Owing to its unique multifunctional and scale-dependent physical properties, graphene is emerged as promising reinforcement to enhance the overall response of nanotailored composite materials. Most recently, the piezoelectricity phenomena in graphene sheets was found through interplay between different non-centrosymmetric pores, curvature and flexoelectricity phenomena. This has added new multifunctionality to existing graphene and it seems the use of piezoelectric graphene in composites has yet to be fully explored. In this article, the mechanics of materials and finite element models were developed to predict the effective piezoelectric and elastic (piezoelastic) properties of the graphene reinforced nanocomposite material (GRNC). An analytical model based on the linear piezoelectricity and Euler beam theories was also developed to investigate the electromechanical response of GRNC cantilever beam under both electrical and mechanical loads accounting the flexoelectric effect. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to determine the elastic properties of graphene which were used to develop the analytical and numerical models herein. The current results reveal that the flexoelectric effect on the elastic behavior of bending of nanocomposite beams is significant. The electromechanical behavior of GRNC cantilever beam can be tailored to achieve the desired response via a number of ways such as by varying the volume fraction of graphene layer and the application of electrical load. Our fundamental study highlights the possibility of developing lightweight and high performance piezoelectric graphene based nanoelectromechanical systems such as sensors, actuators, switches and smart electronics as compared with the existing heavy, brittle and toxic piezoelectric materials.

由于其独特的多功能性和取决于比例的物理特性，石墨烯作为增强纳米定制复合材料整体响应的有前途的增强材料而出现。最近，石墨烯片中的压电现象是通过不同的非中心对称孔，曲率和弯曲电现象之间的相互作用而发现的。这为现有的石墨烯增加了新的多功能性，似乎压电石墨烯在复合材料中的使用尚待充分研究。在本文中，开发了材料力学和有限元模型，以预测石墨烯增强纳米复合材料（GRNC）的有效压电和弹性（压电弹性）性能。还建立了基于线性压电性和欧拉束理论的分析模型，以研究考虑挠性电效应的GRNC悬臂梁在机电载荷下的机电响应。此外，进行了分子动力学模拟以确定石墨烯的弹性性质，所述弹性性质用于开发本文的分析和数值模型。目前的结果表明，柔电效应对纳米复合材料梁弯曲的弹性行为具有重要意义。可以通过多种方式来调整GRNC悬臂梁的机电行为，以实现所需的响应，例如通过改变石墨烯层的体积分数和施加电负载。