A review of piezoelectric polymers as functional materials for electromechanical transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramadan, Khaled S; Evoy, S; Sameoto, D

2014-01-01

Polymer based MEMS and microfluidic devices have the advantages of mechanical flexibility, lower fabrication cost and faster processing over silicon based ones. Also, many polymer materials are considered biocompatible and can be used in biological applications. A valuable class of polymers for microfabricated devices is piezoelectric functional polymers. In addition to the normal advantages of polymers, piezoelectric polymers can be directly used as an active material in different transduction applications. This paper gives an overview of piezoelectric polymers based on their operating principle. This includes three main categories: bulk piezoelectric polymers, piezocomposites and voided charged polymers. State-of-the-art piezopolymers of each category are presented with a focus on fabrication techniques and material properties. A comparison between the different piezoelectric polymers and common inorganic piezoelectric materials (PZT, ZnO, AlN and PMN–PT) is also provided in terms of piezoelectric properties. The use of piezopolymers in different electromechanical devices is also presented. This includes tactile sensors, energy harvesters, acoustic transducers and inertial sensors. (topical review)

Simulation Study on Material Property of Cantilever Piezoelectric Vibration Generator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Zhen

2014-06-01

Full Text Available For increasing generating capacity of cantilever piezoelectric vibration generator with limited volume, relation between output voltage, inherent frequency and material parameter of unimorph, bimorph in series type and bimorph in parallel type piezoelectric vibration generator is analyzed respectively by mechanical model and finite element modeling. The results indicate PZT-4, PZT- 5A and PZT-5H piezoelectric materials and stainless steel, nickel alloy substrate material should be firstly chosen.

Fundamental analysis of piezocatalysis process on the surfaces of strained piezoelectric materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Starr, Matthew B; Wang, Xudong

2013-01-01

Recently, the strain state of a piezoelectric electrode has been found to impact the electrochemical activity taking place between the piezoelectric material and its solution environment. This effect, dubbed piezocatalysis, is prominent in piezoelectric materials because the strain state and electronic state of these materials are strongly coupled. Herein we develop a general theoretical analysis of the piezocatalysis process utilizing well-established piezoelectric, semiconductor, molecular orbital and electrochemistry frameworks. The analysis shows good agreement with experimental results, reproducing the time-dependent voltage drop and H₂ production behaviors of an oscillating piezoelectric Pb(Mg₁/₃Nb₂/₃)O₃-32PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT) cantilever in deionized water environment. This study provides general guidance for future experiments utilizing different piezoelectric materials, such as ZnO, BaTiO₃, PbTiO₃, and PMN-PT. Our analysis indicates a high piezoelectric coupling coefficient and a low electrical conductivity are desired for enabling high electrochemical activity; whereas electrical permittivity must be optimized to balance piezoelectric and capacitive effects.

Piezoelectricity in Two-Dimensional Materials

KAUST Repository

Wu, Tao

2015-02-25

Powering up 2D materials: Recent experimental studies confirmed the existence of piezoelectricity - the conversion of mechanical stress into electricity - in two-dimensional single-layer MoS2 nanosheets. The results represent a milestone towards embedding low-dimensional materials into future disruptive technologies. © 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Piezoelectricity in Two-Dimensional Materials

KAUST Repository

Wu, Tao; Zhang, Hua

2015-01-01

Powering up 2D materials: Recent experimental studies confirmed the existence of piezoelectricity - the conversion of mechanical stress into electricity - in two-dimensional single-layer MoS2 nanosheets. The results represent a milestone towards

Elastomer degradation sensor using a piezoelectric material

Science.gov (United States)

Olness, Dolores U.; Hirschfeld, deceased, Tomas B.

1990-01-01

A method and apparatus for monitoring the degradation of elastomeric materials is provided. Piezoelectric oscillators are placed in contact with the elastomeric material so that a forced harmonic oscillator with damping is formed. The piezoelectric material is connected to an oscillator circuit,. A parameter such as the resonant frequency, amplitude or Q value of the oscillating system is related to the elasticity of the elastomeric material. Degradation of the elastomeric material causes changes in its elasticity which, in turn, causes the resonant frequency, amplitude or Q of the oscillator to change. These changes are monitored with a peak height monitor, frequency counter, Q-meter, spectrum analyzer, or other measurement circuit. Elasticity of elastomers can be monitored in situ, using miniaturized sensors.

An Assessment of New Applications for Single-Crystal Piezoelectric Materials

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Veitch, Lisa

1998-01-01

Piezoelectricity was first discovered by the Curie brothers in 1880. During the 1940s, piezoelectric ceramic materials were first used in commercial devices, and new materials and other applications have continued to develop over the years...

Integration of Geometrical and Material Nonlinear Energy Sink with Piezoelectric Material Energy Harvester

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye-Wei Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel design by integrating geometrical and material nonlinear energy sink (NES with a piezoelectric-based vibration energy harvester under shock excitation, which can realize vibration control and energy harvesting. The nonlinear spring and hysteresis behavior of the NES could reflect geometrical and material nonlinearity, respectively. Two configurations of the piezoelectric device, including the piezoelectric element embedded between the NES mass and the single-degree-of-freedom system or ground, are utilised to examine the energy dissipated by damper and hysteresis behavior of NES and the energy harvested by the piezoelectric element. Similar numerical research methods of Runge-Kutta algorithm are used to investigate the two configurations. The energy transaction measure (ETM is adopted to examine the instantaneous energy transaction between the primary and the NES-piezoelectricity system. And it demonstrates that the dissipated and harvested energy transaction is transferred from the primary system to the NES-piezoelectricity system and the instantaneous transaction of mechanical energy occupies a major part of the energy of transaction. Both figurations could realize vibration control efficiently.

Energy harvesting with piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials

CERN Document Server

Muensit, Nantakan

2011-01-01

The purpose of this book is to present the current state of knowledge in the field of energy harvesting using piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials. The book is addressed to students and academics engaged in research in the fields of energy harvesting, material sciences and engineering. Scientists and engineers who are working in the area of energy conservation and renewable energy resources should find it useful as well. Explanations of fundamental physical properties such as piezoelectricity and pyroelectricity are included to aid the understanding of the non-specialist. Specific technolo

Energy Harvesting From Low Frequency Applications Using Piezoelectric Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Huidong; Tian, Chuan; Deng, Zhiqun

2014-11-06

This paper reviewed the state of research on piezoelectric energy harvesters. Various types of harvester configurations, piezoelectric materials, and techniques used to improve the mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency were discussed. Most of the piezoelectric energy harvesters studied today have focused on scavenging mechanical energy from vibration sources due to their abundance in both natural and industrial environments. Cantilever beams have been the most studied structure for piezoelectric energy harvester to date because of the high responsiveness to small vibrations.

Advances in Lead-Free Piezoelectric Materials for Sensors and Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob L. Jones

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectrics have widespread use in today’s sensor and actuator technologies. However, most commercially available piezoelectric materials, e.g., Pb [ZrxTi1-x] O3 (PZT,are comprised of more than 60 weight percent lead (Pb. Dueto its harmful effects, there is a strong impetus to identify new lead-free replacement materials with comparable properties to those of PZT. This review highlights recent developments in several lead-free piezoelectric materials including BaTiO3, Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3, K0.5Bi0.5TiO3, Na0.5K0.5NbO3, and their solid solutions. The factors that contribute to strong piezoelectric behavior are described and a summary of the properties for the various systems is provided.

Critical Role of Monoclinic Polarization Rotation in High-Performance Perovskite Piezoelectric Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hui; Chen, Jun; Fan, Longlong; Ren, Yang; Pan, Zhao; Lalitha, K V; Rödel, Jürgen; Xing, Xianran

2017-07-07

High-performance piezoelectric materials constantly attract interest for both technological applications and fundamental research. The understanding of the origin of the high-performance piezoelectric property remains a challenge mainly due to the lack of direct experimental evidence. We perform in situ high-energy x-ray diffraction combined with 2D geometry scattering technology to reveal the underlying mechanism for the perovskite-type lead-based high-performance piezoelectric materials. The direct structural evidence reveals that the electric-field-driven continuous polarization rotation within the monoclinic plane plays a critical role to achieve the giant piezoelectric response. An intrinsic relationship between the crystal structure and piezoelectric performance in perovskite ferroelectrics has been established: A strong tendency of electric-field-driven polarization rotation generates peak piezoelectric performance and vice versa. Furthermore, the monoclinic M_{A} structure is the key feature to superior piezoelectric properties as compared to other structures such as monoclinic M_{B}, rhombohedral, and tetragonal. A high piezoelectric response originates from intrinsic lattice strain, but little from extrinsic domain switching. The present results will facilitate designing high-performance perovskite piezoelectric materials by enhancing the intrinsic lattice contribution with easy and continuous polarization rotation.

Piezoelectric materials mimic the function of the cochlear sensory epithelium.

Science.gov (United States)

Inaoka, Takatoshi; Shintaku, Hirofumi; Nakagawa, Takayuki; Kawano, Satoyuki; Ogita, Hideaki; Sakamoto, Tatsunori; Hamanishi, Shinji; Wada, Hiroshi; Ito, Juichi

2011-11-08

Cochlear hair cells convert sound vibration into electrical potential, and loss of these cells diminishes auditory function. In response to mechanical stimuli, piezoelectric materials generate electricity, suggesting that they could be used in place of hair cells to create an artificial cochlear epithelium. Here, we report that a piezoelectric membrane generated electrical potentials in response to sound stimuli that were able to induce auditory brainstem responses in deafened guinea pigs, indicating its capacity to mimic basilar membrane function. In addition, sound stimuli were transmitted through the external auditory canal to a piezoelectric membrane implanted in the cochlea, inducing it to vibrate. The application of sound to the middle ear ossicle induced voltage output from the implanted piezoelectric membrane. These findings establish the fundamental principles for the development of hearing devices using piezoelectric materials, although there are many problems to be overcome before practical application.

Flexible-CMOS and biocompatible piezoelectric AlN material for MEMS applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, Nathan; Keeney, Lynette; Mathewson, Alan

2013-01-01

The development of a CMOS compatible flexible piezoelectric material is desired for numerous applications and in particular for biomedical MEMS devices. Aluminum nitride (AlN) is the most commonly used CMOS compatible piezoelectric material, which is typically deposited on Si in order to enhance the c-axis (002) crystal orientation which gives AlN its high piezoelectric properties. This paper reports on the successful deposition of AlN on polyimide (PI-2611) material. The AlN deposited has a FWHM (002) value of 5.1° and a piezoelectric d 33 value of 1.12 pm V −1 , and SEM images show high quality columnar grains. The highly crystalline AlN material is due to the semi-crystalline properties of the polyimide film used. Cytotoxicity testing showed the AlN/polyimide material to be non-toxic to 3T3 cells and primary neurons. Surface properties of the AlN/polyimide film were evaluated as they have a significant effect on the adhesion of cells to the film. The results show neurons adhering to the AlN surface. The results of this paper show the characterization of a new flexible-CMOS and biocompatible AlN/polyimide material for MEMS devices with improved crystallinity and piezoelectric properties. (paper)

Cross-poling textures in a lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Shan; Bowman, Keith J.

2000-01-01

Tetragonal ferroelectric materials are polarized to induce the anisotropy necessary for the piezoelectric effect. This poling of the material is inherently an orientation process. Pole figure texture measurements of poling and cross-poling in a lead zirconate titanate Navy VI material show domain motion. The resulting axisymmetric and three-dimensional textures demonstrate the contribution of 90 degree sign domain motion to piezoelectricity. Cross-poling results in strong orientations with lower applied fields than in the initial poling steps. (c) 2000 Materials Research Society

Applications of Piezoelectric Materials in Structural Health Monitoring and Repair: Selected Research Examples.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Wen Hui; Wang, Quan; Quek, Ser Tong

2010-12-06

The paper reviews the recent applications of piezoelectric materials in structural health monitoring and repair conducted by the authors. First, commonly used piezoelectric materials in structural health monitoring and structure repair are introduced. The analysis of plain piezoelectric sensors and actuators and interdigital transducer and their applications in beam, plate and pipe structures for damage detection are reviewed in detail. Second, an overview is presented on the recent advances in the applications of piezoelectric materials in structural repair. In addition, the basic principle and the current development of the technique are examined.

Applications of Piezoelectric Materials in Structural Health Monitoring and Repair: Selected Research Examples

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ser Tong Quek

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The paper reviews the recent applications of piezoelectric materials in structural health monitoring and repair conducted by the authors. First, commonly used piezoelectric materials in structural health monitoring and structure repair are introduced. The analysis of plain piezoelectric sensors and actuators and interdigital transducer and their applications in beam, plate and pipe structures for damage detection are reviewed in detail. Second, an overview is presented on the recent advances in the applications of piezoelectric materials in structural repair. In addition, the basic principle and the current development of the technique are examined.

Fundamentals of piezoelectric sensorics mechanical, dielectric, and thermodynamical properties of piezoelectric materials

CERN Document Server

Tichý, Jan; Kittinger, Erwin; Prívratská, Jana; Privatska, Jana; Janovec, Vaclav

2010-01-01

This book presents the physics of piezoleletric sensors in a straight-forward and easy-to-grasp way, from the fundamentals of phenomenological crystal physics through more complex concepts, to its explanation of several important piezoelectric materials.

Various aspects of the placement of a piezoelectric material in composite actuators, motors, and transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lierke, Ernst Gunter; Littmann, Walter; Morita, Takeshi; Hemsel, Tobias

2010-01-01

Piezoelectric materials have found wide applications in technical systems. Most often, a combination of piezoelectric and other materials is advantageous. The position and the amount of the piezoelectric material within the overall system depends on various aspects, such as the maximum mechanical output to the load, the maximum electromechanical efficiency of the system, the maximum utilization of the piezoelectric material, the minimum self-heating of the piezoelectric material, and the controllability of the system, which might be key aspects for the optimization of the system design. For a composite longitudinal vibrator (bolted Langevin transducer), which is a base for many technical applications, this contribution shows in detail, how the above-mentioned aspects depend on the position and the volume of the piezoelectric material related to the mode shape.

Recent developments in piezoelectric ceramic materials and deterioration of their properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasha, R.A.; Khan, M.Z.

2006-01-01

There has been growing interest in recent years in piezoelectric ceramic materials because of their excellent dielectric, sensing, actuating and efficient process control applications. Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT), Barium Titanate (BaTi O/sub 3/) and Lead Metaniobate (PbNb/sub 2/ O/sub 6/) and PVDF Polymers and generally favored as smart sensing materials. These materials are being used in critical engineering systems and smart structure. Fatigue failure due to electrical and thermal shocking is a major issue in degradation of these materials. Lot of work has been done in this area but still various issues need to investigate. Recent developments and current issues in piezoelectric materials and deterioration of their properties in different working conditions are discussed. The development of Finite Element codes incorporating smart material element has provided an opportunity to solve some practical problems. The new piezoelectric finite element capability available in some commercial package like ANSYS makes it convenient to perform static dynamic and thermal analysis for the fully coupled piezoelectric and structural response. Researchers have a great scope to uncover the various properties of these smart materials in different environmental conditions. In present work an overall review of the title is presented. (author)

A Capacitance-Based Methodology for the Estimation of Piezoelectric Coefficients of Poled Piezoelectric Materials

KAUST Repository

Al Ahmad, Mahmoud

2010-10-04

A methodology is proposed to estimate the piezoelectric coefficients of bulk piezoelectric materials using simple capacitance measurements. The extracted values of d33 and d31 from the capacitance measurements were 506 pC/N and 247 pC/N, respectively. The d33 value is in agreement with that obtained from the Berlincourt method, which gave a d33 value of 500 pC/N. In addition, the d31 value is in agreement with the value obtained from the optical method, which gave a d 31 value of 223 pC/V. These results suggest that the proposed method is a viable way to quickly estimate piezoelectric coefficients of bulk unclamped samples. © 2010 The Electrochemical Society.

Finite element analysis of vibration energy harvesting using lead-free piezoelectric materials: A comparative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anuruddh Kumar

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this article, the performance of various piezoelectric materials is simulated for the unimorph cantilever-type piezoelectric energy harvester. The finite element method (FEM is used to model the piezolaminated unimorph cantilever structure. The first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT and linear piezoelectric theory are implemented in finite element simulations. The genetic algorithm (GA optimization approach is carried out to optimize the structural parameters of mechanical energy-based energy harvester for maximum power density and power output. The numerical simulation demonstrates the performance of lead-free piezoelectric materials in unimorph cantilever-based energy harvester. The lead-free piezoelectric material K0.5Na0.5NbO3-LiSbO3-CaTiO3 (2 wt.% has demonstrated maximum mean power and maximum mean power density for piezoelectric energy harvester in the ambient frequency range of 90–110 Hz. Overall, the lead-free piezoelectric materials of K0.5Na0.5NbO3-LiSbO3 (KNN-LS family have shown better performance than the conventional lead-based piezoelectric material lead zirconate titanate (PZT in the context of piezoelectric energy harvesting devices.

3D optical printing of piezoelectric nanoparticle-polymer composite materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kanguk; Zhu, Wei; Qu, Xin; Aaronson, Chase; McCall, William R; Chen, Shaochen; Sirbuly, Donald J

2014-10-28

Here we demonstrate that efficient piezoelectric nanoparticle-polymer composite materials can be optically printed into three-dimensional (3D) microstructures using digital projection printing. Piezoelectric polymers were fabricated by incorporating barium titanate (BaTiO3, BTO) nanoparticles into photoliable polymer solutions such as polyethylene glycol diacrylate and exposing to digital optical masks that could be dynamically altered to generate user-defined 3D microstructures. To enhance the mechanical-to-electrical conversion efficiency of the composites, the BTO nanoparticles were chemically modified with acrylate surface groups, which formed direct covalent linkages with the polymer matrix under light exposure. The composites with a 10% mass loading of the chemically modified BTO nanoparticles showed piezoelectric coefficients (d(33)) of ∼ 40 pC/N, which were over 10 times larger than composites synthesized with unmodified BTO nanoparticles and over 2 times larger than composites containing unmodified BTO nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes to boost mechanical stress transfer efficiencies. These results not only provide a tool for fabricating 3D piezoelectric polymers but lay the groundwork for creating highly efficient piezoelectric polymer materials via nanointerfacial tuning.

Corrosion Detection of Reinforcement of Building Materials with Piezoelectric Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Peng

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The extensive use of reinforced materials in the construction industry has raised increased concerns about their safety and durability, while corrosion detection of steel materials is becoming increasingly important. For the scientific management, timely repair and health monitoring of construction materials, as well as to ensure construction safety and prevent accidents, this paper investigates corrosion detection on construction materials based on piezoelectric sensors. At present, the commonly used corrosion detection methods include physical and electrochemical methods, but there are shortcomings such as large equipment area, low detection frequency, and complex operation. In this study an improved piezoelectric ultrasonic sensor was designed, which could not only detect the internal defects of buildings while not causing structural damage, but also realize continuous detection and enable qualitative and quantitative assessment. Corrosion detection of reinforced building materials with piezoelectric sensors is quick and accurate, which can find hidden dangers and provide a reliable basis for the safety of the buildings.

Cellulose Nanofibril Film as a Piezoelectric Sensor Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajala, Satu; Siponkoski, Tuomo; Sarlin, Essi; Mettänen, Marja; Vuoriluoto, Maija; Pammo, Arno; Juuti, Jari; Rojas, Orlando J; Franssila, Sami; Tuukkanen, Sampo

2016-06-22

Self-standing films (45 μm thick) of native cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were synthesized and characterized for their piezoelectric response. The surface and the microstructure of the films were evaluated with image-based analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The measured dielectric properties of the films at 1 kHz and 9.97 GHz indicated a relative permittivity of 3.47 and 3.38 and loss tangent tan δ of 0.011 and 0.071, respectively. The films were used as functional sensing layers in piezoelectric sensors with corresponding sensitivities of 4.7-6.4 pC/N in ambient conditions. This piezoelectric response is expected to increase remarkably upon film polarization resulting from the alignment of the cellulose crystalline regions in the film. The CNF sensor characteristics were compared with those of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as reference piezoelectric polymer. Overall, the results suggest that CNF is a suitable precursor material for disposable piezoelectric sensors, actuators, or energy generators with potential applications in the fields of electronics, sensors, and biomedical diagnostics.

Enhancing the piezoelectric properties of flexible hybrid AlN materials using semi-crystalline parylene

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Nathan; Mathewson, Alan

2017-04-01

Flexible piezoelectric materials are desired for numerous applications including biomedical, wearable, and flexible electronics. However, most flexible piezoelectric materials are not compatible with CMOS fabrication technology, which is desired for most MEMS applications. This paper reports on the development of a hybrid flexible piezoelectric material consisting of aluminium nitride (AlN) and a semi-crystalline polymer substrate. Various types of semi-crystalline parylene and polyimide materials were investigated as the polymer substrate. The crystallinity and surfaces of the polymer substrates were modified by micro-roughening and annealing in order to determine the effects on the AlN quality. The AlN crystallinity and piezoelectric properties decreased when the polymer surfaces were treated with O2 plasma. However, increasing the crystallinity of the parylene substrate prior to deposition of AlN caused enhanced c-axis (002) AlN crystallinity and piezoelectric response of the AlN. Piezoelectric properties of 200 °C annealed parylene-N substrate resulted in an AlN d 33 value of 4.87 pm V-1 compared to 2.17 pm V-1 for AlN on polyimide and 4.0 pm V-1 for unannealed AlN/parylene-N. The electrical response measurements to an applied force demonstrated that the parylene/AlN hybrid material had higher V pp (0.918 V) than commercial flexible piezoelectric material (PVDF) (V pp 0.36 V). The results in this paper demonstrate that the piezoelectric properties of a flexible AlN hybrid material can be enhanced by increasing the crystallinity of the polymer substrate, and the enhanced properties can function better than previous flexible piezoelectrics.

