
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simulate the electromechanical behavior of a nanometer sized flexoelectric truncated pyramid.


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By decreasing the sample size, we observed the increase of its effective piezoelectricity.
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However, due to the effects of strain gradient elasticity and the influence of flexoelectricity on

stiffness, the dependency of effective piezoelectricity on the sample size is not trivial. Numerical

*
Corresponding author

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

results indicate that, when the sample size is smaller than a certain value, the increase of

effective piezoelectricity slows down. This finding also shows the importance of a numerical tool

for the study of flexoelectric problems.

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Keywords: Mixed finite elements; Flexoelectricity; Nanostructure; Strain gradient effect

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1. Introduction

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Piezoelectricity is the most exploited electromechanical coupling that links the electric field and

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strain [1-5] . However, this coupling is not universal but only exists in non-centrosymmetric

materials. Flexoelectricity is another attractive electromechanical phenomenon that describes the

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coupling between strain gradients and electric fields [6, 7]. Compared with piezoelectricity,

flexoelectricity exists in all dielectrics and including ones that are non-piezoelectric [8-10].
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Particularly, flexoelectricity has been studied intensively for a wide variety of materials,
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including crystalline materials [11-14], liquid crystals [6, 15-17], polymers [9, 18, 19] and lipid
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bilayer membranes [20-22]. Another feature that makes flexoelectricity different from
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piezoelectricity is the size-dependency. At the macroscale, flexoelectricity is very weak. But,

when down to the nanometer length scale, it can be very strong since the strain gradient usually
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increases reciprocally with the decrease of sample size. In recent years, flexoelectricity has
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attracted the attentions from different fields. In a recent review article by Krichen and Sharma, it
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is pointed out that flexoelectricity is probably contributing to our hearing mechanism [23].
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Tagantsev intensively discussed flexoelectricity by comparing it with piezoelectricity and

developed a theoretical framework for solid crystalline materials [12, 24]. Sharma and

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

coworkers established a systematic mathematical framework for flexoelectricity [25, 26] and

analytically solved problems with simple geometry and boundary conditions. Then, Shen and Hu

introduced surface effects to the theoretical framework of flexoelectricity [27]. Deng et al. [28]

developed a nonlinear flexoelectric theory which can be used to study flexoelectricity in soft

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materials under large deformation. Analytical approaches for flexoelectricity usually involve

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boundary value problems (BVPs) described by a set of fourth order partial differential equations

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and only few of those with simple geometry and boundary conditions can be solved analytically.

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Most recently, Deng et al. proposed a nanoscale energy harvesting system based on the

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flexoelectric effect [29]. Liang et al. studied the performance of layered flexoelectric energy

harvesters and found that the energy conversion efficiency for a triple layer system is much

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larger than the single and double layer systems [30]. Gharbi et al. studied a nanoindentation

problem with the consideration flexoelectricity and showed the importance of size effect [31,
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32]. But for practical problems with more complex geometries, it is very difficult to obtain
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analytical solutions.
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As well as theoretical works, a lot of experiments on flexoelectricity also have been done.

Flexoelectricity was experimentally discovered in liquid crystals [6]. Later, most experimental
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works were focused on the measurement of flexoelectric coefficients. Cross and coworkers
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designed a model of compressed pyramid to measure the flexoelectric coefficients of materials


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[33, 34]. Harden et al. presented a direct method for measuring the flexoelectric coefficients of
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nematic liquid crystals via the electric current [35]. Lu et al. developed an improved approach to

measure the direct flexoelectric coefficient of bulk polyvinylidene fluoride based on charge

measurement [19]. Also, there are many other interesting works on flexoelectricity have been

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

done. Lu et al. experimentally studied the polarization switching in ferroelectric thin films [36].

With a nano thin film, Lee et al. showed that flexoelectricity can be used to generate rectifying

diode effect [37]. Recently, Kim et al. proposed a power-saving in-plane switching mode

governed by flexoelectricity [38].

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Compared with theoretical and experimental works, numerical study for flexoelectricity is

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relatively rare. Ginzburg-Landau theory and two-dimensional (2D) phase field simulations were

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used by Ahluwalia et al. [39] and Chen [40] to study the influence of flexoelectricity on domain

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patterns and domain walls in ferroelectrics. Recently, Chen et al. developed a 3 dimensional

phase field method to study the stability and evolution path of various ferroelectric domain

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patterns in nanofilms [41]. In addition, the 2D and 3D meshfree methods were used to simulate

the flexoelectric behavior of compressed pyramid and guide the measurement of flexoelectric
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coefficients [42, 43]. Finite element method is another effective numerical approach for solving
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boundary value problems. Compared with the phase field method and meshfree method, finite
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element method is more general and can be easily cooperated to software packages. But C1
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continuous elements are required when using the traditional displacement based approach as

strain gradients, second order derivatives of displacement, are considered. Most recently,
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Yvonnet and Liu adopted C1 Argyrus triangular elements for the finite element modeling of soft
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flexoelectric solids with finite strains [44]. But C1 continuous elements are usually complicated
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to construct and an alternative way to deal with higher order derivatives is using the so called
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mixed finite elements. In fact, some 2D mixed elements for strain gradient effects have been

developed [45-48]. More recently, Bradley developed a 2D mixed element for flexoelectricity

considering only the electric response to curvature [49]. Mao et al. developed a 2D mixed

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

element considering the full coupling between strain gradients and electric polarization. In our

recent work [50], several typical 2D mixed finite elements for flexoelectricity were developed

based on the weak form of the principle of virtual work. Ghasemi et al. and Nanthakumar et al.

also developed a 2D mixed element and studied the topology optimization of flexoelectric

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structures [51, 52].