Unified treatment of coupled optical and acoustic phonons in piezoelectric cubic materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willatzen, Morten; Wang, Zhong Lin

2015-01-01

A unified treatment of coupled optical and acoustic phonons in piezoelectric cubic materials is presented whereby the lattice displacement vector and the internal ionic displacement vector are found simultaneously. It is shown that phonon couplings exist in pairs only; either between the electric...... piezoelectricity in a cubic structured material slab. First, it is shown that isolated optical phonon modes generally cannot exist in piezoelectric cubic slabs. Second, we prove that confined acousto-optical phonon modes only exist for a discrete set of in-plane wave numbers in piezoelectric cubic slabs. Third...... potential and the lattice displacement coordinate perpendicular to the phonon wave vector or between the two other lattice displacement components. The former leads to coupled acousto-optical phonons by virtue of the piezoelectric effect. We then establish three new conjectures that entirely stem from...

Giant piezoelectric voltage coefficient in grain-oriented modified PbTiO3 material.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yongke; Zhou, Jie E; Maurya, Deepam; Wang, Yu U; Priya, Shashank

2016-10-11

A rapid surge in the research on piezoelectric sensors is occurring with the arrival of the Internet of Things. Single-phase oxide piezoelectric materials with giant piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g, induced voltage under applied stress) and high Curie temperature (T c ) are crucial towards providing desired performance for sensing, especially under harsh environmental conditions. Here, we report a grain-oriented (with 95% texture) modified PbTiO 3 ceramic that has a high T c (364 °C) and an extremely large g 33 (115 × 10 -3  Vm N -1 ) in comparison with other known single-phase oxide materials. Our results reveal that self-polarization due to grain orientation along the spontaneous polarization direction plays an important role in achieving large piezoelectric response in a domain motion-confined material. The phase field simulations confirm that the large piezoelectric voltage coefficient g 33 originates from maximized piezoelectric strain coefficient d 33 and minimized dielectric permittivity ɛ 33 in [001]-textured PbTiO 3 ceramics where domain wall motions are absent.

A database to enable discovery and design of piezoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Maarten; Chen, Wei; Geerlings, Henry; Asta, Mark; Persson, Kristin Aslaug

2015-01-01

Piezoelectric materials are used in numerous applications requiring a coupling between electrical fields and mechanical strain. Despite the technological importance of this class of materials, for only a small fraction of all inorganic compounds which display compatible crystallographic symmetry, has piezoelectricity been characterized experimentally or computationally. In this work we employ first-principles calculations based on density functional perturbation theory to compute the piezoelectric tensors for nearly a thousand compounds, thereby increasing the available data for this property by more than an order of magnitude. The results are compared to select experimental data to establish the accuracy of the calculated properties. The details of the calculations are also presented, along with a description of the format of the database developed to make these computational results publicly available. In addition, the ways in which the database can be accessed and applied in materials development efforts are described. PMID:26451252

A database to enable discovery and design of piezoelectric materials.

Science.gov (United States)

de Jong, Maarten; Chen, Wei; Geerlings, Henry; Asta, Mark; Persson, Kristin Aslaug

2015-01-01

Piezoelectric materials are used in numerous applications requiring a coupling between electrical fields and mechanical strain. Despite the technological importance of this class of materials, for only a small fraction of all inorganic compounds which display compatible crystallographic symmetry, has piezoelectricity been characterized experimentally or computationally. In this work we employ first-principles calculations based on density functional perturbation theory to compute the piezoelectric tensors for nearly a thousand compounds, thereby increasing the available data for this property by more than an order of magnitude. The results are compared to select experimental data to establish the accuracy of the calculated properties. The details of the calculations are also presented, along with a description of the format of the database developed to make these computational results publicly available. In addition, the ways in which the database can be accessed and applied in materials development efforts are described.

Patient cloth with motion recognition sensors based on flexible piezoelectric materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Youngsu Cha; Kihyuk Nam; Doik Kim

2017-07-01

In this paper, we introduce a patient cloth for position monitoring using motion recognition sensors based on flexible piezoelectric materials. The motion recognition sensors are embedded in three parts, which are the knee, hip and back, in the patient cloth. We use polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as the flexible piezoelectric material for the sensors. By using the piezoelectric effect of the PVDF, we detect electrical signals when the cloth is bent or extended. We analyze the sensing values for our human motions by processing the sensor outputs in a custom-made program. Specifically, we focus on the transitions between standing and sitting, and sitting knee extension and supine position, which are important motions for patient monitoring.

Characterization of piezoelectric materials for simultaneous strain and temperature sensing for ultra-low frequency applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Islam, Mohammad Nouroz; Seethaler, Rudolf; Alam, M Shahria

2015-01-01

Piezoelectric materials are used extensively in a number of sensing applications ranging from aerospace industries to medical diagnostics. Piezoelectric materials generate charge when they are subjected to strain. However, since measuring charge is difficult at low frequencies, traditional piezoelectric sensors are limited to dynamic applications. In this research an alternative technique is proposed to determine static strain that relies upon the measurement of piezoelectric capacitance and resistance using piezoelectric sensors. To demonstrate the validity of this approach, the capacitance and resistance of a piezoelectric patch sensor was characterized for a wide range of strain and temperature. The study shows that the piezoelectric capacitance is sensitive to both strain and temperature while the resistance is mostly dependent on the temperature variation. The findings can be implemented to obtain thermally compensated static strain from piezoelectric sensors, which does not require an additional temperature sensor. (paper)

Bismuth Sodium Titanate Based Materials for Piezoelectric Actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Reichmann, Klaus; Feteira, Antonio; Li, Ming

2015-12-04

The ban of lead in many electronic products and the expectation that, sooner or later, this ban will include the currently exempt piezoelectric ceramics based on Lead-Zirconate-Titanate has motivated many research groups to look for lead-free substitutes. After a short overview on different classes of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics with large strain, this review will focus on Bismuth-Sodium-Titanate and its solid solutions. These compounds exhibit extraordinarily high strain, due to a field induced phase transition, which makes them attractive for actuator applications. The structural features of these materials and the origin of the field-induced strain will be revised. Technologies for texturing, which increases the useable strain, will be introduced. Finally, the features that are relevant for the application of these materials in a multilayer design will be summarized.

Piezoelectric PVDF materials performance and operation limits in space environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dargaville, Tim Richard; Assink, Roger Alan; Clough, Roger Lee; Celina, Mathias Christopher

2004-01-01

Piezoelectric polymers based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are of interest for large aperture space-based telescopes. Dimensional adjustments of adaptive polymer films are achieved via charge deposition and require a detailed understanding of the piezoelectric material responses which are expected to suffer due to strong vacuum UV, gamma, X-ray, energetic particles and atomic oxygen under low earth orbit exposure conditions. The degradation of PVDF and its copolymers under various stress environments has been investigated. Initial radiation aging studies using gamma- and e-beam irradiation have shown complex material changes with significant crosslinking, lowered melting and Curie points (where observable), effects on crystallinity, but little influence on overall piezoelectric properties. Surprisingly, complex aging processes have also been observed in elevated temperature environments with annealing phenomena and cyclic stresses resulting in thermal depoling of domains. Overall materials performance appears to be governed by a combination of chemical and physical degradation processes. Molecular changes are primarily induced via radiative damage, and physical damage from temperature and AO exposure is evident as depoling and surface erosion. Major differences between individual copolymers have been observed providing feedback on material selection strategies

Compliant Electrode and Composite Material for Piezoelectric Wind and Mechanical Energy Conversions

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin (Inventor)

2015-01-01

A thin film device for harvesting energy from wind. The thin film device includes one or more layers of a compliant piezoelectric material formed from a composite of a polymer and an inorganic material, such as a ceramic. Electrodes are disposed on a first side and a second side of the piezoelectric material. The electrodes are formed from a compliant material, such as carbon nanotubes or graphene. The thin film device exhibits improved resistance to structural fatigue upon application of large strains and repeated cyclic loadings.

Revisiting the Characterization of the Losses in Piezoelectric Materials from Impedance Spectroscopy at Resonance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amador M. González

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Electronic devices using the piezoelectric effect contain piezoelectric materials: often crystals, but in many cases poled ferroelectric ceramics (piezoceramics, polymers or composites. On the one hand, these materials exhibit non-negligible losses, not only dielectric, but also mechanical and piezoelectric. In this work, we made simulations of the effect of the three types of losses in piezoelectric materials on the impedance spectrum at the resonance. We analyze independently each type of loss and show the differences among them. On the other hand, electrical and electronic engineers include piezoelectric sensors in electrical circuits to build devices and need electrical models of the sensor element. Frequently, material scientists and engineers use different languages, and the characteristic material coefficients do not have a straightforward translation to those specific electrical circuit components. To connect both fields of study, we propose the use of accurate methods of characterization from impedance measurements at electromechanical resonance that lead to determination of all types of losses, as an alternative to current standards. We introduce a simplified equivalent circuit model with electrical parameters that account for piezoceramic losses needed for the modeling and design of industrial applications.

Revisiting the Characterization of the Losses in Piezoelectric Materials from Impedance Spectroscopy at Resonance.

Science.gov (United States)

González, Amador M; García, Álvaro; Benavente-Peces, César; Pardo, Lorena

2016-01-26

Electronic devices using the piezoelectric effect contain piezoelectric materials: often crystals, but in many cases poled ferroelectric ceramics (piezoceramics), polymers or composites. On the one hand, these materials exhibit non-negligible losses, not only dielectric, but also mechanical and piezoelectric. In this work, we made simulations of the effect of the three types of losses in piezoelectric materials on the impedance spectrum at the resonance. We analyze independently each type of loss and show the differences among them. On the other hand, electrical and electronic engineers include piezoelectric sensors in electrical circuits to build devices and need electrical models of the sensor element. Frequently, material scientists and engineers use different languages, and the characteristic material coefficients do not have a straightforward translation to those specific electrical circuit components. To connect both fields of study, we propose the use of accurate methods of characterization from impedance measurements at electromechanical resonance that lead to determination of all types of losses, as an alternative to current standards. We introduce a simplified equivalent circuit model with electrical parameters that account for piezoceramic losses needed for the modeling and design of industrial applications.

Calculation of intensity factors using weight function theory for a transversely isotropic piezoelectric material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, In Ho; An, Deuk Man

2012-01-01

In fracture mechanics, the weight function can be used for calculating stress intensity factors. In this paper, a two dimensional electroelastic analysis is performed on a transversely isotropic piezoelectric material with an open crack. A plane strain formulation of the piezoelectric problem is solved within the Leknitskii formalism. Weight function theory is extended to piezoelectric materials. The stress intensity factors and electric displacement intensity factor are calculated by the weight function theory

Broadband transmission noise reduction of smart panels featuring piezoelectric shunt circuits and sound-absorbing material.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaehwan; Lee, Joong-Kuen

2002-09-01

The possibility of a broadband noise reduction of piezoelectric smart panels is experimentally studied. A piezoelectric smart panel is basically a plate structure on which piezoelectric patches with electrical shunt circuits are mounted and sound-absorbing material is bonded on the surface of the structure. Sound-absorbing material can absorb the sound transmitted at the midfrequency region effectively while the use of piezoelectric shunt damping can reduce the transmission at resonance frequencies of the panel structure. To be able to reduce the sound transmission at low panel resonance frequencies, piezoelectric damping using the measured electrical impedance model is adopted. A resonant shunt circuit for piezoelectric shunt damping is composed of resistor and inductor in series, and they are determined by maximizing the dissipated energy through the circuit. The transmitted noise-reduction performance of smart panels is tested in an acoustic tunnel. The tunnel is a square cross-sectional tube and a loudspeaker is mounted at one side of the tube as a sound source. Panels are mounted in the middle of the tunnel and the transmitted sound pressure across panels is measured. When an absorbing material is bonded on a single plate, a remarkable transmitted noise reduction in the midfrequency region is observed except for the fundamental resonance frequency of the plate. By enabling the piezoelectric shunt damping, noise reduction is achieved at the resonance frequency as well. Piezoelectric smart panels incorporating passive absorbing material and piezoelectric shunt damping is a promising technology for noise reduction over a broadband of frequencies.

Periodical Microstructures Based on Novel Piezoelectric Material for Biomedical Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giedrius Janusas

2015-12-01

Full Text Available A novel cantilever type piezoelectric sensing element was developed. Cost-effective and simple fabrication design allows the use of this element for various applications in the areas of biomedicine, pharmacy, environmental analysis and biosensing. This paper proposes a novel piezoelectric composite material whose basic element is PZT and a sensing platform where this material was integrated. Results showed that a designed novel cantilever-type element is able to generate a voltage of up to 80 µV at 50 Hz frequency. To use this element for sensing purposes, a four micron periodical microstructure was imprinted. Silver nanoparticles were precipitated on the grating to increase the sensitivity of the designed element, i.e., Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR effect appears in the element. To tackle some issues (a lack of sensitivity, signal delays the element must have certain electronic and optical properties. One possible solution, proposed in this paper, is a combination of piezoelectricity and SPR in a single element.

Integration of bulk piezoelectric materials into microsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Aktakka, Ethem Erkan

Bulk piezoelectric ceramics, compared to deposited piezoelectric thin-films, provide greater electromechanical coupling and charge capacity, which are highly desirable in many MEMS applications. In this thesis, a technology platform is developed for wafer-level integration of bulk piezoelectric substrates on silicon, with a final film thickness of 5-100microm. The characterized processes include reliable low-temperature (200°C) AuIn diffusion bonding and parylene bonding of bulk-PZT on silicon, wafer-level lapping of bulk-PZT with high-uniformity (+/-0.5microm), and low-damage micro-machining of PZT films via dicing-saw patterning, laser ablation, and wet-etching. Preservation of ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties is confirmed with hysteresis and piezo-response measurements. The introduced technology offers higher material quality and unique advantages in fabrication flexibility over existing piezoelectric film deposition methods. In order to confirm the preserved bulk properties in the final film, diaphragm and cantilever beam actuators operating in the transverse-mode are designed, fabricated and tested. The diaphragm structure and electrode shapes/sizes are optimized for maximum deflection through finite-element simulations. During tests of fabricated devices, greater than 12microm PP displacement is obtained by actuation of a 1mm2 diaphragm at 111kHz with integration of a 50-80% efficient power management IC, which incorporates a supply-independent bias circuitry, an active diode for low-dropout rectification, a bias-flip system for higher efficiency, and a trickle battery charger. The overall system does not require a pre-charged battery, and has power consumption of <1microW in active-mode (measured) and <5pA in sleep-mode (simulated). Under lg vibration at 155Hz, a 70mF ultra-capacitor is charged from OV to 1.85V in 50 minutes.

Ultra-low temperature curable nano-silver conductive adhesive for piezoelectric composite material

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Chao; Liao, Qingwei; Zhou, Xingli; Wang, Likun; Zhong, Chao; Zhang, Di

2018-01-01

Limited by the low thermal resistance of composite material, ultra-low temperature curable conductive silver adhesive with curing temperature less than 100 °C needed urgently for the surface conduction treatment of piezoelectric composite material. An ultra-low temperature curable nano-silver conductive adhesive with high adhesion strength for the applications of piezoelectric composite material was investigated. The crystal structure of cured adhesive, SEM/EDS analysis, thermal analysis, adhesive properties and conductive properties of different content of nano-silver filler or micron-silver doping samples were studied. The results show that with 60 wt.% nano-silver filler the ultra-low temperature curable conductive silver adhesive had the relatively good conductivity as volume resistivity of 2.37 × 10-4 Ω cm, and good adhesion strength of 5.13 MPa. Minor micron-doping (below 15 wt.%) could improve conductivity, but would decrease other properties. The ultra-low temperature curable nano-silver conductive adhesive could successfully applied to piezoelectric composite material.

Investigation of trapped thickness-twist waves induced by functionally graded piezoelectric material in an inhomogeneous plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Peng; Jin, Feng; Cao, Xiao-Shan

2013-01-01

The effect of functional graded piezoelectric materials on the propagation of thickness-twist waves is investigated through equations of the linear theory of piezoelectricity. The elastic and piezoelectric coefficients, dielectric permittivity, and mass density are assumed to change in a linear form but with different graded parameters along the wave propagation direction. We employ the power-series technique to solve the governing differential equations with variable coefficients attributed to the different graded parameters and prove the correction and convergence of this method. As a special case, the functional graded middle layer resulting from piezoelectric damage and material bonding is investigated. Piezoelectric damaged material can facilitate energy trapping, which is impossible in perfect materials. The increase in the damaged length and the reduction in the piezoelectric coefficient decrease the resonance frequency but increase the number of modes. Higher modes of thickness-twist waves appear periodically along the damaged length. Moreover, the displacement of the center of the damaged portion is neither symmetric nor anti-symmetric, unlike the non-graded plate. The conclusions are theoretically and practically significant for wave devices. (paper)

Reliable Piezoelectricity in Bilayer WSe2 for Piezoelectric Nanogenerators.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ju-Hyuck; Park, Jae Young; Cho, Eun Bi; Kim, Tae Yun; Han, Sang A; Kim, Tae-Ho; Liu, Yanan; Kim, Sung Kyun; Roh, Chang Jae; Yoon, Hong-Joon; Ryu, Hanjun; Seung, Wanchul; Lee, Jong Seok; Lee, Jaichan; Kim, Sang-Woo

2017-08-01

Recently, piezoelectricity has been observed in 2D atomically thin materials, such as hexagonal-boron nitride, graphene, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Specifically, exfoliated monolayer MoS 2 exhibits a high piezoelectricity that is comparable to that of traditional piezoelectric materials. However, monolayer TMD materials are not regarded as suitable for actual piezoelectric devices due to their insufficient mechanical durability for sustained operation while Bernal-stacked bilayer TMD materials lose noncentrosymmetry and consequently piezoelectricity. Here, it is shown that WSe 2 bilayers fabricated via turbostratic stacking have reliable piezoelectric properties that cannot be obtained from a mechanically exfoliated WSe 2 bilayer with Bernal stacking. Turbostratic stacking refers to the transfer of each chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-grown WSe 2 monolayer to allow for an increase in degrees of freedom in the bilayer symmetry, leading to noncentrosymmetry in the bilayers. In contrast, CVD-grown WSe 2 bilayers exhibit very weak piezoelectricity because of the energetics and crystallographic orientation. The flexible piezoelectric WSe 2 bilayers exhibit a prominent mechanical durability of up to 0.95% of strain as well as reliable energy harvesting performance, which is adequate to drive a small liquid crystal display without external energy sources, in contrast to monolayer WSe 2 for which the device performance becomes degraded above a strain of 0.63%. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Piezoelectric materials selection for sensor applications using finite element and multiple attribute decision-making approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anuruddh Kumar

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the selection and performance evaluation of a variety of piezoelectric materials for cantilever-based sensor applications. The finite element analysis method is implemented to evaluate the relative importance of materials properties such as Young's Modulus (E, piezoelectric stress constants (e31, dielectric constant (ε and Poisson's ratio (υ for cantilever-based sensor applications. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP is used to assign weights to the properties that are studied for the sensor structure under study. A technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS is used to rank the performance of the piezoelectric materials in the context of sensor voltage outputs. The ranking achieved by the TOPSIS analysis is in good agreement with the results obtained from finite element method simulation. The numerical simulations show that K0.5Na0.5NbO3–LiSbO3 (KNN–LS materials family is important for sensor application. Young's modulus (E is most influencing material's property followed by piezoelectric constant (e31, dielectric constant (ε and Poisson's ratio (υ for cantilever-based piezoelectric sensor applications.

Forecast of Piezoelectric Properties of Crystalline Materials from First Principles Calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Yanqing; Shi Erwei; Chen Jianjun; Zhang Tao; Song Lixin

2006-01-01

In this paper, forecast of piezoelectric tensors are presented. Piezo crystals including quartz, quartz-like crystals, known and novel crystals of langasite-type structure are treated with density-functional perturb theory (DFPT) using plane-wave pseudopotentials method, within the local density approximation (LDA) to the exchange-correlation functional. Compared with experimental results, the ab initio calculation results have quantitative or semi-quantitative accuracy. It is shown that first principles calculation opens a door to the search and design of new piezoelectric material. Further application of first principles calculation to forecast the whole piezoelectric properties are also discussed

High Performance Lead--free Piezoelectric Materials

OpenAIRE

Gupta, Shashaank

2013-01-01

Piezoelectric materials find applications in number of devices requiring inter-conversion of mechanical and electrical energy.  These devices include different types of sensors, actuators and energy harvesting devices. A number of lead-based perovskite compositions (PZT, PMN-PT, PZN-PT etc.) have dominated the field in last few decades owing to their giant piezoresponse and convenient application relevant tunability. With increasing environmental concerns, in the last one decade, focus has be...

The variability of piezoelectric measurements. Material and measurement method contributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, M.; Cain, M.

2002-01-01

The variability of piezoelectric materials measurements has been investigated in order to separate the contributions from intrinsic instrumental variability, and the contributions from the variability in materials. The work has pinpointed several areas where weaknesses in the measurement methods result in high variability, and also show that good correlation between piezoelectric parameters allow simpler measurement methods to be used. The Berlincourt method has been shown to be unreliable when testing thin discs, however when testing thicker samples there is a good correlation between this and other methods. The high field permittivity and low field permittivity correlate well, so tolerances on low field measurements would predict high field performance. In trying to identify microstructural origins of samples that behave differently to others within a batch, no direct evidence was found to suggest that outliers originate from either differences in microstructure or crystallography. Some of the samples chosen as maximum outliers showed pin-holes, probably from electrical breakdown during poling, even though these defects would ordinarily be detrimental to piezoelectric output. (author)

Determination of the reduced matrix of the piezoelectric, dielectric, and elastic material constants for a piezoelectric material with C∞ symmetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart; Masys, Tony J; Wiederick, Harvey D; Mukherjee, Binu K

2011-09-01

We present a procedure for determining the reduced piezoelectric, dielectric, and elastic coefficients for a C(∞) material, including losses, from a single disk sample. Measurements have been made on a Navy III lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic sample and the reduced matrix of coefficients for this material is presented. In addition, we present the transform equations, in reduced matrix form, to other consistent material constant sets. We discuss the propagation of errors in going from one material data set to another and look at the limitations inherent in direct calculations of other useful coefficients from the data.

Identification of material properties of sandwich structure with piezoelectric patches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zemčík R.