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So far, all the developed mixed elements are 2D. So, in this paper, we develop a 3D mixed finite

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element for flexoelectric materials. The new developed element has additional nodal degrees of

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freedom for displacement-gradients and Lagrange multipliers which are used to enforce the

relationship between the displacement and its gradient. To validate the developed 3D mixed

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element, we solve a problem of spherical shell under inner/outer pressure both analytically and

numerically. Simulation results also show that flexoelectricity can enhance the stiffness of the
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structure. Then the developed element was used to model the electromechanical behavior of a
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nanometer sized truncated pyramid.


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Here, the outline of this paper is given. In section 1, we present an introduction. The theory with

both flexoelectricity and strain gradient elasticity is shown in section 2. In section 3, the
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implementation of a three dimensional mixed finite element for flexoelectricity is given in


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details. The validation of the developed element is shown in section 4. In section 5, we analyze
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the influence of flexoelectricity on the effective piezoelectric modulus of a non-piezoelectric


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material with microstructure. Section 6 is the conclusion of this paper.

2. Flexoelectricity theory

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

In this chapter, we review the general electromechanical theory for flexoelectricity.

2.1. Governing equations and boundary conditions

For linear electromechanical theory, the enthalpy density in bulk Ω with flexoelectricity and

strain gradient effects can be expressed as:

d
1 1 1 1

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h= σ ijε ij + τ ijkηijk − Di Ei − G ji Ei , j (1)
2 2 2 2

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ε jk (uk , j + u j , k ) / 2 , ηijk = ε jk ,i and Ei = −ϕ,i are strain ,strain gradient
In the above equation, =

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and electric field respectively, where u and φ are the displacement vector and electric potential

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respectively. σ ij and τ ijk are stresses and higher order stress. Di and Gij are electric displacement

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and the higher order electric displacement which are work-conjuncts of electric field Ei and the
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gradient of electric field Ei , j , respectively. Then the total enthalpy can be written as
rip


= ∫ hdv − 

(2)
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where
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 = ∫ bk uk dv + ∫ t u ds + ∫ r γ
k k k k ds − ∫ qϕ ds − ∫ ωθ ds (3)
Ω ∂Ωt ∂Ω r ∂Ω r ∂Ω r
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is the work done by general external forces. In Eq. (3) bk is the body force. γ k and θ are normal
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derivatives of displacement and electric potential respectively on corresponding boundary. tk ,


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rk , q and ω are prescribed external forces. Using variational principle to Eq. (2), both governing
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equations and boundary conditions can be obtained. The governing equations include the
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equation of equilibrium

σ jk , j − τ ijk ,ij + bk =
0 (4)

and the Gaussian equation

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

Di ,i − Gij ,ij =
0 . (5)

The boundary conditions are

(1) traction boundary condition:

=tk σ jk n j − τ ijk , i n j − ∇tj (τ ijk ni ) + ( ∇lt nl ) ni n jτ ijk on ∂Ωt (6)

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(2) displacement boundary condition:

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uk = uk on ∂Ωu (7)

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(3) higher order traction boundary condition:

rk = τ ijk ni n j on ∂Ωr

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(8)

(4) displacement normal derivatives boundary condition:

γ k = uk ,i ni on ∂Ωγ
ot (9)
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(5) electric displacement boundary condition:
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q = Di ni − Gij , j ni − ∇tj (Gij ni ) + (∇tl nl )Gij ni n j on ∂Ωq (10)


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(6) electric potential boundary condition:


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ϕ = ϕ on ∂Ωφ (11)
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(7) higher order electric displacement boundary condition:

ω = Gij ni n j on ∂Ωω (12)


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(8) electric potential normal derivatives boundary condition:


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θ = ϕ,k nk on ∂Ωθ (13)


ce

where n is the outward unite normal vector of boundary surfaces and


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∂ ∂
∇tj (=
) () − n j nm () is the tangent gradient operator . In Eqs. (6~13), ∂Ωt  ∂Ωu=∂Ωγ 
∂x j ∂xm

∂Ωγ=∂Ωφ  ∂Ωq=∂Ωω  ∂Ωθ and ∂Ωt  ∂Ωu=∂Ωγ  ∂Ωγ=∂Ωφ  ∂Ωq=∂Ωω  ∂Ωθ = ∅ should be

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

satisfied, where ∂Ω is the boundary surface of bulk Ω. We should note that Eqs. (8~9) and Eqs.

(12~13) are introduced by higher order stress and higher order electric displacement respectively.

The detail derivation for the variational calculus can be found in Appendix A.

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2.2. Constitutive law

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The electrical enthalpy density for dielectric materials with flexoelectricity, piezoelectricity and

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strain gradient elasticity considered can be written as [25, 26]

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1 1 1
h= cijklε ijε kl + aijklmnηijkηlmn − dijk Eiε jk − fijkl Eiη jkl + gijkl E j ,iε kl − κ ij Ei E j (14)

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2 2 2

In Eq. (14), the first and second terms are the strain and strain gradient energy density

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respectively. c and a are related material properties tensors. The following three terms
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correspond to piezoelectricity, direct flexoelectricity and converse flexoelectricity. The
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piezoelectric coefficient tensor denoted by d. f and g are direct and converse flexoelectric
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coefficients respectively. The last term in Eq. (14) is the contribution of electrostatic and κ ij is
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the dielectric constant which is further written as ε 0 (δ ij + χ ij ) , where ε 0 is the dielectric constant
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in vacuum, χ ij represents the electric susceptibility and δ ji is the Kronecker delta symbol. Since

stress, higher order stress, electric displacement and higher order electric displacement are the
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energy conjunct part of strain, strain gradient, electric field and electric field gradient,
pt

respectively, with Eq.(14), we have the following expressions


ce

∂h
σ ij = =cijkl ε kl − d kij Ek − g klij Ek ,l
Ac

(15)
∂ε ij

∂h
τ ijk
= = aijklmnηlmn − flijk El (16)
∂ηijk

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Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

∂h
Di =
− κ ij E j + dijk ε jk + fijklη jkl
= (17)
∂Ei

∂h
Gij =
− − gijkl ε kl
= (18)
∂E j ,i

d
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2.3. Simplified situation for isotropic materials

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Here, we give the simplified situation for isotropic materials. For isotropic materials, the third

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term of Eq. (14) equals zero since piezoelectricity does not exist in materials with

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centrosymmetric crystalline structures. As Converse and direct flexoelectricity can be expressed

in one term using integration by parts [50], converse flexoelectricity is also neglected. Thus, Eq.

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(14) is simplified as
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1 1
h= λε jj ε kk + µε jk ε jk + l 2 (λε jj ,iε kk ,i + 2µε ijε ij )
2 2
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, (19)
1
− f1ε jj ,i Ei − 2 f 2ε ij ,i E j − κ Ei Ei
2
sc

where λ and μ are Lamé constants for elasticity, and l is length scale of material. f1 and f 2 are
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two independent flexoelectric coefficients and κ is dielectric constant. Then Eqs. (15-18) can be
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written as
ed

∂h
σ jk
= = λε iiδ jk + 2 µε jk (20)
∂ε jk
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∂h
= l 2 ( λε ll ,iδ jk + 2 µε jk ,i ) − f1 Eiδ jk − 2 f 2 E jδ ik
ce

τ ijk
= (21)
∂ε jk ,i
Ac

∂h
Di = − = κ Ei + f1ε ll ,i + 2 f 2ε ji , j (22)
∂Ei

Gij = 0 (23)

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Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

Inserting Eqs. (20~23) into governing equations (4~5), we obtain the equilibrium equation and

gauss equation ,which are expressed as

f
ϕ,ii − ∇ 2ui ,i =
0 (24)
κ

d
(λ + µ )(1 − l12∇ 2 )ui ,ik + µ (1 − l 2∇ 2 )uk ,ii =0 (25)

ite
where

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f2
l12= l 2 + , f= f1 + 2 f 2 (26)

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(λ + µ )κ

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Note that the higher order electric displacement boundary conditions can be neglected as the

converse flexoelectricity is not considered and higher order electric displacement equals to

zero.
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tN
rip

3. Implementation of mixed finite element


sc

This section presents the detailed derivation of stiffness matrix for a 3D mixed element with
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both flexoelectricity and strain gradient elasticity effects considered. Then a hexahedral element

is developed in Cartesian coordinate system (x1, x2, x3). In our previous work [50], the principle
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of virtue work has been constructed as


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∫ (σ jk δε jk + τ ijk δψ jk ,i − Diδ Ei )dv + ∫ δα jk (ψ jk − uk , j ) dv + ∫ α jk (δψ jk − δ uk , j ) dv


Ω Ω Ω
(27)
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≈ ∫ bk δ uk dv + ∫ tk δ uk ds + ∫ qδϕ ds + ∫ γ k δϑk ds
Ω ∂Ωt ∂Ωω ∂Ωω
ce

In Eq. (27), there are independent variables not only for displacement vector uk and electric
Ac

potential φ, but also for displacement-gradients ψ jk and Lagrange multipliers α jk which are

used to constrain the relationship between displacements and their gradients. Compared

with conventional displacement-based interpolation approach, Eq. (27) contains no higher

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

order derivatives of independent variables and can be implemented conveniently using C0

continuous element. In the following, we formulate the stiffness matrix for isotropic

materials based on Eq. (27).

First, we present the discrete form of Eq. (27) within a finite element ΩE. In element ΩE,

d
displacement, displacement-gradient, electric potential and Lagrangian multipliers can be

ite
interpolated directly by nodal degrees of freedoms.

ed
ψ 11  α11 
ψ  α 

py
 12   12 
ψ 12  α13 

Co
   
 u1  ψ 21  α 21 
 
=u = , ψ ψ
u2  Bu u= =  Bψ ψ
 , ϕ = Bϕ=
φ , α =
α 22  Bα α (28)
   
22

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 u3  ψ 23  α 23 
ψ  α 
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 31   31 
ψ 32  α 32 
ψ  α 
 33   33 
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In Eq. (28), Bu ,Bψ ,Bφ, and Bα are the interpolation functions of displacement,
sc

displacement-gradient, electric potential and Lagrangian multipliers respectively. Then,


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strain and displacement gradient can be written as


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 ∂1 0 0 
 ∂2 0 
 ε11   0  ∂Bu 
ed