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The work focuses on light-weight sandwich structures made of carbon-epoxy skins and foam core which have unique bending stiffness compared to conventional materials. The skins are manufactured by vacuum autoclave technology from unidirectional prepregs and the sandwich is then glued together. The resulting material properties of the structure usually differ from those provided by manufacturer or even those obtained from experimental tests on separate materials, which makes computational models unreliable. Therefore, the properties are identified using the combination of experimental analysis of the sandwich with attached piezoelectric transducer and corresponding static and modal finite element analyses. Simple mathematical optimization with repetitive finite element solution is used. The model is then verified by transient analysis when the piezoelectric patch is excited by harmonic signals covering the first two eigen-frequencies and the induced oscillations are measured by laser sensor.

An Assessment of New Applications for Single-Crystal Piezoelectric Materials

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Veitch, Lisa

1998-01-01

.... The purpose of this study was to determine the current commercial and military uses of the piezoelectric materials, the properties that are important to these uses, and the impact of substituting...

New piezoelectric materials for SAW filters

Science.gov (United States)

Anghelescu, Adrian; Nedelcu, Monica

2010-11-01

Scientific research of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices had an early start by the end of 1960s and led to the development of high frequency and small size piezo devices. A sustained effort was dedicated for these components to be transformed into many more interesting applications for telecom market. Recently the employment of new piezo materials and crystallographic orientations open new opportunities for SAW filters. New piezoelectric crystals of gallium orthophosphate (GaPO4) provide higher electromechanical coupling than quartz, while maintaining temperature compensated characteristics similar to quartz. Based on this material phase transition of 970°C, development of new piezo devices to operate at higher temperatures up to 800°C can be done. SAW velocities about 30% lower than ST-X quartz, favors smaller and more compact devices. Other advantages of GaPO4 are: stability with high resistance to stress induced twinning, 3~4 times higher electromechanical coupling than quartz and existence of SAW temperature compensated orientations. Another family of new materials of the trigonal 32 class has received much attention recently because of their temperature behavior similar to quartz and the promise of higher electromechanical coupling coefficients. It is the family of langasite (LGS, La3Ga5SiO14), langatate (LGT, La3Ga5.5Ta0.5O14) and langanite (La3Ga5.5Nb0.5O14). Langasite crystals, easier to obtain and with the value of electromechanical coupling coefficient intermediate between quartz and lithium tantalate (k2=0.32% for 0°, 140°, 22.5° orientation and k2=0.38% for 0°, 140°, 25° orientation), enable us to design SAW filters with a relative pass band of 0.3% to 0.85%. Other piezoelectric materials are reviewed for comparison.

Selecting a radiation tolerant piezoelectric material for nuclear reactor applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parks, D. A.; Reinhardt, B. T.; Tittmann, B. R. [Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Penn State, University Park, PA 16803 (United States)

2013-01-25

Bringing systems for online monitoring of nuclear reactors to fruition has been delayed by the lack of suitable ultrasonic sensors. Recent work has demonstrated the capability of an AlN sensor to perform ultrasonic evaluation in an actual nuclear reactor. Although the AlN demonstrated sustainability, no loss in signal amplitude and d{sub 33} up to a fast and thermal neutron fluence of 1.85 Multiplication-Sign 1018 n/cm{sup 2} and 5.8 Multiplication-Sign 1018 n/cm{sup 2} respectively, no formal process to selecting a suitable sensor material was made. It would be ideal to use first principles approaches to somehow reduce each candidate piezoelectric material to a simple ranking showing directly which materials one should expect to be most radiation tolerant. However, the complexity of the problem makes such a ranking impractical and one must appeal to experimental observations. This should not be of any surprise to one whom is familiar with material science as most material properties are obtained in this manner. Therefore, this work adopts a similar approach, the mechanisms affecting radiation tolerance are discussed and a good engineering sense is used for material qualification of the candidate piezoelectric materials.

Characterization of advanced piezoelectric materials in the wide temperature range

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Burianova, L.; Kopal, A.; Nosek, J

2003-05-25

We report about methods and results of our measurements of piezoelectric, dielectric and elastic properties of piezoelectric materials like crystals, ceramics, composites, polymers and thin layer composites. Among the methods, used in our laboratories are: the resonance method working in the temperature range 208-358 K, hydrostatic methods, both static and dynamic in the range 273-333 K, laser interferometric methods, using single and double-beam interferometer, working at room temperature, single and double-beam micro-interferometers, working inside of optical cryostat in the range 150-330 K, and pulse echo method for measurements of elastic coefficients, using ultrasonic set, working at room temperature. In our earlier papers we reported about some of our results of piezoelectric measurements of PZT ceramics using resonance method and laser interferometric method. The results of both methods were in good agreement. Now, the measurements are realized on 0-3 ceramic-polymer composites and thin layer composites. It is well known, that both intrinsic (material) and extrinsic (domain structure) contributions to properties of ferroelectric samples have characteristic, sometimes rather strong, temperature dependence. Therefore, any extension of temperature range of the above mentioned methods is welcomed.

Control Application of Piezoelectric Materials to Aeroelastic Self-Excited Vibrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Amin Rashidifar

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A method for application of piezoelectric materials to aeroelasticity of turbomachinery blades is presented. The governing differential equations of an overhung beam are established. The induced voltage in attached piezoelectric sensors due to the strain of the beam is calculated. In aeroelastic self-excited vibrations, the aerodynamic generalized force of a specified mode can be described as a linear function of the generalized coordinate and its derivatives. This simplifies the closed loop system designed for vibration control of the corresponding structure. On the other hand, there is an industrial interest in measurement of displacement, velocity, acceleration, or a contribution of them for machinery condition monitoring. Considering this criterion in quadratic optimal control systems, a special style of performance index is configured. Utilizing the current relations in an aeroelastic case with proper attachment of piezoelectric elements can provide higher margin of instability and lead to lower vibration magnitude.

Green's functions of one-dimensional quasicrystal bi-material with piezoelectric effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Liangliang [College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083 (China); Sinomatech Wind Power Blade Co., Ltd, Beijing 100092 (China); Wu, Di [College of Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083 (China); Xu, Wenshuai [College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083 (China); Yang, Lianzhi [Civil and Environmental Engineering School, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Ricoeur, Andreas; Wang, Zhibin [Institute of Mechanics, University of Kassel, 34125 Kassel (Germany); Gao, Yang, E-mail: gaoyangg@gmail.com [College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083 (China)

2016-09-16

Based on the Stroh formalism of one-dimensional quasicrystals with piezoelectric effect, the problems of an infinite plane composed of two different quasicrystal half-planes are taken into account. The solutions of the internal and interfacial Green's functions of quasicrystal bi-material are obtained. Moreover, numerical examples are analyzed for a quasicrystal bi-material subjected to line forces or line dislocations, showing the contour maps of the coupled fields. The impacts of changing material constants on the coupled field components are investigated. - Highlights: • Green's functions of 1D piezoelectric quasicrystal bi-material are studied. • The coupled fields subjected to line forces or line dislocations are obtained. • Mechanical behavior under the effect of different material constants is researched.

Effect of material constants on power output in piezoelectric vibration-based generators.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeda, Hiroaki; Mihara, Kensuke; Yoshimura, Tomohiro; Hoshina, Takuya; Tsurumi, Takaaki

2011-09-01

A possible power output estimation based on material constants in piezoelectric vibration-based generators is proposed. A modified equivalent circuit model of the generator was built and was validated by the measurement results in the generator fabricated using potassium sodium niobate-based and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics. Subsequently, generators with the same structure using other PZT-based and bismuth-layered structure ferroelectrics ceramics were fabricated and tested. The power outputs of these generators were expressed as a linear functions of the term composed of electromechanical coupling coefficients k(sys)(2) and mechanical quality factors Q*(m) of the generator. The relationship between device constants (k(sys)(2) and Q*(m)) and material constants (k(31)(2) and Q(m)) was clarified. Estimation of the power output using material constants is demonstrated and the appropriate piezoelectric material for the generator is suggested.

Piezoelectric materials involved in road traffic applications test system; Banco de ensayos para materiales piezoelectricos en aplicaciones viales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vazquez Rodriguez, M.; Jimenez Martinez, F.; Frutos, J. de

2011-07-01

The test bench system described in this paper performs experiments on piezoelectric materials used in road traffic applications, covering a range between 14 and 170 km/h, which is considered enough for testing under standard traffic conditions. A software has been developed to control the three phase induction motor driver and to acquire all the measurement data of the piezoelectric materials. The mass over each systems axis can be selected, with a limit of 60 kg over each wheel. The test bench is used to simulate the real behaviour of buried piezoelectric cables in road traffic applications for both light and heavy vehicles. This new test bed system is a powerful research tool and can be applied to determine the optimal installation and configuration of the piezoelectric cable sensors and opens a new field of research: the study of energy harvesting techniques based on piezoelectric materials. (Author) 10 refs.

Piezoelectric Effects of Materials on Bio-Interfaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Marino, Attilio; Genchi, Giada Graziana; Sinibaldi, Edoardo; Ciofani, Gianni

2017-05-31

Electrical stimulation of cells and tissues is an important approach of interaction with living matter, which has been traditionally exploited in the clinical practice for a wide range of pathological conditions, in particular, related to excitable tissues. Standard methods of stimulation are, however, often invasive, being based on electrodes and wires used to carry current to the intended site. The possibility to achieve an indirect electrical stimulation, by means of piezoelectric materials, is therefore of outstanding interest for all the biomedical research, and it emerged in the latest decade as a most promising tool in many bioapplications. In this paper, we summarize the most recent achievements obtained by our group and by others in the exploitation of piezoelectric nanoparticles and nanocomposites for cell stimulation, describing the important implications that these studies present in nanomedicine and tissue engineering. A particular attention will be also dedicated to the physical modeling, which can be extremely useful in the description of the complex mechanisms involved in the mechanical/electrical transduction, yet also to gain new insights at the base of the observed phenomena.

Lead-Free Piezoelectrics

CERN Document Server

Nahm, Sahn

2012-01-01

Ecological restrictions in many parts of the world are demanding the elimination of Pb from all consumer items. At this moment in the piezoelectric ceramics industry, there is no issue of more importance than the transition to lead-free materials. The goal of Lead-Free Piezoelectrics is to provide a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals and developments in the field of lead-free materials and products to leading researchers in the world. The text presents chapters on demonstrated applications of the lead-free materials, which will allow readers to conceptualize the present possibilities and will be useful for both students and professionals conducting research on ferroelectrics, piezoelectrics, smart materials, lead-free materials, and a variety of applications including sensors, actuators, ultrasonic transducers and energy harvesters.

LiNbO3 :Pr3+ : A Multipiezo Material with Simultaneous Piezoelectricity and Sensitive Piezoluminescence.

Science.gov (United States)

Tu, Dong; Xu, Chao-Nan; Yoshida, Akihito; Fujihala, Masayoshi; Hirotsu, Jou; Zheng, Xu-Guang

2017-06-01

Red-emitting piezoluminescence (elasticoluminescence) is achieved by doping rare earth Pr 3+ into the well-known piezoelectric matrix, LiNbO 3 . By precisely tuning the Li/Nb ratio in nonstoichiometric Li x NbO 3 :Pr 3+ , a material that exhibits an unusually high piezoluminescence intensity, which far exceeds that of any well-known piezoelectric material, is produced. Li x NbO 3 :Pr 3+ shows excellent strain sensitivity at the lowest strain level, with no threshold for stress sensing. These multipiezo properties of sensitive piezoluminescence in a piezoelectric matrix are ideal for microstress sensing, damage diagnosis, electro-mechano-optical energy conversion, and multifunctional control in optoelectronics. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The role played by the Coulombic traction for an interface crack in dissimilar piezoelectric materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Qun; Chen Yiheng

2008-01-01

The role played by the Coulombic traction for an interface crack in dissimilar piezoelectric materials is clarified. Based on the extended Stroh theory, the Coulombic traction, usually neglected in piezoelectric fracture, is imposed on the interface crack surfaces. It is found that the low-capacitance medium (air or vacuum) inside the crack gap yields some large Coulombic traction as compared to the applied mechanical loading whether the remanent polarization of piezoelectric material is considered or not. Thus, previous investigations based on the traction-free condition underestimate the role of the Coulombic traction and in turn may yield unexpected errors for the effective stress intensity factor (SIF) and energy release rate (ERR) at the crack tip. (technical note)

Effects of lattice parameters on piezoelectric constants in wurtzite materials: A theoretical study using first-principles and statistical-learning methods

Science.gov (United States)

Momida, Hiroyoshi; Oguchi, Tamio

2018-04-01

Longitudinal piezoelectric constant (e 33) values of wurtzite materials, which are listed in a structure database, are calculated and analyzed by using first-principles and statistical learning methods. It is theoretically shown that wurtzite materials with high e 33 generally have small lattice constant ratios (c/a) almost independent of constituent elements, and approximately expressed as e 33 ∝ c/a - (c/a)0 with ideal lattice constant ratio (c/a)0. This relation also holds for highly-piezoelectric ternary materials such as Sc x Al1- x N. We conducted a search for high-piezoelectric wurtzite materials by identifying materials with smaller c/a values. It is proposed that the piezoelectricity of ZnO can be significantly enhanced by substitutions of Zn with Ca.

High-Temperature Piezoelectric Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoning Jiang

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric sensing is of increasing interest for high-temperature applications in aerospace, automotive, power plants and material processing due to its low cost, compact sensor size and simple signal conditioning, in comparison with other high-temperature sensing techniques. This paper presented an overview of high-temperature piezoelectric sensing techniques. Firstly, different types of high-temperature piezoelectric single crystals, electrode materials, and their pros and cons are discussed. Secondly, recent work on high-temperature piezoelectric sensors including accelerometer, surface acoustic wave sensor, ultrasound transducer, acoustic emission sensor, gas sensor, and pressure sensor for temperatures up to 1,250 °C were reviewed. Finally, discussions of existing challenges and future work for high-temperature piezoelectric sensing are presented.

Piezoelectric ceramic material, containing PbNb2O6, K2Nb2O6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fesenko, E.G.; Filip'ev, V.S.; Razumovskaya, O.N.; Cherner, Ya.E.; Rudkovskaya, L.M.; Zav'yalov, V.P.; Molchanova, R.A.; Kryshtop, V.G.; Panich, A.E.; Servuli, V.A.

1984-01-01

A new piezoelectric ceramic material including PbNb 2 O 6 , K 2 Nb 2 O 6 is prepared. Above the new material contains Nb 2 O 5 . The invention relates to piezotechnique. The principal advantage of this material for acoustic converters is high anisotropy of piezoelectric properties as well as high Curie temperature (T C =539-553 deg C). The composition containing 93.96 mole% PbNb 2 O 6 ; 2.48 mole% K 2 Nb 2 O 6 and 3.56 mole% Nb 2 O 5 has optimum content of parameters

Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvesting Device Combined with Damper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hung-I Lu

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectricity is a type of material that enables mechanical energy and electrical energy to be interchangeable, which can be divided into positive piezoelectric effect and inverse piezoelectric effect. The positive piezoelectric effect is that the electric dipole moment of material generates changes when the piezoelectric material is subjected to pressure, resulting in electrical energy. Conversely, the inverse piezoelectric effect is the process of electrical energy converted into mechanical energy.

Piezoelectric MEMS resonators

CERN Document Server

Piazza, Gianluca

2017-01-01

This book introduces piezoelectric microelectromechanical (pMEMS) resonators to a broad audience by reviewing design techniques including use of finite element modeling, testing and qualification of resonators, and fabrication and large scale manufacturing techniques to help inspire future research and entrepreneurial activities in pMEMS. The authors discuss the most exciting developments in the area of materials and devices for the making of piezoelectric MEMS resonators, and offer direct examples of the technical challenges that need to be overcome in order to commercialize these types of devices. Some of the topics covered include: Widely-used piezoelectric materials, as well as materials in which there is emerging interest Principle of operation and design approaches for the making of flexural, contour-mode, thickness-mode, and shear-mode piezoelectric resonators, and examples of practical implementation of these devices Large scale manufacturing approaches, with a focus on the practical aspects associate...

Extrinsic response enhancement at the polymorphic phase boundary in piezoelectric materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ochoa, Diego A.; García, José E., E-mail: jose.eduardo.garcia@upc.edu [Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech, Barcelona 08034 (Spain); Esteves, Giovanni; Jones, Jacob L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27696 (United States); Rubio-Marcos, Fernando; Fernández, José F. [Department of Electroceramics, Instituto de Cerámica y Vidrio - CSIC, Madrid 28049 (Spain)

2016-04-04

Polymorphic phase boundaries (PPBs) in piezoelectric materials have attracted significant interest in recent years, in particular, because of the unique properties that can be found in their vicinity. However, to fully harness their potential as micro-nanoscale functional entities, it is essential to achieve reliable and precise control of their piezoelectric response, which is due to two contributions known as intrinsic and extrinsic. In this work, we have used a (K,Na)NbO{sub 3}-based lead-free piezoceramic as a model system to investigate the evolution of the extrinsic contribution around a PPB. X-ray diffraction measurements are performed over a wide range of temperatures in order to determine the structures and transitions. The relevance of the extrinsic contribution at the PPB region is evaluated by means of nonlinear dielectric response measurements. Though it is widely appreciated that certain intrinsic properties of ferroelectric materials increase as PPBs are approached, our results demonstrate that the extrinsic contribution also maximizes. An enhancement of the extrinsic contribution is therefore also responsible for improving the functional properties at the PPB region. Rayleigh's law is used to quantitatively analyze the nonlinear response. As a result, an evolution of the domain wall motion dynamics through the PPB region is detected. This work demonstrates that the extrinsic contribution at a PPB may have a dynamic role in lead-free piezoelectric materials, thereby exerting a far greater influence on their functional properties than that considered to date.

Characterization of full set material constants of piezoelectric materials based on ultrasonic method and inverse impedance spectroscopy using only one sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shiyang; Zheng, Limei; Jiang, Wenhua; Sahul, Raffi; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Cao, Wenwu

2013-09-14

The most difficult task in the characterization of complete set material properties for piezoelectric materials is self-consistency. Because there are many independent elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric constants, several samples are needed to obtain the full set constants. Property variation from sample to sample often makes the obtained data set lack of self-consistency. Here, we present a method, based on pulse-echo ultrasound and inverse impedance spectroscopy, to precisely determine the full set physical properties of piezoelectric materials using only one small sample, which eliminated the sample to sample variation problem to guarantee self-consistency. The method has been applied to characterize the [001] C poled Mn modified 0.27Pb(In 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 -0.46Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -0.27PbTiO 3 single crystal and the validity of the measured data is confirmed by a previously established method. For the inverse calculations using impedance spectrum, the stability of reconstructed results is analyzed by fluctuation analysis of input data. In contrast to conventional regression methods, our method here takes the full advantage of both ultrasonic and inverse impedance spectroscopy methods to extract all constants from only one small sample. The method provides a powerful tool for assisting novel piezoelectric materials of small size and for generating needed input data sets for device designs using finite element simulations.

Piezoelectric Transformers: An Historical Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfredo Vazquez Carazo

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric transformers (PTs are solid-state devices that transform electrical energy into electrical energy by means of a mechanical vibration. These devices are manufactured using piezoelectric materials that are driven at resonance. With appropriate design and circuitry, it is possible to step up and step down the voltages between the input and output sections of the piezoelectric transformer, without making use of magnetic materials and obtaining excellent conversion efficiencies. The initial concept of a piezoelectric ceramic transformer was proposed by Charles A. Rosen in 1954. Since then, the evolution of piezoelectric transformers through history has been linked to the relevant work of some excellent researchers as well as to the evolution in materials, manufacturing processes, and driving circuit techniques. This paper summarizes the historical evolution of the technology.

A FEM-based method to determine the complex material properties of piezoelectric disks.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, N; Carbonari, R C; Andrade, M A B; Buiochi, F; Adamowski, J C

2014-08-01

Numerical simulations allow modeling piezoelectric devices and ultrasonic transducers. However, the accuracy in the results is limited by the precise knowledge of the elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the piezoelectric material. To introduce the energy losses, these properties can be represented by complex numbers, where the real part of the model essentially determines the resonance frequencies and the imaginary part determines the amplitude of each resonant mode. In this work, a method based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is modified to obtain the imaginary material properties of piezoelectric disks. The material properties are determined from the electrical impedance curve of the disk, which is measured by an impedance analyzer. The method consists in obtaining the material properties that minimize the error between experimental and numerical impedance curves over a wide range of frequencies. The proposed methodology starts with a sensitivity analysis of each parameter, determining the influence of each parameter over a set of resonant modes. Sensitivity results are used to implement a preliminary algorithm approaching the solution in order to avoid the search to be trapped into a local minimum. The method is applied to determine the material properties of a Pz27 disk sample from Ferroperm. The obtained properties are used to calculate the electrical impedance curve of the disk with a Finite Element algorithm, which is compared with the experimental electrical impedance curve. Additionally, the results were validated by comparing the numerical displacement profile with the displacements measured by a laser Doppler vibrometer. The comparison between the numerical and experimental results shows excellent agreement for both electrical impedance curve and for the displacement profile over the disk surface. The agreement between numerical and experimental displacement profiles shows that, although only the electrical impedance curve is

The generation of piezoelectricity and flexoelectricity in graphene by breaking the materials symmetries

Science.gov (United States)

Javvaji, Brahmanandam; He, Bo; Zhuang, Xiaoying

2018-06-01

Graphene is a non-piezoelectric material. Engineering the piezoelectricity in graphene is possible with the help of impurities, defects and structural modifications. This study reports the mechanism of strain induced polarization and the estimation of piezoelectric and flexoelectric coefficients for graphene system. The combination of charge-dipole potential and the strong many-body potential is employed for describing the inter-atomic interactions. The breaking of symmetry in graphene material is utilized to generate the polarization. Pristine graphene, graphene with circular defect, graphene with triangular defect and trapezium-shaped graphene are considered. Molecular dynamics simulations are performed for straining the graphene atomic systems. The optimization of charge-dipole potential functions measure the polarization for these systems. Pristine and circular defect graphene systems show a constant polarization with strain. The polarization is varying with strain for a triangular defected and trapezium-shaped graphene system. The local atomic deformation produces a change in polarization with respect to the strain gradient. Estimated piezo and flexo coefficients motivate the usage of graphene in electro-mechanical devices.

The generation of piezoelectricity and flexoelectricity in graphene by breaking the materials symmetries.