ε   0 0 ∂3   
 22     ∂x1 
ε 33   1 ∂ 1
0 =  ∂Bu 
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ε = ∂1
=  2 2  Bu u Bε u =
, ∇u  =  u B∇uu (29)
ε
 12  
2
 ∂x2 
1 
ce

ε 23   0 1  ∂Bu 
∂3 ∂2 
   2 2   
ε 31    ∂x3 
Ac

1 1 
 ∂3 0 ∂1 
2 2 

Electric field and strain gradient can be obtained as

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Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

 ∂Bϕ   ∂N η 
−   
 ∂x1   ∂x1 
 ∂Bϕ   ∂N η 
E=
−  φ =
B Eφ , η
= =  ψ B ηψ (30)
 ∂x2   ∂x2 
 ∂B   ∂N 
− ϕ   η
 ∂x3   ∂x3 

d
ite
where

ed
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 

py
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Nη =   Bψ (31)

Co
0 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 0
 
0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0

On element boundary ∂ΩE, normal derivatives of displacement can be interpolated as


ot
tN
γ 1 
rip

∂ ∂ ∂
γ = γ 2  = ( n1 + n2 + n3 )Bu u = B γ u (32)
x1 x2 x3
γ 3 
sc

Using constitutive relation Eqs. (20~22) and Eqs. (28~32), discrete form of Eq. (28) can be
nu

written as
Ma

δ u T ∫ BTε Dεε Bε dvu + δ ψ T ∫ BTη Dηη B η dvψ


ΩE ΩE

−δ φ T ∫ E BTE D Eη B η dvψ  T ∫ E BTη DTEη B E dvφ


 −δ ψ
ed

Ω Ω

∫ +δ α  − δ α
B IB ψ dvψ ∫  T ∫ E B Tψ IBα dvα
BαT IB∇u dvu + δ ψ
T T T
(33)
pt

ΩE α ΩE Ω

−δ u ∫ T
BT∇u IBα dvα − δ φ T ∫ BTE D EE B E dvφ
ce

ΩE ΩE

= δ u ∫ T
BTu t E ds + δ u T ∫ BTγ r e ds + δ φ T ∫ BϕT q e ds
∂ΩtE ∂Ω rE ∂Ω qE
Ac

In Eq. (33),I is the unit matrix of 9th order and for isotropic materials

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

λ + 2µ λ λ 0 0 0
 λ λ + 2µ λ 0 0 0 
 l 2 Dεε 0 0 
 λ λ λ + 2µ 0 0 0   
Dεε =   , Dηη =  0
2
l Dεε 0  (34)
 0 0 0 4µ 0 0
 0 0 l 2 Dεε 
 0 0 0 0 4µ 0 
 
 0 0 0 0 0 4µ 

d
ite
 0 2 f2 0 0 0 0 2 f2 
D=  ( f + 2 f )I 2 f2 0 03×4 0 2 f2 0 0 03×4 0 
 1 (35)

ed
Eη 2 3×3

 0 0 2 f2 0 0 2 f2 0 

py
κ 0 0 
=  0 κ 0 

Co
DEE (36)
 0 0 κ 

ot
Then, Eq. (33) can be further written as tN
 u  k uu k uα   u   u 
T T
0 k uφ  Fu 
 φ   0 
0  φ    
  = δ φ 
k φφ k φψ
 Fφ 
rip

δ  (37)
 ψ  k φu k ψφ k ψψ k ψα   ψ   ψ  0
        
 α  k αu 0 k αψ 0   α   α  0
sc
nu

where

K εε = ∫ BεT Dεε Bε dv , K φφ = ∫ B TE DEE B E dv , K ψψ = ∫ E B Tη DηηB ηdv K φψ = ∫ E B TE DEηB ηdv


Ma

Ω Ω Ω Ω

(38)
ed

and
pt

K ψα = ∫ E B Tψ IBα dv , K uα = ∫ E B∇Tu IBα dv , K ψφ = K Tφψ , K αψ = K Tψα , K αu = K Tuα (39)


Ω Ω
ce

In the right hand of Eq. (37)


Ac

=Fu ∫Ω
BuTb Ε dv + ∫
∂ΩtE
BuT t E ds , Fϕ = ∫∂ΩE BϕT q E ds
q
(40)

Thus, stiffness matrix and right hand vector of element are

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k uu 0 k uφ k uα   Fu 
 0 k φφ k φψ 0  F 
E =  , E =  φ  (41)
k φu k ψφ k ψψ k ψα  0
   
k αu 0 k αψ 0  0

Here, we note that the above formulations can be used to anisotropic materials just with certain

d
modifications to constitutive law Eqs. (33~36). Base on Eqs. (28~41), only C0 continuous shape

ite
functions are required. So it is convenient to develop 3 dimensional elements, including

ed
tetrahedron and hexahedral elements . Hexahedral element usually shows better accuracy in

py
predicting the strain gradient and electric field. Strain gradient varies linearly within a hexahedral

Co
element but keeps constant within a tetrahedron element when both of them use the first order

ot
shape functions for displace-gradients. For this consideration, we construct a hexahedral
tN
isoparametric element with 27 nodes, as shown in Fig. 1. The detailed information about this

element is given below.


rip
sc
nu
Ma
ed
pt
ce
Ac

Figure 1. Sketch of a hexahedral element. The element has 27 nodes, 8 corner nodes colored in

black and 19 other nodes colored in red which include 12 edge-centered nodes,6 surface-centered

nodes and a volume-centered node.