Science.gov (United States)

Javvaji, Brahmanandam; He, Bo; Zhuang, Xiaoying

2018-06-01

Graphene is a non-piezoelectric material. Engineering the piezoelectricity in graphene is possible with the help of impurities, defects and structural modifications. This study reports the mechanism of strain induced polarization and the estimation of piezoelectric and flexoelectric coefficients for graphene system. The combination of charge-dipole potential and the strong many-body potential is employed for describing the inter-atomic interactions. The breaking of symmetry in graphene material is utilized to generate the polarization. Pristine graphene, graphene with circular defect, graphene with triangular defect and trapezium-shaped graphene are considered. Molecular dynamics simulations are performed for straining the graphene atomic systems. The optimization of charge-dipole potential functions measure the polarization for these systems. Pristine and circular defect graphene systems show a constant polarization with strain. The polarization is varying with strain for a triangular defected and trapezium-shaped graphene system. The local atomic deformation produces a change in polarization with respect to the strain gradient. Estimated piezo and flexo coefficients motivate the usage of graphene in electro-mechanical devices.

Engineered piezoelectricity in graphene.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, Mitchell T; Reed, Evan J

2012-02-28

We discover that piezoelectric effects can be engineered into nonpiezoelectric graphene through the selective surface adsorption of atoms. Our calculations show that doping a single sheet of graphene with atoms on one side results in the generation of piezoelectricity by breaking inversion symmetry. Despite their 2D nature, piezoelectric magnitudes are found to be comparable to those in 3D piezoelectric materials. Our results elucidate a designer piezoelectric phenomenon, unique to the nanoscale, that has potential to bring dynamical control to nanoscale electromechanical devices.

Active Vibration Reduction of Titanium Alloy Fan Blades (FAN1) Using Piezoelectric Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Benjamin; Kauffman, Jeffrey; Duffy, Kirsten; Provenza, Andrew; Morrison, Carlos

2010-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center is developing smart adaptive structures to improve fan blade damping at resonances using piezoelectric (PE) transducers. In this paper, a digital resonant control technique emulating passive shunt circuits is used to demonstrate vibration reduction of FAN1 Ti real fan blade at the several target modes. Single-mode control and multi-mode control using one piezoelectric material are demonstrated. Also a conceptual study of how to implement this digital control system into the rotating fan blade is discussed.

Nonlinear kinematics for piezoelectricity in ALEGRA-EMMA.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitchell, John Anthony; Fuller, Timothy Jesse

2013-09-01

This report develops and documents nonlinear kinematic relations needed to implement piezoelectric constitutive models in ALEGRA-EMMA [5], where calculations involving large displacements and rotations are routine. Kinematic relationships are established using Gausss law and Faradays law; this presentation on kinematics goes beyond piezoelectric materials and is applicable to all dielectric materials. The report then turns to practical details of implementing piezoelectric models in an application code where material principal axes are rarely aligned with user defined problem coordinate axes. This portion of the report is somewhat pedagogical but is necessary in order to establish documentation for the piezoelectric implementation in ALEGRA-EMMA. This involves transforming elastic, piezoelectric, and permittivity moduli from material principal axes to problem coordinate axes. The report concludes with an overview of the piezoelectric implementation in ALEGRA-EMMA and small verification examples.

Tunable elastic parity-time symmetric structure based on the shunted piezoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Zhilin; Assouar, Badreddine

2018-02-01

We theoretically and numerically report on the tunable elastic Parity-Time (PT) symmetric structure based on shunted piezoelectric units. We show that the elastic loss and gain can be archived in piezoelectric materials when they are shunted by external circuits containing positive and negative resistances. We present and discuss, as an example, the strongly dependent relationship between the exceptional points of a three-layered system and the impedance of their external shunted circuit. The achieved results evidence that the PT symmetric structures based on this proposed concept can actively be tuned without any change of their geometric configurations.

Piezoelectric Transformers: An Historical Review

OpenAIRE

Alfredo Vazquez Carazo

2016-01-01

Piezoelectric transformers (PTs) are solid-state devices that transform electrical energy into electrical energy by means of a mechanical vibration. These devices are manufactured using piezoelectric materials that are driven at resonance. With appropriate design and circuitry, it is possible to step up and step down the voltages between the input and output sections of the piezoelectric transformer, without making use of magnetic materials and obtaining excellent conversion efficiencies. The...

The direct piezoelectric effect in the globular protein lysozyme

Science.gov (United States)

Stapleton, A.; Noor, M. R.; Sweeney, J.; Casey, V.; Kholkin, A. L.; Silien, C.; Gandhi, A. A.; Soulimane, T.; Tofail, S. A. M.

2017-10-01

Here, we present experimental evidence of the direct piezoelectric effect in the globular protein, lysozyme. Piezoelectric materials are employed in many actuating and sensing applications because they can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. Although originally studied in inorganic materials, several biological materials including amino acids and bone, also exhibit piezoelectricity. The exact mechanisms supporting biological piezoelectricity are not known, nor is it known whether biological piezoelectricity conforms strictly to the criteria of classical piezoelectricity. The observation of piezoelectricity in protein crystals presented here links biological piezoelectricity with the classical theory of piezoelectricity. We quantify the direct piezoelectric effect in monoclinic and tetragonal aggregate films of lysozyme using conventional techniques based on the Berlincourt Method. The largest piezoelectric effect measured in a crystalline aggregate film of lysozyme was approximately 6.5 pC N-1. These findings raise fundamental questions as to the possible physiological significance of piezoelectricity in lysozyme and the potential for technical applications.

Bone-Inspired Spatially Specific Piezoelectricity Induces Bone Regeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Peng; Ning, Chengyun; Zhang, Yu; Tan, Guoxin; Lin, Zefeng; Liu, Shaoxiang; Wang, Xiaolan; Yang, Haoqi; Li, Kang; Yi, Xin; Zhu, Ye; Mao, Chuanbin

2017-01-01

The extracellular matrix of bone can be pictured as a material made of parallel interspersed domains of fibrous piezoelectric collagenous materials and non-piezoelectric non-collagenous materials. To mimic this feature for enhanced bone regeneration, a material made of two parallel interspersed domains, with higher and lower piezoelectricity, respectively, is constructed to form microscale piezoelectric zones (MPZs). The MPZs are produced using a versatile and effective laser-irradiation technique in which K 0.5 Na 0.5 NbO 3 (KNN) ceramics are selectively irradiated to achieve microzone phase transitions. The phase structure of the laser-irradiated microzones is changed from a mixture of orthorhombic and tetragonal phases (with higher piezoelectricity) to a tetragonal dominant phase (with lower piezoelectricity). The microzoned piezoelectricity distribution results in spatially specific surface charge distribution, enabling the MPZs to bear bone-like microscale electric cues. Hence, the MPZs induce osteogenic differentiation of stem cells in vitro and bone regeneration in vivo even without being seeded with stem cells. The concept of mimicking the spatially specific piezoelectricity in bone will facilitate future research on the rational design of tissue regenerative materials.

Using Diffusion Bonding in Making Piezoelectric Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Sager, Frank E.

2003-01-01

A technique for the fabrication of piezoelectric actuators that generate acceptably large forces and deflections at relatively low applied voltages involves the stacking and diffusion bonding of multiple thin piezoelectric layers coated with film electrodes. The present technique stands in contrast to an older technique in which the layers are bonded chemically, by use of urethane or epoxy agents. The older chemical-bonding technique entails several disadvantages, including the following: It is difficult to apply the bonding agents to the piezoelectric layers. It is difficult to position the layers accurately and without making mistakes. There is a problem of disposal of hazardous urethane and epoxy wastes. The urethane and epoxy agents are nonpiezoelectric materials. As such, they contribute to the thickness of a piezoelectric laminate without contributing to its performance; conversely, for a given total thickness, the performance of the laminate is below that of a unitary piezoelectric plate of the same thickness. The figure depicts some aspects of the fabrication of a laminated piezoelectric actuator by the present diffusion- bonding technique. First, stock sheets of the piezoelectric material are inspected and tested. Next, the hole pattern shown in the figure is punched into the sheets. Alternatively, if the piezoelectric material is not a polymer, then the holes are punched in thermoplastic films. Then both faces of each punched piezoelectric sheet or thermoplastic film are coated with a silver-ink electrode material by use of a silkscreen printer. The electrode and hole patterns are designed for minimal complexity and minimal waste of material. After a final electrical test, all the coated piezoelectric layers (or piezoelectric layers and coated thermoplastic films) are stacked in an alignment jig, which, in turn, is placed in a curved press for the diffusion-bonding process. In this process, the stack is pressed and heated at a specified curing temperature

Wave propagation through a flexoelectric piezoelectric slab sandwiched by two piezoelectric half-spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiao, Fengyu; Wei, Peijun; Li, Yueqiu

2018-01-01

Reflection and transmission of plane waves through a flexoelectric piezoelectric slab sandwiched by two piezoelectric half-spaces are studied in this paper. The secular equations in the flexoelectric piezoelectric material are first derived from the general governing equation. Different from the classical piezoelectric medium, there are five kinds of coupled elastic waves in the piezoelectric material with the microstructure effects taken into consideration. The state vectors are obtained by the summation of contributions from all possible partial waves. The state transfer equation of flexoelectric piezoelectric slab is derived from the motion equation by the reduction of order, and the transfer matrix of flexoelectric piezoelectric slab is obtained by solving the state transfer equation. By using the continuous conditions at the interface and the approach of partition matrix, we get the resultant algebraic equations in term of the transfer matrix from which the reflection and transmission coefficients can be calculated. The amplitude ratios and further the energy flux ratios of various waves are evaluated numerically. The numerical results are shown graphically and are validated by the energy conservation law. Based on these numerical results, the influences of two characteristic lengths of microstructure and the flexoelectric coefficients on the wave propagation are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Piezoelectric cantilever sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Wan Y. (Inventor); Shih, Wei-Heng (Inventor); Shen, Zuyan (Inventor)

2008-01-01

A piezoelectric cantilever with a non-piezoelectric, or piezoelectric tip useful as mass and viscosity sensors. The change in the cantilever mass can be accurately quantified by monitoring a resonance frequency shift of the cantilever. For bio-detection, antibodies or other specific receptors of target antigens may be immobilized on the cantilever surface, preferably on the non-piezoelectric tip. For chemical detection, high surface-area selective absorbent materials are coated on the cantilever tip. Binding of the target antigens or analytes to the cantilever surface increases the cantilever mass. Detection of target antigens or analytes is achieved by monitoring the cantilever's resonance frequency and determining the resonance frequency shift that is due to the mass of the adsorbed target antigens on the cantilever surface. The use of a piezoelectric unimorph cantilever allows both electrical actuation and electrical sensing. Incorporating a non-piezoelectric tip (14) enhances the sensitivity of the sensor. In addition, the piezoelectric cantilever can withstand damping in highly viscous liquids and can be used as a viscosity sensor in wide viscosity range.

On the coupling effects of piezoelectricity and flexoelectricity in piezoelectric nanostructures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liwen He

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Flexoelectricity is a novel kind of electromechanical coupling phenomenon that is prevalent in all solid dielectrics and usually of vital importance in nanostructures and soft materials. Although the fundamental theory of flexoelectric solids and related beam or plate theories were extensively studied in recent years, the coupling effect of flexoelectricity and piezoelectricity in piezoelectric nanostructures has not been completely clarified yet. In the present work, a geometrically nonlinear piezoelectric plate model is established with a focus on the coupling effect. The constitutive equations for piezoelectric plates are derived under both the electrically short-circuit and open-circuit conditions. It is found that due to the coupling between flexoelectricity and piezoelectricity, stretching-bending coupling stiffness arises in the homogeneous plate and its specific value relies on the applied electrical boundary conditions. The effects of the flexoelectric-piezoelectric coupling on the effective mechanical behavior and the electromechanical behavior of nanobeams and nanoplates are also discussed. The developed model and presented results are expected to benefit the design and analysis of piezoelectric and flexoelectric devices and systems.

Nanoscans of piezoelectric activity using an atomic force microscope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Z.; Guy, I.L.; Butcher, K.S.A.; Tansley, T.L.

2002-01-01

Full text: Any crystal which lacks a centre of symmetry is piezoelectric. This includes all of the ferroelectric crystals used in photonics and virtually all compound semiconductors. Such crystals, when grown in thin film form invariably exist in a strained state and thus possess internal piezoelectric fields which can affect their electronic properties. A knowledge of the piezoelectric properties of such crystals is thus important in understanding how they behave in practical devices. It also provides a tool for analysing the crystal structure of such materials. Using an atomic force microscope (AFM) as a probe of piezoelectric activity allows the study of variations in crystal structure on a nanoscale. The AFM piezoelectric technique has been used by several groups to study structures of ceramic materials with large piezoelectric coefficients, intended for applications in piezoelectric actuators. In the AFM method, a driving signal of a few volts at a frequency well below the AFM tip resonance, is applied to a sample of the material mounted in the AFM. This voltage causes the sample dimensions to change in ways determined by the piezoelectric properties of the sample. The AFM signal thus contains the normal surface profile information and an additional component generated by the piezoelectric vibrations of the sample. A lockin amplifier is used to separate the piezoelectric signal from the normal AFM surface profile signal. The result is the simultaneous acquisition of the surface profile and a piezoelectric map of the surface of the material under study. We will present results showing the results of such measurements in materials such as lithium niobate and gallium nitride. These materials have piezoelectric coefficients which are much lower than those of materials to which the technique has normally been applied

Piezoelectric ceramic-reinforced metal matrix composites

OpenAIRE

2004-01-01

Composite materials comprising piezoelectric ceramic particulates dispersed in a metal matrix are capable of vibration damping. When the piezoelectric ceramic particulates are subjected to strain, such as the strain experienced during vibration of the material, they generate an electrical voltage that is converted into Joule heat in the surrounding metal matrix, thereby dissipating the vibrational energy. The piezoelectric ceramic particulates may also act as reinforcements to improve the mec...

Piezoelectricity

CERN Document Server

Lubitz, Karl

2008-01-01

Piezoelectric materials play a key role in an innovative market. Advances in applications derive from new materials and their development, as well as to new market requirements. This report elucidates these developments by a broad spectrum of examples, comprising ultrasound in medicine and defence industry, and frequency control.

Characterization of a Piezoelectric Buzzer Using a Michelson Interferometer

Science.gov (United States)

Lloyd, S.; Paetkau, M.

2010-01-01

A piezoelectric material generates an electric potential across its surface when subjected to mechanical stress; conversely, the inverse piezoelectric effect describes the expansion or contraction of the material when subjected to some applied voltage. Piezoelectric materials are used in devices such as doorbell buzzers, barbeque igniters, and…

Generation of electrical energy using lead zirconate titanate (PZT-5A) piezoelectric material: Analytical, numerical and experimental verifications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butt, Zubair; Ahmad, Nasir [Dept. of Mechanical, Mechatronics and Manufacturing Engineering, UET Lahore, Faisalabad Campus, Lahore (Pakistan); Pasha, Riffat Asim; Qayyum, Faisal; Anjum, Zeeshan [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila (Pakistan); Elahi, Hassan [Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian (China)

2016-08-15

Energy harvesting is the process of attaining energy from the external sources and transforming it into usable electrical energy. An analytical model of piezoelectric energy harvester has been developed to determine the output voltage across an electrical circuit when it is forced to undergo a base excitation. This model gives an easy approach to design and investigate the behavior of piezoelectric material. Numerical simulations have been carried out to determine the effect of frequency and loading on a Lead zirconate titanate (PZT-5A) piezoelectric material. It has been observed that the output voltage from the harvester increases when loading increases whereas its resonance frequency decreases. The analytical results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental and numerical simulation results.

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Caliò, Renato; Rongala, Udaya Bhaskar; Camboni, Domenico; Milazzo, Mario; Stefanini, Cesare; de Petris, Gianluca; Oddo, Calogero Maria

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the state of the art in piezoelectric energy harvesting. It presents the basics of piezoelectricity and discusses materials choice. The work places emphasis on material operating modes and device configurations, from resonant to non-resonant devices and also to rotational solutions. The reviewed literature is compared based on power density and bandwidth. Lastly, the question of power conversion is addressed by reviewing various circuit solutions. PMID:24618725

An efficient coupled polynomial interpolation scheme to eliminate material-locking in the Euler-Bernoulli piezoelectric beam finite element

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Litesh N. Sulbhewar

Full Text Available The convergence characteristic of the conventional two-noded Euler-Bernoulli piezoelectric beam finite element depends on the configuration of the beam cross-section. The element shows slower convergence for the asymmetric material distribution in the beam cross-section due to 'material-locking' caused by extension-bending coupling. Hence, the use of conventional Euler-Bernoulli beam finite element to analyze piezoelectric beams which are generally made of the host layer with asymmetrically surface bonded piezoelectric layers/patches, leads to increased computational effort to yield converged results. Here, an efficient coupled polynomial interpolation scheme is proposed to improve the convergence of the Euler-Bernoulli piezoelectric beam finite elements, by eliminating ill-effects of material-locking. The equilibrium equations, derived using a variational formulation, are used to establish relationships between field variables. These relations are used to find a coupled quadratic polynomial for axial displacement, having contributions from an assumed cubic polynomial for transverse displacement and assumed linear polynomials for layerwise electric potentials. A set of coupled shape functions derived using these polynomials efficiently handles extension-bending and electromechanical couplings at the field interpolation level itself in a variationally consistent manner, without increasing the number of nodal degrees of freedom. The comparison of results obtained from numerical simulation of test problems shows that the convergence characteristic of the proposed element is insensitive to the material configuration of the beam cross-section.

Base Metal Co-Fired Multilayer Piezoelectrics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisheng Gao

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectrics have been widely used in different kinds of applications, from the automobile industry to consumer electronics. The novel multilayer piezoelectrics, which are inspired by multilayer ceramic capacitors, not only minimize the size of the functional parts, but also maximize energy efficiency. Development of multilayer piezoelectric devices is at a significant crossroads on the way to achieving low costs, high efficiency, and excellent reliability. Concerning the costs of manufacturing multilayer piezoelectrics, the trend is to replace the costly noble metal internal electrodes with base metal materials. This paper discusses the materials development of metal co-firing and the progress of integrating current base metal chemistries. There are some significant considerations in metal co-firing multilayer piezoelectrics: retaining stoichiometry with volatile Pb and alkaline elements in ceramics, the selection of appropriate sintering agents to lower the sintering temperature with minimum impact on piezoelectric performance, and designing effective binder formulation for low pO2 burnout to prevent oxidation of Ni and Cu base metal.

Piezoelectricity in two dimensions: Graphene vs. molybdenum disulfide

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiaoxue; Hui, Fei; Knobloch, Theresia; Wang, Bingru; Fan, Zhongchao; Grasser, Tibor; Jing, Xu; Shi, Yuanyuan; Lanza, Mario

2017-08-01

The synthesis of piezoelectric two-dimensional (2D) materials is very attractive for implementing advanced energy harvesters and transducers, as these materials provide enormously large areas for the exploitation of the piezoelectric effect. Among all 2D materials, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has shown the largest piezoelectric activity. However, all research papers in this field studied just a single material, and this may raise concerns because different setups could provide different values depending on experimental parameters (e.g., probes used and areas analyzed). By using conductive atomic force microscopy, here we in situ demonstrate that the piezoelectric currents generated in MoS2 are gigantic (65 mA/cm2), while the same experiments in graphene just showed noise currents. These results provide the most reliable comparison yet reported on the piezoelectric effect in graphene and MoS2.

Piezoelectricity in polymers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kepler, R.G.; Anderson, R.A.

1980-01-01

Piezoelectricity and related properties of polymers are reviewed. After presenting a historical overview of the field, the mathematical basis of piezo- and pyroelectricity is summarized. We show how the experimentally measured quantities are related to the changes in polarization and point out the serious inequlity between direct and converse piezoelectric coefficients in polymers. Theoretical models of the various origins of piezo- and pyroelectricity, which include piezoelectricity due to inhomogeneous material properties and strains, are reviewed. Relaxational effects are also considered. Experimental techniques are examined and the results for different materials are presented. Because of the considerable work in recent years polyimylidene fluoride, this polymer receives the majority of the attention. The numerous applications of piezo-and pyroelectric polymers are mentioned. This article concludes with a discussion of the possible role of piezo- and pyroelectricity in biological system

Induced piezoelectricity in isotropic biomaterial.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, R L

1976-01-01

Isotropic material can be made to exhibit piezoelectric effects by the application of a constant electric field. For insulators, the piezoelectric strain constant is proportional to the applied electric field and for semiconductors, an additional out-of-phase component of piezoelectricity is proportional to the electric current density in the sample. The two induced coefficients are proportional to the strain-dependent dielectric constant (depsilon/dS + epsilon) and resistivity (drho/dS - rho), respectively. The latter is more important at frequencies such that rhoepsilonomega less than 1, often the case in biopolymers.Signals from induced piezoelectricity in nature may be larger than those from true piezoelectricity. PMID:990389

High Temperature, High Power Piezoelectric Composite Transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyeong Jae; Zhang, Shujun; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, StewarT.

2014-01-01

Piezoelectric composites are a class of functional materials consisting of piezoelectric active materials and non-piezoelectric passive polymers, mechanically attached together to form different connectivities. These composites have several advantages compared to conventional piezoelectric ceramics and polymers, including improved electromechanical properties, mechanical flexibility and the ability to tailor properties by using several different connectivity patterns. These advantages have led to the improvement of overall transducer performance, such as transducer sensitivity and bandwidth, resulting in rapid implementation of piezoelectric composites in medical imaging ultrasounds and other acoustic transducers. Recently, new piezoelectric composite transducers have been developed with optimized composite components that have improved thermal stability and mechanical quality factors, making them promising candidates for high temperature, high power transducer applications, such as therapeutic ultrasound, high power ultrasonic wirebonding, high temperature non-destructive testing, and downhole energy harvesting. This paper will present recent developments of piezoelectric composite technology for high temperature and high power applications. The concerns and limitations of using piezoelectric composites will also be discussed, and the expected future research directions will be outlined. PMID:25111242

Multimodal piezoelectric devices optimization for energy harvesting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G Acciani

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The use of the piezoelectric effect to convert ambient vibration into useful electrical energy constitutes one of the most studied areas in Energy Harvesting (EH research. This paper presents a typical cantilevered Energy Harvester device, which relates the electrical outputs to the vibration mode shape easily. The dynamic strain induced in the piezoceramic layer results in an alternating voltage output. The first six modes of frequencies and the deformation pattern of the beam are carried out basing on an eigenfrequency analysis conducted by the MEMS modules of the COMSOL Multiphysic® v3.5a to perform the Finite Element Analysis of the model. Subsequently, the piezoelectric material is cut around the inflection points to minimize the voltage cancellation effect occurring when the sign changes in the material. This study shows that the voltage produced by the device, increases in as the dimensions of the cuts vary in the piezoelectric layer. Such voltage reaches the optimum amount of piezoelectric material and cuts positioning. This proves that the optimized piezoelectric layer is 16% more efficient than the whole piezoelectric layer.