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Fig. 1 shows the schematic of the 27-node hexahedral element. It has 233 degrees of freedoms

(DOF) in total. The DOF contains all independent variables in Eq. (27), including displacement

vector u, electric potential φ, more over displacement-gradient ψ and Lagrangian multipliers α.

The corner nodes (in black) of the element in Fig.1 have 22 DOFs in total, including 3

d
displacement components, electric potential, 9 displacement-gradient components and 9

ite
Lagrangian multipliers. For other nodes (in red), there are only three DOFs for displacement. In

ed
the developed element, three components of displacement are interpolated using quadratic

py
Lagrangian shape function and for all other variables only linear Lagrangian shape functions are

Co
used. Meanwhile, 27 Gaussian points integrations are used to calculate element stiffness matrix

and 9 point Newton-Cotes integrations are employed to compute the right hand vector.

ot
tN
4. Validation of element
rip

To validate the performance of the developed mixed finite element, in this section, we first
sc

analytically solve a flexoelectric spherical shell compressed on inner /outer surface. The
nu

analytical solution can provide a benchmark for numerical method of flexoelectricity. Then we
Ma

simulate the same problem with the developed element and compared the numerical result with

analytical solution. The model is showed in Fig. 2


ed
pt
ce
Ac

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d
ite
ed
py
Co
ot
Figure 2. Model of spherical shell subjected to inner/outer pressure pi / po . Inner and outer
tN
radius of the sphere are ρi and ρo .
rip

4.1. Analytical solution


sc

The spherical shell subjected to inner/outer pressure is a spherically symmetric problem. Thus,

both radial displacement and electric potential are only functions of radius ρ. Then we have
nu

uρ = u ( ρ ) (42)
Ma

ϕ = ϕ (ρ ) (43)
ed

and, Eqs. (24~25) in spherical coordinate system can be expressed as


pt

f du 2u
∇ 2ϕ − ∇2 ( + )=0 (44)
ce

κ dρ ρ
Ac

2l02 2u ( ρ )
(1 − l02∇ 2 − )(∇ 2u ( ρ ) − ) =0 (45)
ρ 2
ρ2

where

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f2
l02= l 2 + (46)
(λ + µ )κ

and

d2 2 d
∇=
2
+ (47)
dρ 2
ρ dρ

d
ite
is the Laplace operator in spherical coordinate system. Eqs. (44~45) are solved in detail in

ed
Appendix B and the general solutions are

py
f du 2 C
ϕ ( ρ=
) ( + u ) + 1 + C2 (48)
κ dr ρ ρ

Co
C4 C5 ρ C ρ
u( ρ ) = C3 ρ + + I3 2 ( ) + 6 K3 2 ( ) (49)
ρ 2
ρ l0 ρ l0

ot
tN
where C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, and C6 are six arbitrary constants. I3/2 and K3/2 are 3/2th order modified

Bessel functions of the first and second kind respectively. To determine six arbitrary constants,
rip

six boundary conditions are required. They are two traction boundary conditions
sc

t ρ ( ρi ) = − pi , t ρ ( ρo ) = − po , (50)
nu

two higher order traction boundary conditions


Ma

γ ρ ( ρi ) = 0 , γ ρ ( ρ o ) = 0 , (51)
ed

and two electrical boundary conditions

ϕ ( ρi ) = 0 , Dρ ( ρo ) = 0
pt

. (52)
ce
Ac

4.2. Numerical solution

Now, we use the developed element to simulate the same problem in section 4.2. In the

simulation, we set the inner and outer radius of the sphere to be ρi = 5μm and ρo =25μm

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respectively. The loaded pressure on inner surface is pi =100Mpa and outer pressure is zero.

Material parameters are given in Table 1,where Y is Young’s modulus.

Table 1. Material coefficients

d
ν κ(C/m/v)

ite
Y(GPa) l (µm) f1 ( C/m) f 2 ( C/m)

1.0 × 10−6 1.0 × 10−6 10−9

ed
139.0 0.3 5

py
Co
ot
tN
rip
sc

Figure 3. Finite element model for the 1/8 spherical shell. There are 6000 hexahedral elements in
nu

total, 20 elements on radius and 300 elements on spherical surface. Symmetric boundary
Ma

conditions are used in 3 symmetric surface, (x=0) plane, (y=0) plane and (z=0) plane.
ed

In FEM simulation, we adopt 1/8 model considering symmetry of the sphere and the symmetric
pt

conditions are showed in Fig. 3. The 1/8 sphere contains 6000 hexahedral elements in total and
ce

287,172 DOFs in total. The problem was simulated on a PC and took less than 10 minutes. The
Ac

comparison of numerical result with analytical solution is presented in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4a shows the comparison of FEM result of radial displacement with analytical solution, and

it shows that FEM result has a good agreement with the analytical solution. Moreover, we can

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see the drastic variation of radial displacement near the sphere’s inner surface, which is probably

induced by the stress concentration.