Orthotropic Piezoelectricity in 2D Nanocellulose.

Science.gov (United States)

García, Y; Ruiz-Blanco, Yasser B; Marrero-Ponce, Yovani; Sotomayor-Torres, C M

2016-10-06

The control of electromechanical responses within bonding regions is essential to face frontier challenges in nanotechnologies, such as molecular electronics and biotechnology. Here, we present Iβ-nanocellulose as a potentially new orthotropic 2D piezoelectric crystal. The predicted in-layer piezoelectricity is originated on a sui-generis hydrogen bonds pattern. Upon this fact and by using a combination of ab-initio and ad-hoc models, we introduce a description of electrical profiles along chemical bonds. Such developments lead to obtain a rationale for modelling the extended piezoelectric effect originated within bond scales. The order of magnitude estimated for the 2D Iβ-nanocellulose piezoelectric response, ~pm V -1 , ranks this material at the level of currently used piezoelectric energy generators and new artificial 2D designs. Such finding would be crucial for developing alternative materials to drive emerging nanotechnologies.

Orthotropic Piezoelectricity in 2D Nanocellulose

Science.gov (United States)

García, Y.; Ruiz-Blanco, Yasser B.; Marrero-Ponce, Yovani; Sotomayor-Torres, C. M.

2016-10-01

The control of electromechanical responses within bonding regions is essential to face frontier challenges in nanotechnologies, such as molecular electronics and biotechnology. Here, we present Iβ-nanocellulose as a potentially new orthotropic 2D piezoelectric crystal. The predicted in-layer piezoelectricity is originated on a sui-generis hydrogen bonds pattern. Upon this fact and by using a combination of ab-initio and ad-hoc models, we introduce a description of electrical profiles along chemical bonds. Such developments lead to obtain a rationale for modelling the extended piezoelectric effect originated within bond scales. The order of magnitude estimated for the 2D Iβ-nanocellulose piezoelectric response, ~pm V-1, ranks this material at the level of currently used piezoelectric energy generators and new artificial 2D designs. Such finding would be crucial for developing alternative materials to drive emerging nanotechnologies.

Finite element modeling of piezoelectric elements with complex electrode configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paradies, R; Schläpfer, B

2009-01-01

It is well known that the material properties of piezoelectric materials strongly depend on the state of polarization of the individual element. While an unpolarized material exhibits mechanically isotropic material properties in the absence of global piezoelectric capabilities, the piezoelectric material properties become transversally isotropic with respect to the polarization direction after polarization. Therefore, for evaluating piezoelectric elements the material properties, including the coupling between the mechanical and the electromechanical behavior, should be addressed correctly. This is of special importance for the micromechanical description of piezoelectric elements with interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). The best known representatives of this group are active fiber composites (AFCs), macro fiber composites (MFCs) and the radial field diaphragm (RFD), respectively. While the material properties are available for a piezoelectric wafer with a homogeneous polarization perpendicular to its plane as postulated in the so-called uniform field model (UFM), the same information is missing for piezoelectric elements with more complex electrode configurations like the above-mentioned ones with IDEs. This is due to the inhomogeneous field distribution which does not automatically allow for the correct assignment of the material, i.e. orientation and property. A variation of the material orientation as well as the material properties can be accomplished by including the polarization process of the piezoelectric transducer in the finite element (FE) simulation prior to the actual load case to be investigated. A corresponding procedure is presented which automatically assigns the piezoelectric material properties, e.g. elasticity matrix, permittivity, and charge vector, for finite element models (FEMs) describing piezoelectric transducers according to the electric field distribution (field orientation and strength) in the structure. A corresponding code has been

Method for generation of THz frequency radiation and sensing of large amplitude material strain waves in piezoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Evan J.; Armstrong, Michael R.

2010-09-07

Strain waves of THz frequencies can coherently generate radiation when they propagate past an interface between materials with different piezoelectric coefficients. Such radiation is of detectable amplitude and contains sufficient information to determine the time-dependence of the strain wave with unprecedented subpicosecond, nearly atomic time and space resolution.

High-Throughput Investigation of a Lead-Free AlN-Based Piezoelectric Material, (Mg,Hf)xAl1-xN.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Hung H; Oguchi, Hiroyuki; Van Minh, Le; Kuwano, Hiroki

2017-06-12

We conducted a high-throughput investigation of the fundamental properties of (Mg,Hf) x Al 1-x N thin films (0 piezoelectric materials. For the high-throughput investigation, we prepared composition-gradient (Mg,Hf) x Al 1-x N films grown on a Si(100) substrate at 600 °C by cosputtering AlN and MgHf targets. To measure the properties of the various compositions at different positions within a single sample, we used characterization techniques with spatial resolution. X-ray diffraction (XRD) with a beam spot diameter of 1.0 mm verified that Mg and Hf had substituted into the Al sites and caused an elongation of the c-axis of AlN from 5.00 Å for x = 0 to 5.11 Å for x = 0.24. In addition, the uniaxial crystal orientation and high crystallinity required for piezoelectric materials to be used as application devices were confirmed. The piezoelectric response microscope indicated that this c-axis elongation increased the piezoelectric coefficient almost linearly from 1.48 pm/V for x = 0 to 5.19 pm/V for x = 0.24. The dielectric constants of (Mg,Hf) x Al 1-x N were investigated using parallel plate capacitor structures with ∼0.07 mm 2 electrodes and showed a slight increase by substitution. These results verified that (Mg,Hf) x Al 1-x N is a promising material for piezoelectric-based application devices, especially for vibrational energy harvesters.

Acoustic wave transmission through piezoelectric structured materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, M; Le Clézio, E; Amorín, H; Algueró, M; Holc, Janez; Kosec, Marija; Hladky-Hennion, A C; Feuillard, G

2009-05-01

This paper deals with the transmission of acoustic waves through multilayered piezoelectric materials. It is modeled in an octet formalism via the hybrid matrix of the structure. The theoretical evolution with the angle and frequency of the transmission coefficients of ultrasonic plane waves propagating through a partially depoled PZT plate is compared to finite element calculations showing that both methods are in very good agreement. The model is then used to study a periodic stack of 0.65 PMN-0.35 PT/0.90 PMN-0.10 PT layers. The transmission spectra are interpreted in terms of a dispersive behavior of the critical angles of longitudinal and transverse waves, and band gap structures are analysed. Transmission measurements confirm the theoretical calculations and deliver an experimental validation of the model.

Development, Characterization and Piezoelectric Fatigue Behavior of Lead-Free Perovskite Piezoelectric Ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, Eric Andrew

Much recent research has focused on the development lead-free perovskite piezoelectrics as environmentally compatible alternatives to lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Two main categories of lead free perovskite piezoelectric ceramic systems were investigated as potential replacements to lead zirconate titanate (PZT) for actuator devices. First, solid solutions based on Li, Ta, and Sb modified (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN) lead-free perovskite systems were created using standard solid state methods. Secondly, Bi-based materials a variety of compositions were explored for (1-x)(Bi 0.5Na0.5)TiO3-xBi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O 3 (BNT-BZT) and Bi(Zn0.5Ti0.5)O3-(Bi 0.5K0.5)TiO3-(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO 3 (BZT-BKT-BNT). It was shown that when BNT-BKT is combined with increasing concentrations of Bi(Zn1/2i1/2)O3 (BZT), a transition from normal ferroelectric behavior to a material with large electric field induced strains was observed. The higher BZT containing compositions are characterized by large hysteretic strains(> 0.3%) with no negative strains that might indicate domain switching. This work summarizes and analyzes the fatigue behavior of the new generation of Pb-free piezoelectric materials. In piezoelectric materials, fatigue is observed as a degradation in the electromechanical properties under the application of a bipolar or unipolar cyclic electrical load. In Pb-based materials such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), fatigue has been studied in great depth for both bulk and thin film applications. In PZT, fatigue can result from microcracking or electrode effects (especially in thin films). Ultimately, however, it is electronic and ionic point defects that are the most influential mechanism. Therefore, this work also analyzes the fatigue characteristics of bulk polycrystalline ceramics of the modified-KNN and BNT-BKT-BZT compositions developed. The defect chemistry that underpins the fatigue behavior will be examined and the results will be compared to the existing body of work on PZT. It will

Impact of interfacial imperfection on transverse wave in a functionally graded piezoelectric material structure with corrugated boundaries

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar Singh, Abhishek; Kumar, Santan; Kumari, Richa

2018-03-01

The propagation behavior of Love-type wave in a corrugated functionally graded piezoelectric material layered structure has been taken into account. Concretely, the layered structure incorporates a corrugated functionally graded piezoelectric material layer imperfectly bonded to a functionally graded piezoelectric material half-space. An analytical treatment has been employed to determine the dispersion relation for both cases of electrically open condition and electrically short condition. The phase velocity of the Love-type wave has been computed numerically and its dependence on the wave number has been depicted graphically for a specific type of corrugated boundary surfaces for both said conditions. The crux of the study lies in the fact that the imperfect bonding of the interface, the corrugated boundaries present in the layer, and the material properties of the layer and the half-space strongly influence the phase velocity of the Love-type wave. It can be remarkably noted that the imperfect bonding of the interface reduces the phase velocity of the Love-type wave significantly. As a special case of the problem, it is noticed that the procured dispersion relation for both cases of electrically open and electrically short conditions is in accordance with the classical Love wave equation.

Piezoelectric MEMS sensors: state-of-the-art and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tadigadapa, S; Mateti, K

2009-01-01

Over the past two decades, several advances have been made in micromachined sensors and actuators. As the field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) has advanced, a clear need for the integration of materials other than silicon and its compounds into micromachined transducers has emerged. Piezoelectric materials are high energy density materials that scale very favorably upon miniaturization and that has led to an ever-growing interest in piezoelectric films for MEMS applications. At this time, piezoelectric aluminum-nitride-based film bulk acoustic resonators (FBAR) have already been successfully commercialized. Future innovations and improvements in inertial sensors for navigation, high-frequency crystal oscillators and filters for wireless applications, microactuators for RF applications, chip-scale chemical analysis systems and countless other applications hinge upon the successful miniaturization of components and integration of piezoelectrics and metals into these systems. In this article, a comprehensive review of micromachined piezoelectric transducer technology will be presented. Piezoelectric materials in bulk and thin film forms will be reviewed and fabrication techniques for the integration of these materials for microsensor applications will be presented. Recent advances in various piezoelectric microsensors will be presented through specific examples. This review will conclude with a critical assessment of the future trends and promise of this technology. (topical review)

Piezoelectric Ceramics Characterization

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Jordan, T

2001-01-01

... the behavior of a piezoelectric material. We have attempted to cover the most common measurement methods as well as introduce parameters of interest. Excellent sources for more in-depth coverage of specific topics can be found in the bibliography. In most cases, we refer to lead zirconate titanate (PZT) to illustrate some of the concepts since it is the most widely used and studied piezoelectric ceramic to date.

Low-Temperature Solution Processable Electrodes for Piezoelectric Sensors Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Tuukkanen, Sampo; Julin, Tuomas; Rantanen, Ville; Zakrzewski, Mari; Moilanen, Pasi; Lupo, Donald

2013-05-01

Piezoelectric thin-film sensors are suitable for a wide range of applications from physiological measurements to industrial monitoring systems. The use of flexible materials in combination with high-throughput printing technologies enables cost-effective manufacturing of custom-designed, highly integratable piezoelectric sensors. This type of sensor can, for instance, improve industrial process control or enable the embedding of ubiquitous sensors in our living environment to improve quality of life. Here, we discuss the benefits, challenges and potential applications of piezoelectric thin-film sensors. The piezoelectric sensor elements are fabricated by printing electrodes on both sides of unmetallized poly(vinylidene fluoride) film. We show that materials which are solution processable in low temperatures, biocompatible and environmental friendly are suitable for use as electrode materials in piezoelectric sensors.

Postbuckling Investigations of Piezoelectric Microdevices Considering Damage Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zhigang; Wang, Xianqiao

2014-01-01

Piezoelectric material has been emerging as a popular building block in MEMS devices owing to its unique mechanical and electrical material properties. However, the reliability of MEMS devices under buckling deformation environments remains elusive and needs to be further explored. Based on the Talreja's tensor valued internal state damage variables as well as the Helmhotlz free energy of piezoelectric material, a constitutive model of piezoelectric materials with damage is presented. The Kachanvo damage evolution law under in-plane compressive loads is employed. The model is applied to the specific case of the postbuckling analysis of the piezoelectric plate with damage. Then, adopting von Karman's plate theory, the nonlinear governing equations of the piezoelectric plates with initial geometric deflection including damage effects under in-plane compressive loads are established. By using the finite difference method and the Newmark scheme, the damage evolution for damage accumulation is developed and the finite difference procedure for postbuckling equilibrium path is simultaneously employed. Numerical results show the postbuckling behaviors of initial flat and deflected piezoelectric plates with damage or no damage under different sets of electrical loading conditions. The effects of applied voltage, aspect ratio of plate, thick-span ratio of plate, damage as well as initial geometric deflections on the postbuckling behaviors of the piezoelectric plate are discussed. PMID:24618774

Calculations for Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Henrik

1986-01-01

Analysis of piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers implies a solution of a boundary value problem, for a boay which consists of different materials, including a piezoelectric part. The problem is dynamic at frequencies, where a typical wavelength is somewhat less than the size of the body. Radiation...

Piezoelectric nanomaterials for biomedical applications

CERN Document Server

Menciassi, Arianna

2012-01-01

Nanoscale structures and materials have been explored in many biological applications because of their novel and impressive physical and chemical properties. Such properties allow remarkable opportunities to study and interact with complex biological processes. This book analyses the state of the art of piezoelectric nanomaterials and introduces their applications in the biomedical field. Despite their impressive potentials, piezoelectric materials have not yet received significant attention for bio-applications. This book shows that the exploitation of piezoelectric nanoparticles in nanomedicine is possible and realistic, and their impressive physical properties can be useful for several applications, ranging from sensors and transducers for the detection of biomolecules to “sensible” substrates for tissue engineering or cell stimulation.

Tailored piezoelectric thin films for energy harvester

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wan, X.

2013-01-01

Piezoelectric materials are excellent materials to transfer mechanical energy into electrical energy, which can be stored and used to power other devices. PiezoMEMS is a good way to combine silicon wafer processing and piezoelectric thin film technology and lead to a variety of miniaturized and

Design and analysis of a piezoelectric material based touch screen with additional pressure and its acceleration measurement functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chu, Xiang-Cheng; Liu, Jia-Yi; Gao, Ren-Long; Chang, Jie; Li, Long-Tu

2013-01-01

Touch screens are becoming more and more prevalent in everyday environments due to their convenience and humanized operation. In this paper, a piezoelectric material based touch screen is developed and investigated. Piezoelectric ceramics arrayed under the touch panel at the edges or corners are used as tactile sensors to measure the touch positioning point similarly to conventional touch screens. However, additional touch pressure and its acceleration performance can also be obtained to obtain a higher-level human–machine interface. The piezoelectric ceramics can also be added to a traditional touch screen structure, or they can be used independently to construct a novel touch screen with a high light transmittance approach to a transparent glass. The piezoelectric ceramics were processed from PZT piezoelectric ceramic powder into a round or rectangular shape. According to the varied touch position and physical press strength of a finger, or even a gloved hand or fingernail, the piezoelectric tactile sensors will have different output voltage responses. By calculating the ratio of different piezoelectric tactile sensors’ responses and summing up all piezoelectric tactile sensors’ output voltages, the touch point position, touch pressure and touch force acceleration can be detected. A prototype of such a touch screen is manufactured and its position accuracy, touch pressure and response speed are measured in detail. The experimental results show that the prototype has many advantages such as high light transmittance, low energy cost and high durability. (paper)

Piezoelectric Materials Synthesized by the Hydrothermal Method and Their Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takeshi Morita

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Synthesis by the hydrothermal method has various advantages, including low reaction temperature, three-dimensional substrate availability, and automatic polarization alignment during the process. In this review, powder synthesis, the fabrication of piezoelectric thin films, and their applications are introduced. A polycrystalline lead zirconate titanate (PZT thin film was applied to a micro ultrasonic motor, and an epitaxial lead titanate (PbTiO3 thin film was estimated as a ferroelectric data storage medium. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties were successfully obtained for epitaxial PbTiO3 films. As lead-free piezoelectric powders, KNbO3 and NaNbO3 powders were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and sintered together to form (K,NaNbO3 ceramics, from which reasonable piezoelectric performance was achieved.

Rare-Earth Calcium Oxyborate Piezoelectric Crystals ReCa4O(BO33: Growth and Piezoelectric Characterizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fapeng Yu

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Rare-earth calcium oxyborate crystals, ReCa4O(BO33 (ReCOB, Re = Er, Y, Gd, Sm, Nd, Pr, and La , are potential piezoelectric materials for ultrahigh temperature sensor applications, due to their high electrical resistivity at elevated temperature, high piezoelectric sensitivity and temperature stability. In this paper, different techniques for ReCOB single-crystal growth are introduced, including the Bridgman and Czochralski pulling methods. Crystal orientations and the relationships between the crystallographic and physical axes of the monoclinic ReCOB crystals are discussed. The procedures for dielectric, elastic, electromechanical and piezoelectric property characterization, taking advantage of the impedance method, are presented. In addition, the maximum piezoelectric coefficients for different piezoelectric vibration modes are explored, and the optimized crystal cuts free of piezoelectric cross-talk are obtained by rotation calculations.

Polymer-ceramic piezoelectric composites (PZT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassora, L.A.; Eiras, J.A.

1992-01-01

Polymer-ceramic piezoelectric transducers, with 1-3 of connectivity were prepared with different concentration of ceramic material. Piezoelectric composites, with equal electromechanical coupling factor and acoustic impedance of one third from that ceramic transducer, were obtained when the fractionary volume of PZT reach 30%. (C.G.C.)

Fabrication and in vitro biological properties of piezoelectric bioceramics for bone regeneration

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Yufei; Wu, Cong; Wu, Zixiang; Hu, Long; Zhang, Wei; Zhao, Kang

2017-02-01

The piezoelectric effect of biological piezoelectric materials promotes bone growth. However, the material should be subjected to stress before it can produce an electric charge that promotes bone repair and reconstruction conducive to fracture healing. A novel method for in vitro experimentation of biological piezoelectric materials with physiological load is presented. A dynamic loading device that can simulate the force of human motion and provide periodic load to piezoelectric materials when co-cultured with cells was designed to obtain a realistic expression of piezoelectric effect on bone repair. Hydroxyapatite (HA)/barium titanate (BaTiO3) composite materials were fabricated by slip casting, and their piezoelectric properties were obtained by polarization. The d33 of HA/BaTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics after polarization was 1.3 pC/N to 6.8 pC/N with BaTiO3 content ranging from 80% to 100%. The in vitro biological properties of piezoelectric bioceramics with and without cycle loading were investigated. When HA/BaTiO3 piezoelectric bioceramics were affected by cycle loading, the piezoelectric effect of BaTiO3 promoted the growth of osteoblasts and interaction with HA, which was better than the effect of HA alone. The best biocompatibility and bone-inducing activity were demonstrated by the 10%HA/90%BaTiO3 piezoelectric ceramics.

Flexible Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from Mouse Click Motions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Youngsu Cha

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we study energy harvesting from the mouse click motions of a robot finger and a human index finger using a piezoelectric material. The feasibility of energy harvesting from mouse click motions is experimentally and theoretically assessed. The fingers wear a glove with a pocket for including the piezoelectric material. We model the energy harvesting system through the inverse kinematic framework of parallel joints in a finger and the electromechanical coupling equations of the piezoelectric material. The model is validated through energy harvesting experiments in the robot and human fingers with the systematically varying load resistance. We find that energy harvesting is maximized at the matched load resistance to the impedance of the piezoelectric material, and the harvested energy level is tens of nJ.

A review on one dimensional perovskite nanocrystals for piezoelectric applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li-Qian Cheng

2016-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, one-dimensional piezoelectric nanomaterials have become a research topic of interest because of their special morphology and excellent piezoelectric properties. This article presents a short review on one dimensional perovskite piezoelectric materials in different systems including Pb(Zr,TiO3, BaTiO3 and (K,NaNbO3 (KNN. We emphasize KNN as a promising lead-free piezoelectric compound with a high Curie temperature and high piezoelectric properties and describe its synthesis and characterization. In particular, details are presented for nanoscale piezoelectricity characterization of a single KNN nanocrystal by piezoresponse force microscopy. Finally, this review describes recent progress in applications based on one dimensional piezoelectric nanostructures with a focus on energy harvesting composite materials.

Observation of piezoelectricity in free-standing monolayer MoS₂.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hanyu; Wang, Yuan; Xiao, Jun; Liu, Ming; Xiong, Shaomin; Wong, Zi Jing; Ye, Ziliang; Ye, Yu; Yin, Xiaobo; Zhang, Xiang

2015-02-01

Piezoelectricity allows precise and robust conversion between electricity and mechanical force, and arises from the broken inversion symmetry in the atomic structure. Reducing the dimensionality of bulk materials has been suggested to enhance piezoelectricity. However, when the thickness of a material approaches a single molecular layer, the large surface energy can cause piezoelectric structures to be thermodynamically unstable. Transition-metal dichalcogenides can retain their atomic structures down to the single-layer limit without lattice reconstruction, even under ambient conditions. Recent calculations have predicted the existence of piezoelectricity in these two-dimensional crystals due to their broken inversion symmetry. Here, we report experimental evidence of piezoelectricity in a free-standing single layer of molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) and a measured piezoelectric coefficient of e₁₁ = 2.9 × 10(-10) C m(-1). The measurement of the intrinsic piezoelectricity in such free-standing crystals is free from substrate effects such as doping and parasitic charges. We observed a finite and zero piezoelectric response in MoS₂ in odd and even number of layers, respectively, in sharp contrast to bulk piezoelectric materials. This oscillation is due to the breaking and recovery of the inversion symmetry of the two-dimensional crystal. Through the angular dependence of electromechanical coupling, we determined the two-dimensional crystal orientation. The piezoelectricity discovered in this single molecular membrane promises new applications in low-power logic switches for computing and ultrasensitive biological sensors scaled down to a single atomic unit cell.