Fig. 4b is the variation of electric potential of both numerical and exact results along the radius

of the spherical shell. FEM result matches well with analytical solutions. As well as the variation

d
of displacement shown in Fig. 4a, the electric potential also varies dramatically near the inner

ite
surface. Sudden variation of displacement in the area near inner surface can induce large strain

ed
gradient. Thus remarkable polarization can be generated because of flexoelectricity.

py
Co
ot
tN
rip
sc
nu

Figure 4. Comparison of FEM results with analytical solutions. (a) FEM result and analytical
Ma

solution of radial displacement uρ vs. radius. (b) FEM and analytical result of electric potential φ
ed

vs. radius ρ. All the FEM results are adopted from the nodal DOF on the sphere’s centered line
pt

(x=y =z).
ce
Ac

We also analyze the influence of flexoelectricity on the stiffness of the material. In the following

simulations, we consider 4 cases with different flexoelectric coefficients ( f = 0 μC/m, f = 5

μC/m, f = 10 μC/m and f = 15 μC/m) and keep all the other material parameters constants.

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Fig. 5a shows the variation of the radial displacement vs. the radius for different flexoelectric

coefficients ( f = 0 μC/m, f = 5 μC/m, f = 10 μC/m and f = 15 μC/m). We can see from the

figure that the deformation decreases with the increase of flexoelectric coefficients. It is also

shown that, for different flexoelectric coefficients, the developed element performs excellently

d
by comparing with analytical solutions.

ite
In Fig. 5b, we plot the variation of radial displacement at inner surface vs. inner pressure. It is

ed
shown that, the slope of displacement-pressure curve, which can be defined as the flexibility of

py
the sphere, decreases when the flexoelectric coefficient increases. Thus, we conclude here that

Co
flexoelectricity can influence the stiffness of structure and this may be used to measure

ot
flexoelectric coefficients. tN
rip
sc
nu
Ma
ed
pt

Figure 5. (a) FEM result and analytical solution of radial displacement uρ vs. radius ρ for
ce

different flexoelectric coefficients. (b) Analytical result of radial displacement uρ at inner


Ac

surface vs. Inner pressure pi for different flexoelectric coefficients.

5. Application

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As is known, piezoelectricity exists only in non-centrosymmetric materials. Compared with

piezoelectricity, flexoelectricity is a universal electromechanical coupling exsists in all

dielectrics. But flexoelectricity is very weak at the macroscale. A possible solution is to design

nano-sized structures. Via this approach, non-piezoelectric materials can show apparent

d
piezoelectricity. Fig. 6 shows the sketch of material with truncated pyramids microstructure.

ite
ed
py
Co
ot
tN
Figure 6. Sketch of dielectric material with micro pyramid structures
rip

Here we simulate the microstructure subjected to uniform pressure using the developed mixed
sc

element. Since the generated electric potential directly response to the applied pressure, its
nu

performance is similar to a piezoelectric material. In the following, we evaluate the equivalent


Ma

piezoelectric modules for different flexoelectric coefficients and size of the micro structure.
ed
pt
ce
Ac

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d
ite
ed
py
Figure 7. (a) Schematic of nano pyramid subjected to uniform pressure at top surface. At the

Co
bottom of the model, electric potential and displacement component at height direction are set to

ot
zero. (b) Grid information in simulation. There are 2,800 elements and 151,357 DOFs in total.
tN
Symmetric boundary conditions are used in symmetric surface, (x=0) plane, (y=0) plane.
rip

Fig.7a shows the schematic of the microstructure. The structure is at the scale of hundreds of
sc

nanometers. At the top surface, a uniform pressure of 100 MPa is applied. At the bottom surface,
nu

electric potential and displacement components at height direction are fixed to zero. Fig.7b is the
Ma

FE model for Fig.7a. There are 2800 developed elements and 151,357 DOF in total. Table 2 lists

corresponding material properties.


ed
pt

Table 2. Material coefficients


ce

Y(GPa) ν l (nm) f1 ( C/m) f 2 ( C/m) κ(C/m/v)


Ac

139.0 0.3 50 0.1 × 10−6 0.1 × 10−6 10−9

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d
ite
ed
py
Figure 8. (a) Color map of electric potential generated by flexoelectricity. (b) Variation of

Co
electric potential and strain ( ε zz ) vs. height.

ot
Fig. 8a shows the result of electric potential in the structure. We can see there is a potential
tN
difference of several hundreds of millivolts between the bottom and top surface. However, the
rip

in-plane potential differences on both bottom and top surfaces are very small. Thus, the average
sc

electric field in the material can run up to 106 V/m. Fig. 8b shows the variation of electric
nu

potential and strain vs. height along the centre line(x=0 and y=0). As z increases from 0 to about
Ma

170nm, both the absolute values of potential and strain increase accordingly. This is because that

the area of cross section decrease with z. But, when z further increases to about 250nm, the
ed

absolute values of electric potential and strain have a remarkable decrease and reach their
pt

minimums at the vicinity of 250nm. At the corners of z=250nm cross section, there are severe
ce

stress concentration. Because of the stress concentration, the local stress increases at the corners
Ac

but decreases at the centre of z=250nm cross section. Thus, the strain and electric potential,

showed in Fig. 8b, are very small at z=250nm. Overall, a voltage difference can be generated in

response to the applied pressure, just as piezoelectricity. The effective piezoelectric modulus is

defined as following:

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| κ E | | κϕ |
=
d eff = (53)
p pH
where, p is the applied pressure on the top surface and E is the average electric field. ϕ is the

average electric potential on the top surface and H is the height of the micro structure. Using Eq.

d
(53), d eff is around several tens of pC/N. Then, we study how would flexoelectric coefficients

ite
and the size of the structure H affect d eff .

ed
py
We first change the flexoelectric coefficients from f1 = f 2 =0.1μC/m to f1 = f 2 =2.0μC/m and with

Co
all other material properties unchanged. Fig. 9a shows the calculation results of d eff vs.

ot
flexoelectric coefficients for different H (H=300nm, 600nm, 900nm, 1200nm and 1500nm).
tN
From Fig. 9a, we can see that, for each size parameter H, the effective piezoelectric modulus d eff
rip

increases linearly with the increase of flexoelectric coefficients. For samples with smaller H, d eff
sc

varies faster with respect to flexoelectric coefficients. Particularly, the effective piezoelectricity
nu

can be 200pC/N/m2 and even larger when flexoelectric coefficients increase to the order of

μC/m. Fig. 9a also shows that the smaller the size of microstructure, the larger d eff can be
Ma

obtained.
ed
pt
ce
Ac

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Figure 9. (a) Variation of effective piezoelectric modulus vs. flexoelectric coefficients for

different size of microstructure. (b) Variation of effective piezoelectric modulus vs. the size of

microstructure for different flexoelectric coefficients.

d
To further study how would d eff changes with the sample size. In Fig. 9b, we plot the change of

ite
d eff with respect to H for different flexoelectric coefficients. It has been thought that d eff should

ed
py
increase reciprocally with the decrease of H [33]. So the increase of d eff was expected to be faster

Co
and faster with the decrease of H. But Fig.9b indicates that this trend slows down as the sample

size H is smaller 500nm. Similar phenomenon has been observed in one of our recent theoretical

ot
works for truncated cones [53]. This slow down is probably caused by the effect of strain
tN
gradient elasticity and the influence of flexoelectricity on stiffness. Thus, we conclude here that
rip

for nano sized flexoelectric sample, simplified theoretical model may lead to significant
sc

inaccuracy and a numerical simulation is needed.


nu

6. Conclusion
Ma

In this work, we developed a 3D mixed finite element for flexoelectricity incorporating strain
ed

gradient effects. For the developed element, we introduced displacement gradient and
pt

Lagrangian multipliers as additional nodal degrees of freedom. The Lagrangian multipliers are
ce

used to constrain the relationship between displacements and their gradients. Therefore, the forth

order BVP for flexoelectricity is reduced to a second order BVP and the complex C1 continuous
Ac

shape function can be avoided. To validate the developed mixed finite element, we solved the

problem of a flexoelectric spherical shell under inner/outer pressure. The comparison between

numerical and analytical results shows that the developed element performs well in predicting

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the electromechanical behaviors of 3D flexoelectric nanostructures. Meanwhile, we calculated

the deformations of flexoelectric spherical shell for different flexoelectric coefficients and found

that flexoelectricity could increase the stiffness of the structure. Using the developed element, we

also simulated a complex nanostructure contains a truncated pyramid. Our simulation result

d
verified that non-piezoelectric material with certain structures could perform like a piezoelectric

ite
material. Furthermore, we numerically studied the influence of the flexoelectric coefficients and

ed
sample size on the effective piezoelectric modulus. The simulation results demonstrate that

py
increasing the flexoelectric coefficients of the material or decreasing the size of the truncated

Co
pyramid can significantly enhance the effective piezoelectricity of the system. An interesting

finding here is that the dependency of the effective piezoelectricity on the sample size is not

ot
tN
trivial. Keep decreasing the sample size may not always lead to larger effective piezoelectricity.

In order to predict how much effective piezoelectricity we can be obtained by decreasing the
rip

sample size, a numerical simulation is probably needed.


sc
nu

Acknowledgement
Ma

Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants

No. 11372238, 11632014, 11602189 and 11672222) and the Chang Jiang Scholar program. The
ed

support from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant No. 2015M580835) and the
pt

Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (XJJ2016071) was also appreciated.
ce
Ac

Appendix A

Here we present details for the derivation of the governing equations and the boundary

conditions using variational principle. The variational of the total enthalpy can be written as

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δ= ∫

(σ jk δ uk , j + τ ijk δ uk ,ij + Diδϕ,i + G jiδϕ,ij − bk δ uk )dv
(A.1)
−∫ tk δ uk ds + ∫ rk δγ k ds + ∫ qδϕ ds + ∫ ωδθ ds
∂Ωt ∂Ω r ∂Ω q ∂Ωω

Using Gauss divergence theorem, we have

∫ (σ ijδε ij + τ ijk δηijk − bk δ uk )dv =

d

(A.2)
∫ (−σ jk , j + τ ijk ,ij − bk )δ uk + ∫ (σ jk − τ ijk ,i )n jδ uk + ∫ (τ ijk ni )δ uk , j

ite
Ω ∂Ω ∂Ω

ed
and

py
∫ Ω
( Diδϕ,i + G jiδϕ,ij )dv =
(A.3)
∫ (− Di ,i + Gij ,ij )dv + ∫ ( Di − Gij , j )niδϕ ds + ∫ Gij n jδϕ,i ds

Co
Ω ∂Ω ∂Ω

As pointed out in [54], variational of the gradient of electric potential and displacement are not

independent, thus we rewrite the last term of Eq. (A.2) and Eq. (A.3) as
ot
tN
∫∂Ω
(τ=
ijk ni )δ uk , j ∫ τ n n jδ (uk ,m nm )ds + ∫ τ ijk niδ (∇tj uk )ds
∂Ω ijk i ∂Ω
(A.4)
rip

∫∂Ω ij n jδϕ,i ds
G= ∫ ∂Ω
Gij n j niδ (ϕ,m nm )ds + ∫ Gij n jδ (∇tiϕ )ds
∂Ω
(A.5)
sc