Enhanced active piezoelectric 0-3 nanocomposites fabricated through electrospun nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feenstra, Joel; Sodano, Henry A.

2008-01-01

The use of monolithic piezoceramic materials in sensing and actuation applications has become quite common over the past decade. However, these materials have several properties that limit their application in practical systems. These materials are very brittle due to the ceramic nature of the monolithic material, making them vulnerable to accidental breakage during handling and bonding procedures. In addition, they have very poor ability to conform to curved surfaces and result in large add-on mass associated with using a typically lead-based ceramic. These limitations have motivated the development of alternative methods of applying the piezoceramic material, including piezoceramic fiber composites and piezoelectric 0-3 composites (also known as piezoelectric paint). Piezoelectric paint is desirable because it can be spayed or painted on and can be used with abnormal surfaces. However, the piezoelectric paint developed in prior studies has resulted in low coupling, limiting its application. In order to increase the coupling of the piezoelectric paint, this effort has investigated the use of piezoelectric nanowires rather than spherical piezoelectric particle, which are difficult to strain when embedded in a polymer matrix. The piezoceramic wires were electrospun from a barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) sol gel to produce fibers with 500-1000 nm diameters and subsequently calcinated to acquire perovskite BaTiO 3 . An active nanocomposite paint was formed using the resulting piezoelectric wires and was compared to the same paint with piezoelectric nanoparticles. The results show that the piezoceramic wires produce 0-3 nanocomposites with as high as 300% increase in electromechanical coupling

Stretchable piezoelectric nanocomposite generator.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Kwi-Il; Jeong, Chang Kyu; Kim, Na Kyung; Lee, Keon Jae

2016-01-01

Piezoelectric energy conversion that generate electric energy from ambient mechanical and vibrational movements is promising energy harvesting technology because it can use more accessible energy resources than other renewable natural energy. In particular, flexible and stretchable piezoelectric energy harvesters which can harvest the tiny biomechanical motions inside human body into electricity properly facilitate not only the self-powered energy system for flexible and wearable electronics but also sensitive piezoelectric sensors for motion detectors and in vivo diagnosis kits. Since the piezoelectric ZnO nanowires (NWs)-based energy harvesters (nanogenerators) were proposed in 2006, many researchers have attempted the nanogenerator by using the various fabrication process such as nanowire growth, electrospinning, and transfer techniques with piezoelectric materials including polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer and perovskite ceramics. In 2012, the composite-based nanogenerators were developed using simple, low-cost, and scalable methods to overcome the significant issues with previously-reported energy harvester, such as insufficient output performance and size limitation. This review paper provides a brief overview of flexible and stretchable piezoelectric nanocomposite generator for realizing the self-powered energy system with development history, power performance, and applications.

Piezoelectric energy harvesting through shear mode operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malakooti, Mohammad H; Sodano, Henry A

2015-01-01

Piezoelectric materials are excellent candidates for use in energy harvesting applications due to their high electromechanical coupling properties that enable them to convert input mechanical energy into useful electric power. The electromechanical coupling coefficient of the piezoelectric material is one of the most significant parameters affecting energy conversion and is dependent on the piezoelectric mode of operation. In most piezoceramics, the d 15 piezoelectric shear coefficient is the highest coefficient compared to the commonly used axial and transverse modes that utilize the d 33 and the d 31 piezoelectric strain coefficients. However, complicated electroding methods and challenges in evaluating the performance of energy harvesting devices operating in the shear mode have slowed research in this area. The shear deformation of a piezoelectric layer can be induced in a vibrating sandwich beam with a piezoelectric core. Here, a model based on Timoshenko beam theory is developed to predict the electric power output from a cantilever piezoelectric sandwich beam under base excitations. It is shown that the energy harvester operating in the shear mode is able to generate ∼50% more power compared to the transverse mode for a numerical case study. Reduced models of both shear and transverse energy harvesters are obtained to determine the optimal load resistance in the system and perform an efficiency comparison between two models with fixed and adaptive resistances. (paper)

Piezoelectric Microstructured Fibers via Drawing of Multimaterial Preforms.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xin; Qu, Hang; Skorobogatiy, Maksim

2017-06-06

We demonstrate planar laminated piezoelectric generators and piezoelectric microstructured fibers based on BaTiO 3 -polyvinylidene and carbon-loaded-polyethylene materials combinations. The laminated piezoelectric generators were assembled by sandwiching the electrospun BaTiO 3 -polyvinylidene mat between two carbon-loaded-polyethylene films. The piezoelectric microstructured fiber was fabricated via drawing of the multilayer fiber preform, and features a swissroll geometry that have ~10 alternating piezoelectric and conductive layers. Both piezoelectric generators have excellent mechanical durability, and could retain their piezoelectric performance after 3 day's cyclic bend-release tests. Compared to the laminated generators, the piezoelectric fibers are advantageous as they could be directly woven into large-area commercial fabrics. Potential applications of the proposed piezoelectric fibers include micro-power-generation and remote sensing in wearable, automotive and aerospace industries.

Piezoelectric Composites by Solid Freeform Fabrication: A Nature-Inspired Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Safari, A.; Akdoğan, E. K.

Piezoelectrics and electrostrictors are indispensable materials for use in transducer technology, as they inherently possess both direct (sensing) and converse (actuation) effects. A piezoelectric/electrostrictive sensor converts a mechanical input (displacement or force) into a measurable electrical output through piezoelectric/electrostrictive energy conversion. In the case of a piezoelectric, an applied mechanical force (stress) induces a voltage across the terminals of the transducer. On the other hand, an applied mechanical force induces a change in the capacitance of an electrostrictive transducer that could be electrically detected. Hence, the mechanical to electrical energy conversion is accomplished directly when a piezoelectric is used, while the same is obtained indirectly if the electroactive material of choice is an electrostrictor. Conversely, both piezoelectric and electrostrictive materials develop an elastic strain under an applied electric field. The said elastic strain is linearly proportional to the applied field in a piezoelectric, whereas electrostrictive coupling involves the second-order (quadratic) coupling of electric field with elastic strain. While piezoelectricity is possible only in noncentrosymetric point groups, electrostriction is observed in all solids, which make it a much more general solid-state phenomenon. Sensing and actuation functions can coexist in a given transducer by the intelligent use of such materials. Piezoelectrics and electrostrictors, therefore, constitute the backbone of modern transducer technology, as mechanical to electric energy (and vice versa) conversion can be accomplished with great efficiency in a way that is second to none among all phenomena known to date [1,2].

Anomalous piezoelectricity in two-dimensional graphene nitride nanosheets.

Science.gov (United States)

Zelisko, Matthew; Hanlumyuang, Yuranan; Yang, Shubin; Liu, Yuanming; Lei, Chihou; Li, Jiangyu; Ajayan, Pulickel M; Sharma, Pradeep

2014-06-27

Piezoelectricity is a unique property of materials that permits the conversion of mechanical stimuli into electrical and vice versa. On the basis of crystal symmetry considerations, pristine carbon nitride (C3N4) in its various forms is non-piezoelectric. Here we find clear evidence via piezoresponse force microscopy and quantum mechanical calculations that both atomically thin and layered graphitic carbon nitride, or graphene nitride, nanosheets exhibit anomalous piezoelectricity. Insights from ab inito calculations indicate that the emergence of piezoelectricity in this material is due to the fact that a stable phase of graphene nitride nanosheet is riddled with regularly spaced triangular holes. These non-centrosymmetric pores, and the universal presence of flexoelectricity in all dielectrics, lead to the manifestation of the apparent and experimentally verified piezoelectric response. Quantitatively, an e11 piezoelectric coefficient of 0.758 C m(-2) is predicted for C3N4 superlattice, significantly larger than that of the commonly compared α-quartz.

Piezoelectric paint: characterization for further applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, C; Fritzen, C-P

2012-01-01

Piezoelectric paint is a very attractive piezoelectric composite in many fields, such as non-destructive testing, or structural health monitoring. However, there are still many obstacles which restrict the real application of it. One of the main problems is that piezoelectric paint lacks a standard fabrication procedure, thus characterization is needed before use. The work presented here explores the characterization of piezoelectric paint. It starts with fabrication of samples with certain piezoelectric powder weight percentages. The microstructures of the samples are investigated by a scanning electron microscope; the results indicate that the fabrication method can produce high quality samples. This is followed by measurements of Young’s modulus and sensitivity. The piezoelectric charge constant d 31 is then deduced from the experimental data; the results agree well with a published result, which validates the effectiveness of the fabrication and characterization method. The characterized piezoelectric paint can expand its applications into different fields and therefore becomes a more promising and competitive smart material. (paper)

Strong piezoelectricity in bioinspired peptide nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kholkin, Andrei; Amdursky, Nadav; Bdikin, Igor; Gazit, Ehud; Rosenman, Gil

2010-02-23

We show anomalously strong shear piezoelectric activity in self-assembled diphenylalanine peptide nanotubes (PNTs), indicating electric polarization directed along the tube axis. Comparison with well-known piezoelectric LiNbO(3) and lateral signal calibration yields sufficiently high effective piezoelectric coefficient values of at least 60 pm/V (shear response for tubes of approximately 200 nm in diameter). PNTs demonstrate linear deformation without irreversible degradation in a broad range of driving voltages. The results open up a wide avenue for developing new generations of "green" piezoelectric materials and piezonanodevices based on bioactive tubular nanostructures potentially compatible with human tissue.

Love waves in functionally graded piezoelectric materials by stiffness matrix method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Salah, Issam; Wali, Yassine; Ben Ghozlen, Mohamed Hédi

2011-04-01

A numerical matrix method relative to the propagation of ultrasonic guided waves in functionally graded piezoelectric heterostructure is given in order to make a comparative study with the respective performances of analytical methods proposed in literature. The preliminary obtained results show a good agreement, however numerical approach has the advantage of conceptual simplicity and flexibility brought about by the stiffness matrix method. The propagation behaviour of Love waves in a functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) is investigated in this article. It involves a thin FGPM layer bonded perfectly to an elastic substrate. The inhomogeneous FGPM heterostructure has been stratified along the depth direction, hence each state can be considered as homogeneous and the ordinary differential equation method is applied. The obtained solutions are used to study the effect of an exponential gradient applied to physical properties. Such numerical approach allows applying different gradient variation for mechanical and electrical properties. For this case, the obtained results reveal opposite effects. The dispersive curves and phase velocities of the Love wave propagation in the layered piezoelectric film are obtained for electrical open and short cases on the free surface, respectively. The effect of gradient coefficients on coupled electromechanical factor, on the stress fields, the electrical potential and the mechanical displacement are discussed, respectively. Illustration is achieved on the well known heterostructure PZT-5H/SiO(2), the obtained results are especially useful in the design of high-performance acoustic surface devices and accurately prediction of the Love wave propagation behaviour. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Piezoelectric Structures and Low Power Generation Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irinela CHILIBON

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A short overview of different piezoelectric structures and devices for generating renewable electricity under mechanical actions is presented. A vibrating piezoelectric device differs from a typical electrical power source in that it has capacitive rather than inductive source impedance, and may be driven by mechanical vibrations of varying amplitude. Several techniques have been developed to extract energy from the environment. Generally, “vibration energy” could be converted into electrical energy by three techniques: electrostatic charge, magnetic fields and piezoelectric. Mechanical resonance frequency of piezoelectric bimorph transducers depends on geometric size (length, width, and thickness of each layer, and the piezoelectric coefficients of the piezoelectric material. Manufacturing processes and intended applications of several energy harvesting devices are presented.

Identification of elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric constants in piezoceramic disks.

Science.gov (United States)

Perez, Nicolas; Andrade, Marco A B; Buiochi, Flavio; Adamowski, Julio C

2010-12-01

Three-dimensional modeling of piezoelectric devices requires a precise knowledge of piezoelectric material parameters. The commonly used piezoelectric materials belong to the 6mm symmetry class, which have ten independent constants. In this work, a methodology to obtain precise material constants over a wide frequency band through finite element analysis of a piezoceramic disk is presented. Given an experimental electrical impedance curve and a first estimate for the piezoelectric material properties, the objective is to find the material properties that minimize the difference between the electrical impedance calculated by the finite element method and that obtained experimentally by an electrical impedance analyzer. The methodology consists of four basic steps: experimental measurement, identification of vibration modes and their sensitivity to material constants, a preliminary identification algorithm, and final refinement of the material constants using an optimization algorithm. The application of the methodology is exemplified using a hard lead zirconate titanate piezoceramic. The same methodology is applied to a soft piezoceramic. The errors in the identification of each parameter are statistically estimated in both cases, and are less than 0.6% for elastic constants, and less than 6.3% for dielectric and piezoelectric constants.

Magnetocaloric piezoelectric composites for energy harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cleveland, Michael; Liang, Hong

2012-01-01

Magnetocaloric alloy, Gd 5 Si 2 Ge 2 , was developed into a composite with the poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) piezoelectric polymer. This multifunctional material possesses unique properties that are suitable for energy conversion and harvesting. Experimental approaches include using an arc melting technique to synthesize the Gd 5 Si 2 Ge 2 (GSG) alloy and the spinning casting method to fabricate the composite. The materials were characterized using various techniques at different length scales. These include atomic force microscopy (AFM), optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that the phase transformation of the magnetocaloric material close to its Curie temperature induced a significant increase in power generation in the piezoelectric polymer. The power output of a laminated structure was 1.1 mW, more than 200 thousand times higher than the piezoelectric materials alone (5.1 nW). (technical note)

Piezoelectric energy harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howells, Christopher A

2009-01-01

Piezoelectric materials can be used to convert oscillatory mechanical energy into electrical energy. This technology, together with innovative mechanical coupling designs, can form the basis for harvesting energy from mechanical motion. Piezoelectric energy can be harvested to convert walking motion from the human body into electrical power. Recently four proof-of-concept Heel Strike Units were developed where each unit is essentially a small electric generator that utilizes piezoelectric elements to convert mechanical motion into electrical power in the form factor of the heel of a boot. The results of the testing and evaluation and the performance of this small electric generator are presented. The generator's conversion of mechanical motion into electrical power, the processes it goes through to produce useable power and commercial applications of the Heel Strike electric generator are discussed.

Piezoelectric Materials Under Natural and Man-Made Radiation: The Potential for Direct Radiation Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Wart, Megan; Simpson, Evan; Flaska, Marek

2018-01-01

Radiation detection systems used for monitoring long term waste storage need to be compact, rugged, and have low or no power requirements. By using piezoelectric materials it may be possible to create a reliable self-powered radiation detection system. To determine the feasibility of this approach, the electrical signal response of the piezoelectric materials to radiation must be characterized. To do so, an experimental geometry has been designed and a neutron source has been chosen as described in this paper, which will be used to irradiate a uranium foil for producing fission fragments. These future experiments will be aimed at finding the threshold of exposure of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) plates needed to produce and electrical signal. Based on the proposed experimental geometry the thermal neutron beam-line at the Breazeale Reactor at The Pennsylvania State University will be used as the neutron source. The uranium foil and neutron source will be able to supply a maximum flux of 1.5e5 fission fragments/second*cm2 to each of the PZT plates.

Piezoelectric Materials Under Natural and Man-Made Radiation: The Potential for Direct Radiation Detection

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Wart Megan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Radiation detection systems used for monitoring long term waste storage need to be compact, rugged, and have low or no power requirements. By using piezoelectric materials it may be possible to create a reliable self-powered radiation detection system. To determine the feasibility of this approach, the electrical signal response of the piezoelectric materials to radiation must be characterized. To do so, an experimental geometry has been designed and a neutron source has been chosen as described in this paper, which will be used to irradiate a uranium foil for producing fission fragments. These future experiments will be aimed at finding the threshold of exposure of lead zirconate titanate (PZT plates needed to produce and electrical signal. Based on the proposed experimental geometry the thermal neutron beam-line at the Breazeale Reactor at The Pennsylvania State University will be used as the neutron source. The uranium foil and neutron source will be able to supply a maximum flux of 1.5e5 fission fragments/second*cm2 to each of the PZT plates.

Development of a piezoelectric bone substitute material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Bader, Yousef A.

2000-01-01

The thesis deals with the preparation and testing of ceramic compositions to be used as bone substitute. The proposed composition consisted of calcium enriched calcium phosphate, kaolin and barium titanate in different ratios. The homogeneous powder mixture was dry pressed at different pressures and fired at temperatures up to 1350 degC for different soaking times. The physical properties of the fired compacts that were tested are bulk density and porosity. These were determined as function of pressing pressure, firing temperature and soaking time for different compositions. The mechanical properties investigated were the ultimate compressive strength and Young's modulus, which were determined for different compositions and forming pressures. The electrical properties investigated were D.C. characteristics (resistivity) and A.C. characteristics (A.C. resistivity, dielectric constant, dielectric loss and loss tangent). The piezoelectric behaviour of the fired compacts was investigated and the piezoelectric coefficient (d) in the axial direction was obtained as a function of the percent barium titanate added. The development of piezoelectricity when barium titanate is added was interpreted, using XRD, as due to the formation of barium titanate silicate. Compositions determined as having properties comparable to those of natural bone, were tested for in vitro solubility in pure water and saline solution. The results obtained showed that the selected composition (containing 15% kaolin, 10% barium titanate, pressed at 35 MPa and fired at 1350 degC for two hours) has properties comparable to those of dry bone and a reasonable in vitro solubility. (author)

Recent Progress on PZT Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Technologies

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Min-Gyu Kang

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Energy harvesting is the most effective way to respond to the energy shortage and to produce sustainable power sources from the surrounding environment. The energy harvesting technology enables scavenging electrical energy from wasted energy sources, which always exist everywhere, such as in heat, fluids, vibrations, etc. In particular, piezoelectric energy harvesting, which uses a direct energy conversion from vibrations and mechanical deformation to the electrical energy, is a promising technique to supply power sources in unattended electronic devices, wireless sensor nodes, micro-electronic devices, etc., since it has higher energy conversion efficiency and a simple structure. Up to now, various technologies, such as advanced materials, micro- and macro-mechanics, and electric circuit design, have been investigated and emerged to improve performance and conversion efficiency of the piezoelectric energy harvesters. In this paper, we focus on recent progress of piezoelectric energy harvesting technologies based on PbZrxTi1-xO3 (PZT materials, which have the most outstanding piezoelectric properties. The advanced piezoelectric energy harvesting technologies included materials, fabrications, unique designs, and properties are introduced to understand current technical levels and suggest the future directions of piezoelectric energy harvesting.

Lead-free piezoelectric transducers for vibration-based energy harvesting devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roescher, Mark

2011-11-15

Future applications like piezoelectric energy harvesters in addition with increasing environmental awareness ultimately demand novel sophisticated material systems in the field of piezoelectrics as an alternative to the long-established system lead-zirconate-titanate. In this publication state-of-the-art microgenerators have been designed to possess nonlinear Duffing oscillator characteristics. It is shown by measurement and simulation that lead-zirconate-titanate may hence no longer be the first choice in material selection for a piezoelectric microgenerator. Polyvinylidene fluoride has been integrated in a piezoelectric microgenerator and identified as an extraordinarily promising material system for transducer applications being highly insusceptible to stretching induced material failure. Finally, a fundamentally new chemical synthesis approach has been developed for the fabrication of potassium-sodium-niobate films that may also be suitable for other complex oxides.

Large In-Plane and Vertical Piezoelectricity in Janus Transition Metal Dichalchogenides.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Liang; Lou, Jun; Shenoy, Vivek B

2017-08-22

Piezoelectricity in 2D van der Waals materials has received considerable interest because of potential applications in nanoscale energy harvesting, sensors, and actuators. However, in all the systems studied to date, strain and electric polarization are confined to the basal plane, limiting the operation of piezoelectric devices. In this paper, based on ab initio calculations, we report a 2D materials system, namely, the recently synthesized Janus MXY (M = Mo or W, X/Y = S, Se, or Te) monolayer and multilayer structures, with large out-of-plane piezoelectric polarization. For MXY monolayers, both strong in-plane and much weaker out-of-plane piezoelectric polarizations can be induced by a uniaxial strain in the basal plane. For multilayer MXY, we obtain a very strong out-of-plane piezoelectric polarization when strained transverse to the basal plane, regardless of the stacking sequence. The out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficient d 33 is found to be strongest in multilayer MoSTe (5.7-13.5 pm/V depending on the stacking sequence), which is larger than that of the commonly used 3D piezoelectric material AlN (d 33 = 5.6 pm/V); d 33 in other multilayer MXY structures are a bit smaller, but still comparable. Our study reveals the potential for utilizing piezoelectric 2D materials and their van der Waals multilayers in device applications.

Piezoelectric energy harvesting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Howells, Christopher A [Power Technology Branch, US Army, CERDEC, C2D, Ft. Belvoir, VA 22060-5816 (United States)

2009-07-15

Piezoelectric materials can be used to convert oscillatory mechanical energy into electrical energy. This technology, together with innovative mechanical coupling designs, can form the basis for harvesting energy from mechanical motion. Piezoelectric energy can be harvested to convert walking motion from the human body into electrical power. Recently four proof-of-concept Heel Strike Units were developed where each unit is essentially a small electric generator that utilizes piezoelectric elements to convert mechanical motion into electrical power in the form factor of the heel of a boot. The results of the testing and evaluation and the performance of this small electric generator are presented. The generator's conversion of mechanical motion into electrical power, the processes it goes through to produce useable power and commercial applications of the Heel Strike electric generator are discussed. (author)

Biodegradable Piezoelectric Force Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Curry, Eli J; Ke, Kai; Chorsi, Meysam T; Wrobel, Kinga S; Miller, Albert N; Patel, Avi; Kim, Insoo; Feng, Jianlin; Yue, Lixia; Wu, Qian; Kuo, Chia-Ling; Lo, Kevin W-H; Laurencin, Cato T; Ilies, Horea; Purohit, Prashant K; Nguyen, Thanh D

2018-01-30

Measuring vital physiological pressures is important for monitoring health status, preventing the buildup of dangerous internal forces in impaired organs, and enabling novel approaches of using mechanical stimulation for tissue regeneration. Pressure sensors are often required to be implanted and directly integrated with native soft biological systems. Therefore, the devices should be flexible and at the same time biodegradable to avoid invasive removal surgery that can damage directly interfaced tissues. Despite recent achievements in degradable electronic devices, there is still a tremendous need to develop a force sensor which only relies on safe medical materials and requires no complex fabrication process to provide accurate information on important biophysiological forces. Here, we present a strategy for material processing, electromechanical analysis, device fabrication, and assessment of a piezoelectric Poly-l-lactide (PLLA) polymer to create a biodegradable, biocompatible piezoelectric force sensor, which only employs medical materials used commonly in Food and Drug Administration-approved implants, for the monitoring of biological forces. We show the sensor can precisely measure pressures in a wide range of 0-18 kPa and sustain a reliable performance for a period of 4 d in an aqueous environment. We also demonstrate this PLLA piezoelectric sensor can be implanted inside the abdominal cavity of a mouse to monitor the pressure of diaphragmatic contraction. This piezoelectric sensor offers an appealing alternative to present biodegradable electronic devices for the monitoring of intraorgan pressures. The sensor can be integrated with tissues and organs, forming self-sensing bionic systems to enable many exciting applications in regenerative medicine, drug delivery, and medical devices.

Piezoelectric effects in biomaterials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmerman, R.L.

1976-03-01

Precision methods have been developed for the simultaneous measurement of the complex piezoelectric stress constants and the electric conduction and polarization currents. Samples of Collagen, keratin, and chitin are prepared and measured in such a way to optimize the determination of the position and orientation of the electric dipole moments. The temperature and the hydration state of the samples are varied during the measurement of the piezoelectric constants in an effort to understand the role of water in biological material. Above 40 0 C, the inherent piezolectricity is enhanced by the water of hydration, in contrast to the more easily understood reduction observed at lower temperatures. Gelatin, which has no inherent piezoelectricity, displays a piezoelectricity proportional to the currents of conduction and polarization. An analysis of the new effect shows that it is a measure of the variation of the resistivity with deformation (d rho/dS - rho) in the same way that the electric field induced piezoelectricity is a measure of the variation of the dielectric constant with deformation (dk/dS + k). Both are sensitive to electric dipole relaxation effects. (Author) [pt

Enhanced Piezoelectric Response of AlN via CrN Alloying

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Manna, Sukriti; Talley, Kevin R.; Gorai, Prashun; Mangum, John; Zakutayev, Andriy; Brennecka, Geoff L.; Stevanović, Vladan; Ciobanu, Cristian V.

2018-03-01

Since AlN has emerged as an important piezoelectric material for a wide variety of applications, efforts have been made to increase its piezoelectric response via alloying with transition metals that can substitute for Al in the wurtzite lattice. We report on density functional theory calculations of structure and properties of the CrxAl1-xN system for Cr concentrations ranging from zero to beyond the wurtzite-rocksalt transition point. By studying the different contributions to the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient, we propose that the physical origin of the enhanced piezoelectricity in CrxAl1-xN alloys is the increase of the internal parameter u of the wurtzite structure upon substitution of Al with the larger Cr ions. Among a set of wurtzite-structured materials, we find that CrxAl1-xN has the most sensitive piezoelectric coefficient with respect to alloying concentration. Based on these results, we propose that CrxAl1-xN is a viable piezoelectric material whose properties can be tuned via Cr composition. We support this proposal by combinatorial synthesis experiments, which show that Cr can be incorporated in the AlN lattice up to 30% before a detectable transition to rocksalt occurs. At this Cr content, the piezoelectric modulus d33 is approximately 4 times larger than that of pure AlN. This finding, combined with the relative ease of synthesis under nonequilibrium conditions, may position CrxAl1-xN as a prime piezoelectric material for applications such as resonators and acoustic wave generators.

Enhanced Piezoelectric Response of AlN via CrN Alloying

Science.gov (United States)

Manna, Sukriti; Talley, Kevin R.; Gorai, Prashun; Mangum, John; Zakutayev, Andriy; Brennecka, Geoff L.; Stevanović, Vladan; Ciobanu, Cristian V.

2018-03-01

Since AlN has emerged as an important piezoelectric material for a wide variety of applications, efforts have been made to increase its piezoelectric response via alloying with transition metals that can substitute for Al in the wurtzite lattice. We report on density functional theory calculations of structure and properties of the Crx Al1 -x N system for Cr concentrations ranging from zero to beyond the wurtzite-rocksalt transition point. By studying the different contributions to the longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient, we propose that the physical origin of the enhanced piezoelectricity in Crx Al1 -x N alloys is the increase of the internal parameter u of the wurtzite structure upon substitution of Al with the larger Cr ions. Among a set of wurtzite-structured materials, we find that Crx Al1 -x N has the most sensitive piezoelectric coefficient with respect to alloying concentration. Based on these results, we propose that Crx Al1 -x N is a viable piezoelectric material whose properties can be tuned via Cr composition. We support this proposal by combinatorial synthesis experiments, which show that Cr can be incorporated in the AlN lattice up to 30% before a detectable transition to rocksalt occurs. At this Cr content, the piezoelectric modulus d33 is approximately 4 times larger than that of pure AlN. This finding, combined with the relative ease of synthesis under nonequilibrium conditions, may position Crx Al1 -x N as a prime piezoelectric material for applications such as resonators and acoustic wave generators.

Piezoelectric Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) Ring Shaped Contour-Mode MEMS Resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Kasambe, P. V.; Asgaonkar, V. V.; Bangera, A. D.; Lokre, A. S.; Rathod, S. S.; Bhoir, D. V.

2018-02-01

Flexibility in setting fundamental frequency of resonator independent of its motional resistance is one of the desired criteria in micro-electromechanical (MEMS) resonator design. It is observed that ring-shaped piezoelectric contour-mode MEMS resonators satisfy this design criterion than in case of rectangular plate MEMS resonators. Also ring-shaped contour-mode piezoelectric MEMS resonator has an advantage that its fundamental frequency is defined by in-plane dimensions, but they show variation of fundamental frequency with different Platinum (Pt) thickness referred as change in ratio of fNEW /fO . This paper presents the effects of variation in geometrical parameters and change in piezoelectric material on the resonant frequencies of Platinum piezoelectric-Aluminium ring-shaped contour-mode MEMS resonators and its electrical parameters. The proposed structure with Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) as the piezoelectric material was observed to be a piezoelectric material with minimal change in fundamental resonant frequency due to Platinum thickness variation. This structure was also found to exhibit extremely low motional resistance of 0.03 Ω as compared to the 31-35 Ω range obtained when using AlN as the piezoelectric material. CoventorWare 10 is used for the design, simulation and corresponding analysis of resonators which is Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis and design tool for MEMS devices.

Deflection control of functionally graded material beams with bonded piezoelectric sensors and actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gharib, Ahmad; Salehi, Manouchehr; Fazeli, Saeed

2008-01-01

An analytical solution is developed for analysis of functionally graded material (FGM) beams containing two layers of piezoelectric material, used as sensor and actuator. The properties of FGM layer are functionally graded in the thickness direction according to the volume fraction power law distribution. The equations of motion are derived by using Hamilton's principle, based on the first-order shear deformation theory. By using a displacement potential function, and assumption of harmonic vibration, the equations of motion have been solved analytically. Finally, the effects of FGM constituent volume fraction in the peak responses for various volume fraction indexes have been graphically illustrated

Recent Advances in the Control of Piezoelectric Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ziqiang Chi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The micro/nano positioning field has made great progress towards enabling the advance of micro/nano technology. Micro/nano positioning stages actuated by piezoelectric actuators are the key devices in micro/nano manipulation. The control of piezoelectric actuators has emerged as a hot topic in recent years. Piezoelectric materials have inherent hysteresis and creep nonlinearity, which can reduce the accuracy of the manipulation, even causing the instability of the whole system. Remarkable efforts have been made to compensate for the nonlinearity of piezoelectric actuation through the mathematical modelling and control approaches. This paper provides a review of recent advances on the control of piezoelectric actuators. After a brief introduction of basic components of typical piezoelectric micro/nano positioning platforms, the working principle and modelling of piezoelectric actuators are outlined in this paper. This is followed with the major control method and recent progress is presented in detail. Finally, some open issues and future work on the control of piezoelectric actuators are extensively discussed.

Direct observation of shear piezoelectricity in poly-l-lactic acid nanowires

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Smith

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric polymers are capable of interconverting mechanical and electrical energy, and are therefore candidate materials for biomedical applications such as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters. In particular, nanowires of these materials are attractive as they can be unclamped, flexible and sensitive to small vibrations. Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA nanowires have been investigated for their use in biological applications, but their piezoelectric properties have never been fully characterised, even though macroscopic films and fibres have been shown to exhibit shear piezoelectricity. This piezoelectric mode is particularly interesting for in vivo applications where shear forces are especially relevant, and is similar to what has been observed in natural materials such as bone and DNA. Here, using piezo-response force microscopy (PFM, we report the first direct observation of shear piezoelectricity in highly crystalline and oriented PLLA nanowires grown by a novel template-wetting method. Our results are validated using finite-element simulations and numerical analysis, which importantly and more generally allow for accurate interpretation of PFM signals in soft nanostructured materials. Our work opens up the possibility for the development of biocompatible and sustainable piezoelectric nanogenerators and sensors based on polymer nanowires.

Direct observation of shear piezoelectricity in poly-l-lactic acid nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michael; Calahorra, Yonatan; Jing, Qingshen; Kar-Narayan, Sohini

2017-07-01

Piezoelectric polymers are capable of interconverting mechanical and electrical energy, and are therefore candidate materials for biomedical applications such as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters. In particular, nanowires of these materials are attractive as they can be unclamped, flexible and sensitive to small vibrations. Poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) nanowires have been investigated for their use in biological applications, but their piezoelectric properties have never been fully characterised, even though macroscopic films and fibres have been shown to exhibit shear piezoelectricity. This piezoelectric mode is particularly interesting for in vivo applications where shear forces are especially relevant, and is similar to what has been observed in natural materials such as bone and DNA. Here, using piezo-response force microscopy (PFM), we report the first direct observation of shear piezoelectricity in highly crystalline and oriented PLLA nanowires grown by a novel template-wetting method. Our results are validated using finite-element simulations and numerical analysis, which importantly and more generally allow for accurate interpretation of PFM signals in soft nanostructured materials. Our work opens up the possibility for the development of biocompatible and sustainable piezoelectric nanogenerators and sensors based on polymer nanowires.

Shear wave propagation in piezoelectric-piezoelectric composite layered structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anshu Mli Gaur

Full Text Available The propagation behavior of shear wave in piezoelectric composite structure is investigated by two layer model presented in this approach. The composite structure comprises of piezoelectric layers of two different materials bonded alternatively. Dispersion equations are derived for propagation along the direction normal to the layering and in direction of layering. It has been revealed that thickness and elastic constants have significant influence on propagation behavior of shear wave. The phase velocity and wave number is numerically calculated for alternative layer of Polyvinylidene Difluoride (PVDF and Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT-5H in composite layered structure. The analysis carried out in this paper evaluates the effect of volume fraction on the phase velocity of shear wave.

Towards an acoustical platform for many-body spin emulation: Transmon qubits patterned on a piezoelectric material

Science.gov (United States)

Moores, Brad A.; Sletten, Lucas R.; Viennot, Jeremie; Lehnert, K. W.

Man-made systems of interacting qubits are a promising and powerful way of exploring many-body spin physics beyond classical computation. Although transmon qubits are perhaps the most advanced quantum computing technology, building a system of such qubits designed to emulate a system of many interacting spins is hindered by the mismatch of scales between the transmons and the electromagnetic modes that couple them. We propose a strategy to overcome this mismatch by using surface acoustic waves, which couple to qubits piezoelectrically and have micron wavelengths at GHz frequencies. In this talk, we will present characterizations of transmon qubits fabricated on a piezoelectric material, and show that their coherence properties are sufficient to explore acoustically mediated qubit interactions.

Theoretical analysis of dynamic property for piezoelectric cantilever triple-layer benders with large piezoelectric and electromechanical coupling coefficients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Jiao Gong

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Ferroelectric single crystals, such as PZN-PT, provide novel prospects in piezoelectric bending devices such as actuators, sensors or energy harvesters because of their extraordinarily large piezoelectric coefficients. However, large errors may occur in some analyses on electromechanical behaviors using the conventional models. We find the bending rigidity of piezoelectric composited bender is affected not only by thickness, width and the modulus of elasticity of the different layers but also electromechanical coupling coefficients (EMCCs of the piezoelectric material and the larger EMCCs mean more marked effect. This paper focuses on the derivation of the applied input excitation and output response characteristics in the circular frequency domain for piezoelectric cantilever triple-layer benders (PCTBs, taking into account the secondary piezoelectric effect. Analytic dynamic descriptions of such actuators and transducers are obtained. Based on the presented models dynamic features of PCTB composed of PZN-8%PT are calculated, and numerical results coincide with simulations using the finite element method (FEM.

Evaluation of electromechanical coupling parameters of piezoelectric materials by using piezoelectric cantilever with coplanar electrode structure in quasi-stasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Xuejun; Zhu, Yuankun; Liu, Xun; Liu, Jing; Zhang, Yong; Chen, Jianguo

2014-02-01

Based on Timoshenko beam theory, a principle model is proposed to establish the relationship between electric charge and excitation acceleration, and in quasi-stasis we apply the direct piezoelectric effect of multilayer cantilever with coplanar electrode structure to evaluate the piezoelectric strain coefficient d15 and electromechanical coupling coefficient k15. They are measured as 678 pC/N and 0.74 for the commercial piezoelectric ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PZT-51) bulk specimen and 656 pC/N and 0.63 for the lead magnesium niobate (PMN) bulk specimen, and they are in agreement with the calibration and simulation values. The maximum of relative errors is less than 4.2%, so the proposed method is reliable and convenient.

Piezoelectric Templates – New Views on Biomineralization and Biomimetics

Science.gov (United States)

Stitz, Nina; Eiben, Sabine; Atanasova, Petia; Domingo, Neus; Leineweber, Andreas; Burghard, Zaklina; Bill, Joachim

2016-01-01

Biomineralization in general is based on electrostatic interactions and molecular recognition of organic and inorganic phases. These principles of biomineralization have also been utilized and transferred to bio-inspired synthesis of functional materials during the past decades. Proteins involved in both, biomineralization and bio-inspired processes, are often piezoelectric due to their dipolar character hinting to the impact of a template’s piezoelectricity on mineralization processes. However, the piezoelectric contribution on the mineralization process and especially the interaction of organic and inorganic phases is hardly considered so far. We herein report the successful use of the intrinsic piezoelectric properties of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) to synthesize piezoelectric ZnO. Such films show a two-fold increase of the piezoelectric coefficient up to 7.2 pm V−1 compared to films synthesized on non-piezoelectric templates. By utilizing the intrinsic piezoelectricity of a biotemplate, we thus established a novel synthesis pathway towards functional materials, which sheds light on the whole field of biomimetics. The obtained results are of even broader and general interest since they are providing a new, more comprehensive insight into the mechanisms involved into biomineralization in living nature. PMID:27212583

Polarization Stability of Amorphous Piezoelectric Polyimides

Science.gov (United States)

Park, C.; Ounaies, Z.; Su, J.; Smith, J. G., Jr.; Harrison, J. S.

2000-01-01

Amorphous polyimides containing polar functional groups have been synthesized and investigated for potential use as high temperature piezoelectric sensors. The thermal stability of the piezoelectric effect of one polyimide was evaluated as a function of various curing and poling conditions under dynamic and static thermal stimuli. First, the polymer samples were thermally cycled under strain by systematically increasing the maximum temperature from 50 C to 200 C while the piezoelectric strain coefficient was being measured. Second, the samples were isothermally aged at an elevated temperature in air, and the isothermal decay of the remanent polarization was measured at room temperature as a function of time. Both conventional and corona poling methods were evaluated. This material exhibited good thermal stability of the piezoelectric properties up to 100 C.

Enhanced piezoelectric properties of vertically aligned single-crystalline NKN nano-rod arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Min-Gyu; Oh, Seung-Min; Jung, Woo-Suk; Moon, Hi Gyu; Baek, Seung-Hyub; Nahm, Sahn; Yoon, Seok-Jin; Kang, Chong-Yun

2015-05-08

Piezoelectric materials capable of converting between mechanical and electrical energy have a great range of potential applications in micro- and nano-scale smart devices; however, their performance tends to be greatly degraded when reduced to a thin film due to the large clamping force by the substrate and surrounding materials. Herein, we report an effective method for synthesizing isolated piezoelectric nano-materials as means to relax the clamping force and recover original piezoelectric properties of the materials. Using this, environmentally friendly single-crystalline NaxK1-xNbO3 (NKN) piezoelectric nano-rod arrays were successfully synthesized by conventional pulsed-laser deposition and demonstrated to have a remarkably enhanced piezoelectric performance. The shape of the nano-structure was also found to be easily manipulated by varying the energy conditions of the physical vapor. We anticipate that this work will provide a way to produce piezoelectric micro- and nano-devices suitable for practical application, and in doing so, open a new path for the development of complex metal-oxide nano-structures.

Progress in engineering high strain lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leontsev, Serhiy O; Eitel, Richard E

2010-01-01

Environmental concerns are strongly driving the need to replace the lead-based piezoelectric materials currently employed as multilayer actuators. The current review describes both compositional and structural engineering approaches to achieve enhanced piezoelectric properties in lead-free materials. The review of the compositional engineering approach focuses on compositional tuning of the properties and phase behavior in three promising families of lead-free perovskite ferroelectrics: the titanate, alkaline niobate and bismuth perovskites and their solid solutions. The 'structural engineering' approaches focus instead on optimization of microstructural features including grain size, grain orientation or texture, ferroelectric domain size and electrical bias field as potential paths to induce large piezoelectric properties in lead-free piezoceramics. It is suggested that a combination of both compositional and novel structural engineering approaches will be required in order to realize viable lead-free alternatives to current lead-based materials for piezoelectric actuator applications. (topical review)

Progress in engineering high strain lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Leontsev, Serhiy O; Eitel, Richard E

2010-01-01

Environmental concerns are strongly driving the need to replace the lead-based piezoelectric materials currently employed as multilayer actuators. The current review describes both compositional and structural engineering approaches to achieve enhanced piezoelectric properties in lead-free materials. The review of the compositional engineering approach focuses on compositional tuning of the properties and phase behavior in three promising families of lead-free perovskite ferroelectrics: the titanate, alkaline niobate and bismuth perovskites and their solid solutions. The ‘structural engineering’ approaches focus instead on optimization of microstructural features including grain size, grain orientation or texture, ferroelectric domain size and electrical bias field as potential paths to induce large piezoelectric properties in lead-free piezoceramics. It is suggested that a combination of both compositional and novel structural engineering approaches will be required in order to realize viable lead-free alternatives to current lead-based materials for piezoelectric actuator applications. PMID:27877343

Fabrication and calibration of a piezoelectric nanocomposite paint

Science.gov (United States)

Osho, Samuel; Wu, Nan; Aramfard, Mohammad; Deng, Chuang; Ojo, Olanrewaju

2018-03-01

A new liquid form piezoelectric nanocomposite paint material is fabricated with possible applications as dynamic strain sensors and/or piezoelectric transducers. The applied coating is in the form of low-cost paint, which is flexible and bonds strongly on a metallic surface after drying out via the solvent-casting method. The nanocomposite is produced by an ultrasonic mixture of varying percentages of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle water dispersion, poly vinyl acetate glue (PVA) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). ZnO nanoparticles are used as the piezoelectric sensing elements in a PVA matrix of the paint, while CNTs are introduced as robust bridge of ZnO particles enhancing the piezoelectricity and material properties. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images confirmed the linkages of ZnO nanoparticles in the composite by CNTs. Through piezoelectricity calibration, the optimum mixing ratio with the highest piezoelectricity is 78.1 wt% ZnO, 19.5 wt% PVA glue and 2.4 wt% multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Through nanoindentation tests for the characterization of the mechanical properties of the nano-composite paint, it is found that Young’s modulus and hardness reached a threshold point in the increment in the addition of CNTs to the paint before showing signs of decline. Detailed analysis and explanation of the calibration results and physical phenomenon are provided. The stable paint material is ready to be applied on rough area of engineering structures as sensor and transducer.

Experiments to Demonstrate Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Erhart, Jirí

2013-01-01

Piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials are used in many current applications. The purpose of this paper is to explain the basic properties of pyroelectric and piezoelectric effects and demonstrate them in simple experiments. Pyroelectricity is presented on lead zirconium titanate (PZT) ceramics as an electric charge generated by the temperature…

Piezoelectric peptide-based nanogenerator enhanced by single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vu Nguyen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Peptide has recently been demonstrated as a sustainable and smart material for piezoelectric energy conversion. Although the power output was improved compared to other biomaterials, the use of a piezoelectric device alone can only capture the energy from the minute deformation in materials. In comparison, the triboelectric effect can convert mechanical energy from large motion. Consequently, utilizing both piezoelectric and triboelectric effects is of significant research interest due to their complementary energy conversion mechanisms. Here we demonstrated a hybrid nanogenerator that combined a peptide-based piezoelectric nanogenerator with a single-electrode triboelectric nanogenerator. Our device structure enabled the voltage and current outputs of each individual type of nanogenerator to be superposed in the hybrid nanogenerator, producing overall constructive outputs. The design of our device also enabled a simplified configuration of hybrid nanogenerator. This study is important not only for the enhancement of peptide-based piezoelectric device but also for the future design of hybrid piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators.