Using Stokes theorem, the second integral in right hand of Eqs (A.4) and (A.5) can be
nu

respectively written as
Ma

∫ ∂Ω
(τ=
ijk ni )δ uk , j ∫ τ n n jδ (uk ,m nm )ds + ∫ τ ijk niδ (∇tj uk )ds
∂Ω ijk i ∂Ω
(A.6)
ed

∫ ∂Ω ij n jδϕ,i ds
G= ∫ ∂Ω
Gij n j niδ (ϕ,m nm )ds + ∫ Gij n jδ (∇tiϕ )ds
∂Ω
(A.7)
pt

Using Eqs. (A.2-A.7), Eq. (A.1) can be written as


ce

δ  = ∫ (−σ jk + τ ijk ,ij − bk )δ uk dv + ∫ (− Di ,i + Gij ,ij )δϕ dv


Ac

Ω Ω

− ∫ [ tk − (σ jk − τ ijk ,i )ni + ∇ (τ ijk ni ) − (∇lt nl )τ ijk ni n j ]δ uk ds − ∫


t
j (rk − τ ijk ni n j )δγ k ds (A.8)
∂Ωt ∂Ω r

−∫ [q − ( Di − Gij , j )ni + ∇ti (Gij n j ) − (∇tl nl )Gij ni n j ]δϕ ds − ∫ (ω − Gij ni n j )δθ ds


∂Ω q ∂Ωω

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According to minimum energy principle, δ 


=0 should be satisfied. Thus we can obtain the

governing equations

σ jk , j − τ ijk ,ij + bk =
0 (A.9)

and

d
Di ,i − Gij ,ij =

ite
0 (A.10)

ed
The boundary conditions can also be obtained as Eqs. (6-13).

py
Appendix B

Co
In this Appendix, we give the detail for solving Eqs. (29) and (30).

ot
f du 2u
∇ 2ϕ − ∇2 ( + )=0 (B.1)
κ dρ ρ
tN
2l02 2u ( ρ )
rip

(1 − l02∇ 2 − )(∇ 2u ( ρ ) − ) =0 (B.2)


ρ 2
ρ2
sc

First, we rewrite Eq. (B.2) as


nu

(1 − l02 L) Lu =
0 (B.3)
Ma

d2 2 d 2
where, L= + − 2 is a differential operator. The general solution of Eq. (B.3) can be
dρ 2
ρ dρ ρ
ed

obtained by solving following two equations


pt

Lu = 0 (B.4)
ce

(1 − l02 L)u =
u0 (B.5)
Ac

where, u0 is the general solution of Eq. (B.4). Eq. (B.4) is an Euler equation and its general

solution can obtained easily as

C2
ρ ) C1 ρ +
u0 (= (B.6)
ρ2

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Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
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where C1 and C2 are constants to be determined. Eq. (B.5) is an inhomogeneous equation and its

solution obtained by cooperating one of its particular solution and the general solution of its

homogeneous part. Also, we find that u0 is one of the particular solutions of Eq. (B.5). Thus, we

just need to find the general solution of the following homogeneous equation.

d
ite
2l02
(1 − l02∇ 2 − )u =0 (B.7)
ρ2

ed
To obtain the general solution of Eq. (B.7), we let

py
ρ = l0 x (B.8)

Co
1
u(ρ ) = y ( x) (B.9)
2x

Then, Eq. (B.7) can be written as


ot
tN
d2y dy 9
x 2
+ x − ( x2 + ) y =
0 (B.10)
rip

2
dx dx 4
sc

Eq. (B.10) is a modified Bessel equation and its solution is

=
y ( x) A1 I 3 2 ( x) + A2 K 3 2 ( x)
nu

(B.11)

where, A1 and A2 are two constants to be determined. I3/2 and K3/2 are 3/2th order modified
Ma

Bessel functions of the first and second kind respectively. Using Eqs. (B.8) and (B.9), the general
ed

solution of Eq. (B.7) can be obtained as


pt

C3 ρ C ρ
u1 ( ρ )
= I3 2 ( ) + 4 K3 2 ( ) (B.12)
ρ l0 ρ l0
ce
Ac

where

1 1
C3 = A1 , C4 = A2 (B.13)
2l0 2l0

Then, the solution of Eqs.(B.) and (B.5) can be written as

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

C2 C3 ρ C ρ
u ( ρ ) = C1 ρ + + I3 2 ( ) + 4 K3 2 ( ) (B.14)
ρ 2
ρ l0 ρ l0

To solve Eq. (B.1), we let

f du 2u
ζ (ρ ) =
ϕ− ( + ) (B.15)
κ dρ ρ

d
ite
Then Eq. (B.1) can be written as

ed
∇ 2ζ =
0 (B.16)

py
and the general solution of Eq. (B.16) can be obtained easily as

Co
C6
ζ ( ρ=
) C5 + (B.17)
ρ

ot
Therefore, the general solution of Eq. (B.1) is tN
f du 2u C
ϕ (=
ρ) ( + ) + C5 + 6 (B.18)
κ dρ ρ ρ
rip
sc

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nu

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Ma

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Journal of Applied Mechanics. Received November 17, 2017;
Accepted manuscript posted January 10, 2018. doi:10.1115/1.4038919
Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

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nu

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Ma

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Copyright (c) 2017 by ASME

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