A study on the performance of piezoelectric composite materials for designing embedded transducers for concrete assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Dumoulin, Cédric; Deraemaeker, Arnaud

2018-03-01

Ultrasonic measurements of concrete can provide crucial information about its state of health. The most common practice in the construction industry consists in using external probes which strongly limits the use of the method since large parts of the in-service structures are difficult to access. It is also possible to assess in real time the setting process of the concrete using ultrasonic measurements. In practice, the field measurement of the concrete hardening is limited by the formworks. As an alternative, some research teams have studied the possibility to directly embed the transducers into the concrete structures. The current embedded ultrasonic transducers are of two categories: bulk piezoelectric elements surrounded by several coating and matching layers and composites piezoelectric elements. Both technologies aim at optimizing the wave energy transmitted to the tested medium. The performances of the transducers of the first kind have been studied in a previous study. A fair amount of recent research has been focused on the development of novel cement-based piezoelectric composites. In this study, we first compare the effective properties of such cement-based materials with more widespread composites made with matrices of epoxy resins or polyurethane. The study only concerns the 1-3 fiber arrangement composites. The effective properties are computed using both an analytical mixing rule method and a finite element based homogenization method using representative volume elements (RVEs) which allows for considering more realistic fiber arrangements, leading yet to very similar results. The effective piezoelectric properties of cement-based composites appear to be very low compared to composites made of epoxy or polyurethane. This result is underlined by looking at the acoustic response and the electric input impedance of different piezoelectric disks where we compare performances of such transducers with a low-cost bulk piezoelectric disc element. The first

Energy harvesting performance of piezoelectric ceramic and polymer nanowires.

Science.gov (United States)

Crossley, Sam; Kar-Narayan, Sohini

2015-08-28

Energy harvesting from ubiquitous ambient vibrations is attractive for autonomous small-power applications and thus considerable research is focused on piezoelectric materials as they permit direct inter-conversion of mechanical and electrical energy. Nanogenerators (NGs) based on piezoelectric nanowires are particularly attractive due to their sensitivity to small-scale vibrations and may possess superior mechanical-to-electrical conversion efficiency when compared to bulk or thin-film devices of the same material. However, candidate piezoelectric nanowires have hitherto been predominantly analyzed in terms of NG output (i.e. output voltage, output current and output power density). Surprisingly, the corresponding dynamical properties of the NG, including details of how the nanowires are mechanically driven and its impact on performance, have been largely neglected. Here we investigate all realizable NG driving contexts separately involving inertial displacement, applied stress T and applied strain S, highlighting the effect of driving mechanism and frequency on NG performance in each case. We argue that, in the majority of cases, the intrinsic high resonance frequencies of piezoelectric nanowires (∼tens of MHz) present no barrier to high levels of NG performance even at frequencies far below resonance (materials properties, for comparing piezoelectric NG performance under strain-driven and stress-driven conditions respectively. These figures of merit permit, for the first time, a general comparison of piezoelectric nanowires for NG applications that takes into account the nature of the mechanical excitation. We thus investigate the energy harvesting performance of prototypical piezoelectric ceramic and polymer nanowires. We find that even though ceramic and polymer nanowires have been found, in certain cases, to have similar energy conversion efficiencies, ceramics are more promising in strain-driven NGs while polymers are more promising for stress-driven NGs

Direct strain energy harvesting in automobile tires using piezoelectric PZT–polymer composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van den Ende, D A; Van de Wiel, H J; Groen, W A; Van der Zwaag, S

2012-01-01

Direct piezoelectric strain energy harvesting can be used to power wireless autonomous sensors in environments where low frequency, high strains are present, such as in automobile tires during operation. However, these high strains place stringent demands on the materials with respect to mechanical failure or depolarization, especially at elevated temperatures. In this work, three kinds of ceramic–polymer composite piezoelectric materials were evaluated and compared against state-of-the-art piezoelectric materials. The new composites are unstructured and structured composites containing granular lead zirconate titanate (PZT) particles or PZT fibers in a polyurethane matrix. The composites were used to build energy harvesting patches which were attached to a tire and tested under simulated rolling conditions. The energy density of the piezoelectric ceramic–polymer composite materials is initially not as high as that of the reference materials (a macro-fiber composite and a polyvinylidene fluoride polymer). However, the area normalized power output of the composites after temperature and strain cycling is comparable to that of the reference devices because the piezoelectric ceramic–polymer composites did not degrade during operation. (paper)

Three-dimensional piezoelectric fibrous scaffolds selectively promote mesenchymal stem cell differentiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Damaraju, Sita M; Shen, Yueyang; Elele, Ezinwa; Khusid, Boris; Eshghinejad, Ahmad; Li, Jiangyu; Jaffe, Michael; Arinzeh, Treena Livingston

2017-12-01

The discovery of electric fields in biological tissues has led to efforts in developing technologies utilizing electrical stimulation for therapeutic applications. Native tissues, such as cartilage and bone, exhibit piezoelectric behavior, wherein electrical activity can be generated due to mechanical deformation. Yet, the use of piezoelectric materials have largely been unexplored as a potential strategy in tissue engineering, wherein a piezoelectric biomaterial acts as a scaffold to promote cell behavior and the formation of large tissues. Here we show, for the first time, that piezoelectric materials can be fabricated into flexible, three-dimensional fibrous scaffolds and can be used to stimulate human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation and corresponding extracellular matrix/tissue formation in physiological loading conditions. Piezoelectric scaffolds that exhibit low voltage output, or streaming potential, promoted chondrogenic differentiation and piezoelectric scaffolds with a high voltage output promoted osteogenic differentiation. Electromechanical stimulus promoted greater differentiation than mechanical loading alone. Results demonstrate the additive effect of electromechanical stimulus on stem cell differentiation, which is an important design consideration for tissue engineering scaffolds. Piezoelectric, smart materials are attractive as scaffolds for regenerative medicine strategies due to their inherent electrical properties without the need for external power sources for electrical stimulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LC Circuits for Diagnosing Embedded Piezoelectric Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Chattin, Richard L.; Fox, Robert Lee; Moses, Robert W.; Shams, Qamar A.

2005-01-01

A recently invented method of nonintrusively detecting faults in piezoelectric devices involves measurement of the resonance frequencies of inductor capacitor (LC) resonant circuits. The method is intended especially to enable diagnosis of piezoelectric sensors, actuators, and sensor/actuators that are embedded in structures and/or are components of multilayer composite material structures.

Shunted Piezoelectric Vibration Damping Analysis Including Centrifugal Loading Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Min, James B.; Duffy, Kirsten P.; Provenza, Andrew J.

2011-01-01

Excessive vibration of turbomachinery blades causes high cycle fatigue problems which require damping treatments to mitigate vibration levels. One method is the use of piezoelectric materials as passive or active dampers. Based on the technical challenges and requirements learned from previous turbomachinery rotor blades research, an effort has been made to investigate the effectiveness of a shunted piezoelectric for the turbomachinery rotor blades vibration control, specifically for a condition with centrifugal rotation. While ample research has been performed on the use of a piezoelectric material with electric circuits to attempt to control the structural vibration damping, very little study has been done regarding rotational effects. The present study attempts to fill this void. Specifically, the objectives of this study are: (a) to create and analyze finite element models for harmonic forced response vibration analysis coupled with shunted piezoelectric circuits for engine blade operational conditions, (b) to validate the experimental test approaches with numerical results and vice versa, and (c) to establish a numerical modeling capability for vibration control using shunted piezoelectric circuits under rotation. Study has focused on a resonant damping control using shunted piezoelectric patches on plate specimens. Tests and analyses were performed for both non-spinning and spinning conditions. The finite element (FE) shunted piezoelectric circuit damping simulations were performed using the ANSYS Multiphysics code for the resistive and inductive circuit piezoelectric simulations of both conditions. The FE results showed a good correlation with experimental test results. Tests and analyses of shunted piezoelectric damping control, demonstrating with plate specimens, show a great potential to reduce blade vibrations under centrifugal loading.

Cantilevered probe detector with piezoelectric element

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Jesse D; Sulchek, Todd A; Feigin, Stuart C

2013-04-30

A disclosed chemical detection system for detecting a target material, such as an explosive material, can include a cantilevered probe, a probe heater coupled to the cantilevered probe, and a piezoelectric element disposed on the cantilevered probe. The piezoelectric element can be configured as a detector and/or an actuator. Detection can include, for example, detecting a movement of the cantilevered probe or a property of the cantilevered probe. The movement or a change in the property of the cantilevered probe can occur, for example, by adsorption of the target material, desorption of the target material, reaction of the target material and/or phase change of the target material. Examples of detectable movements and properties include temperature shifts, impedance shifts, and resonant frequency shifts of the cantilevered probe. The overall chemical detection system can be incorporated, for example, into a handheld explosive material detection system.

Piezoelectric Nanotube Array for Broadband High-Frequency Ultrasonic Transducer.

Science.gov (United States)

Liew, Weng Heng; Yao, Kui; Chen, Shuting; Tay, Francis Eng Hock

2018-03-01

Piezoelectric materials are vital in determining ultrasonic transducer and imaging performance as they offer the function for conversion between mechanical and electrical energy. Ultrasonic transducers with high-frequency operation suffer from performance degradation and fabrication difficulty of the demanded piezoelectric materials. Hence, we propose 1-D polymeric piezoelectric nanostructure with controlled nanoscale features to overcome the technical limitations of high-frequency ultrasonic transducers. For the first time, we demonstrate the integration of a well-aligned piezoelectric nanotube array to produce a high-frequency ultrasonic transducer with outstanding performance. We find that nanoconfinement-induced polarization orientation and unique nanotube structure lead to significantly improved piezoelectric and ultrasonic transducing performance over the conventional piezoelectric thin film. A large bandwidth, 126% (-6 dB), is achieved at high center frequency, 108 MHz. Transmission sensitivity of nanotube array is found to be 46% higher than that of the monolithic thin film transducer attributed to the improved electromechanical coupling effectiveness and impedance match. We further demonstrate high-resolution scanning, ultrasonic imaging, and photoacoustic imaging using the obtained nanotube array transducers, which is valuable for biomedical imaging applications in the future.

Fabrication of flexible piezoelectric PZT/fabric composite.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Caifeng; Hong, Daiwei; Wang, Andong; Ni, Chaoying

2013-01-01

Flexible piezoelectric PZT/fabric composite material is pliable and tough in nature which is in a lack of traditional PZT patches. It has great application prospect in improving the sensitivity of sensor/actuator made by piezoelectric materials especially when they are used for curved surfaces or complicated conditions. In this paper, glass fiber cloth was adopted as carrier to grow PZT piezoelectric crystal particles by hydrothermal method, and the optimum conditions were studied. The results showed that the soft glass fiber cloth was an ideal kind of carrier. A large number of cubic-shaped PZT nanocrystallines grew firmly in the carrier with a dense and uniform distribution. The best hydrothermal condition was found to be pH 13, reaction time 24 h, and reaction temperature 200°C.

Fundamental solutions in piezoelectricity. Penny-shaped crack solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyka, Ewa; Rogowski, Bogdan

2006-01-01

The problem of electroelasticity for piezoelectric materials is considered. For axially symmetric states three potentials are introduced, which determine the displacements, the electric potentials, the stresses, the components of the electric field vector and the electric displacements in a piezoelectric body. These fundamental solutions are utilized to solve the penny-shaped crack problem. Two cases of boundary-value problems are considered, namely the permeable and impermeable crack boundary conditions. Exact solutions are obtained for elastic and electric fields. The main results are the stress intensity factor for singular stress and the electric displacement intensity factor. The numerical results are presented graphically to show the influence of applied mechanical and electrical loading on the analyzed quantities and to clarify the effect of anisotropy of piezoelectric materials. It is show that the influence of anisotropy of the materials on these fields is significant

Polarization and Piezoelectric Properties of a Nitrile Substituted Polyimide

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Joycelyn; Ounaies, Zoubeida; Fay, Catharine

1997-01-01

This research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of a piezoelectric (beta-CN)- APB/ODPA polyimide. The remanent polarization and piezoelectric d(sub 31) and g(sub 33) coefficients are reported to assess the effect of synthesis variations. Each of the materials exhibits a level of piezoelectricity which increases with temperature. The remanent polarization is retained at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature of the polyimide.

A Timoshenko Piezoelectric Beam Finite Element with Consistent Performance Irrespective of Geometric and Material Configurations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Litesh N. Sulbhewar

Full Text Available Abstract The conventional Timoshenko piezoelectric beam finite elements based on First-order Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT do not maintain the accuracy and convergence consistently over the applicable range of material and geometric properties. In these elements, the inaccuracy arises due to the induced potential effects in the transverse direction and inefficiency arises due to the use of independently assumed linear polynomial interpolation of the field variables in the longitudinal direction. In this work, a novel FSDT-based piezoelectric beam finite element is proposed which is devoid of these deficiencies. A variational formulation with consistent through-thickness potential is developed. The governing equilibrium equations are used to derive the coupled field relations. These relations are used to develop a polynomial interpolation scheme which properly accommodates the bending-extension, bending-shear and induced potential couplings to produce accurate results in an efficient manner. It is noteworthy that this consistently accurate and efficient beam finite element uses the same nodal variables as of conventional FSDT formulations available in the literature. Comparison of numerical results proves the consistent accuracy and efficiency of the proposed formulation irrespective of geometric and material configurations, unlike the conventional formulations.

Eigenstates of coupling factor and loss factor of piezoelectric ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smits, J.G.

1978-01-01

A short history of piezoelectricity is given and its occurence in nature described. The physical background of piezoelectric loss is discussed together with how material coefficients like susceptibilities can be used to describe the relation between canonical variables and to determine the dissipation of energy. The piezoelectric coupling factor, the applications of the eigencoupling state, elastic and piezoelectric digenstates are dealt with. The composition of the measurement system is described and experimental values of ceramics given. (C.F.)

Giant piezoelectricity on Si for hyperactive MEMS.

Science.gov (United States)

Baek, S H; Park, J; Kim, D M; Aksyuk, V A; Das, R R; Bu, S D; Felker, D A; Lettieri, J; Vaithyanathan, V; Bharadwaja, S S N; Bassiri-Gharb, N; Chen, Y B; Sun, H P; Folkman, C M; Jang, H W; Kreft, D J; Streiffer, S K; Ramesh, R; Pan, X Q; Trolier-McKinstry, S; Schlom, D G; Rzchowski, M S; Blick, R H; Eom, C B

2011-11-18

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) incorporating active piezoelectric layers offer integrated actuation, sensing, and transduction. The broad implementation of such active MEMS has long been constrained by the inability to integrate materials with giant piezoelectric response, such as Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) (PMN-PT). We synthesized high-quality PMN-PT epitaxial thin films on vicinal (001) Si wafers with the use of an epitaxial (001) SrTiO(3) template layer with superior piezoelectric coefficients (e(31,f) = -27 ± 3 coulombs per square meter) and figures of merit for piezoelectric energy-harvesting systems. We have incorporated these heterostructures into microcantilevers that are actuated with extremely low drive voltage due to thin-film piezoelectric properties that rival bulk PMN-PT single crystals. These epitaxial heterostructures exhibit very large electromechanical coupling for ultrasound medical imaging, microfluidic control, mechanical sensing, and energy harvesting.

Piezoelectric energy harvesting for powering low power electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leinonen, M.; Palosaari, J.; Hannu, J.; Juuti, J.; Jantunen, H. (Univ. of Oulu, Dept. of Electrical and Information Engineering (Finland)). email: jajuu@ee.oulu.fi

2009-07-01

Although wireless data transmission techniques are commonly used in electronic devices, they still suffer from wires for the power supply or from batteries which require charging, replacement and other maintenance. The vision for the portable electronics and industrial measurement systems of the future is that they are intelligent and independent on their energy supply. The major obstacle in this path is the energy source which enables all other functions and 'smartness' of the systems as the computing power is also restricted by the available energy. The development of long-life energy harvesters would reduce the need for batteries and wires thus enabling cost-effective and environment friendlier solutions for various applications such as autonomous wireless sensor networks, powering of portable electronics and other maintenance-free systems. One of the most promising techniques is mechanical energy harvesting e.g. by piezoelectric components where deformations produced by different means is directly converted to electrical charge via direct piezoelectric effect. Subsequently the electrical energy can be regulated or stored for further use. The total mechanical energy in vibration of machines can be very large and usually only a fraction of it can be transformed to electrical energy. Recently, piezoelectric vibration based energy harvesters have been developed widely for different energy consumption and application areas. As an example for low energy device an piezoelectric energy harvester based on impulse type excitations has been developed for active RFID identification. Moreover, piezoharvester with externally leveraged mechanism for force amplification was reported to be able to generate mean power of 0.4 mW from backpack movement. Significantly higher power levels are expected from larger scale testing in Israel, where piezoelectric material is embedded under active walking street, road, airport or railroad. The energy is harvested from human or

Electromechanical Modeling of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

OpenAIRE

Erturk, Alper

2009-01-01

Vibration-based energy harvesting has been investigated by several researchers over the last decade. The ultimate goal in this research field is to power small electronic components (such as wireless sensors) by using the vibration energy available in their environment. Among the basic transduction mechanisms that can be used for vibration-to-electricity conversion, piezoelectric transduction has received the most attention in the literature. Piezoelectric materials are preferred in energy ha...

A new piezoelectric energy harvesting design concept: multimodal energy harvesting skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Soobum; Youn, Byeng D

2011-03-01

This paper presents an advanced design concept for a piezoelectric energy harvesting (EH), referred to as multimodal EH skin. This EH design facilitates the use of multimodal vibration and enhances power harvesting efficiency. The multimodal EH skin is an extension of our previous work, EH skin, which was an innovative design paradigm for a piezoelectric energy harvester: a vibrating skin structure and an additional thin piezoelectric layer in one device. A computational (finite element) model of the multilayered assembly - the vibrating skin structure and piezoelectric layer - is constructed and the optimal topology and/or shape of the piezoelectric layer is found for maximum power generation from multiple vibration modes. A design rationale for the multimodal EH skin was proposed: designing a piezoelectric material distribution and external resistors. In the material design step, the piezoelectric material is segmented by inflection lines from multiple vibration modes of interests to minimize voltage cancellation. The inflection lines are detected using the voltage phase. In the external resistor design step, the resistor values are found for each segment to maximize power output. The presented design concept, which can be applied to any engineering system with multimodal harmonic-vibrating skins, was applied to two case studies: an aircraft skin and a power transformer panel. The excellent performance of multimodal EH skin was demonstrated, showing larger power generation than EH skin without segmentation or unimodal EH skin.

V-stack piezoelectric actuator

Science.gov (United States)

Ardelean, Emil V.; Clark, Robert L.

2001-07-01

Aeroelastic control of wings by means of a distributed, trailing-edge control surface is of interest with regards to maneuvers, gust alleviation, and flutter suppression. The use of high energy density, piezoelectric materials as motors provides an appealing solution to this problem. A comparative analysis of the state of the art actuators is currently being conducted. A new piezoelectric actuator design is presented. This actuator meets the requirements for trailing edge flap actuation in both stroke and force. It is compact, simple, sturdy, and leverages stroke geometrically with minimum force penalties while displaying linearity over a wide range of stroke. The V-Stack Piezoelectric Actuator, consists of a base, a lever, two piezoelectric stacks, and a pre-tensioning element. The work is performed alternately by the two stacks, placed on both sides of the lever. Pre-tensioning can be readily applied using a torque wrench, obviating the need for elastic elements and this is for the benefit of the stiffness of the actuator. The characteristics of the actuator are easily modified by changing the base or the stacks. A prototype was constructed and tested experimentally to validate the theoretical model.

The impact of electrode materials on 1/f noise in piezoelectric AlN contour mode resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hoe Joon; Jung, Soon In; Segovia-Fernandez, Jeronimo; Piazza, Gianluca

2018-05-01

This paper presents a detailed analysis on the impact of electrode materials and dimensions on flicker frequency (1/f) noise in piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) contour mode resonators (CMRs). Flicker frequency noise is a fundamental noise mechanism present in any vibrating mechanical structure, whose sources are not generally well understood. 1 GHz AlN CMRs with three different top electrode materials (Al, Au, and Pt) along with various electrode lengths and widths are fabricated to control the overall damping acting on the device. Specifically, the use of different electrode materials allows control of thermoelastic damping (TED), which is the dominant damping mechanism for high frequency AlN CMRs and largely depends on the thermal properties (i.e. thermal diffusivities and expansion coefficients) of the metal electrode rather than the piezoelectric film. We have measured Q and 1/f noise of 68 resonators and the results show that 1/f noise decreases with increasing Q, with a power law dependence that is about 1/Q4. Interestingly, the noise level also depends on the type of electrode materials. Devices with Pt top electrode demonstrate the best noise performance. Our results help unveiling some of the sources of 1/f noise in these resonators, and indicate that a careful selection of the electrode material and dimensions could reduce 1/f noise not only in AlN-CMRs, but also in various classes of resonators, and thus enable ultra-low noise mechanical resonators for sensing and radio frequency applications.

Combined Pyroelectric, Piezoelectric and Shape Memory Effects for Thermal Energy Harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakharov, D; Gusarov, B; Cugat, O; Delamare, J; Gimeno, L; Gusarova, E; Viala, B

2013-01-01

This work proposes an enhanced method for thermal energy harvesting exploiting combined pyroelectric, piezoelectric and shape memory (SME) effects, and presents its experimental validation. A material which is pyroelectric is also piezoelectric. If it is combined with a material with SME, which generates large strain and stress in a rather narrow temperature range, the resulting composite material would generate voltage from temperature variations using two different energy conversion principles at once: (1) pyroelectric effect, (2) piezoelectric effect driven by SME. A Macro Fiber Composite piezoelectric was shown here to exhibit significant pyroelectric effect (∼4 V/°C). When combining it with a SME Ti-Ni-Cu alloy into a laminated structure, this effect increased by 50%. This increase may be an order of magnitude higher for an optimized system. Such composites open an opportunity to harvest thermal energy from natural sources, since this method can increase the rather low efficiency of current pyroelectric materials especially for small temperature variations

Subatomic deformation driven by vertical piezoelectricity from CdS ultrathin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xuewen; He, Xuexia; Zhu, Hongfei; Sun, Linfeng; Fu, Wei; Wang, Xingli; Hoong, Lai Chee; Wang, Hong; Zeng, Qingsheng; Zhao, Wu; Wei, Jun; Jin, Zhong; Shen, Zexiang; Liu, Jie; Zhang, Ting; Liu, Zheng

2016-07-01

Driven by the development of high-performance piezoelectric materials, actuators become an important tool for positioning objects with high accuracy down to nanometer scale, and have been used for a wide variety of equipment, such as atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. However, positioning at the subatomic scale is still a great challenge. Ultrathin piezoelectric materials may pave the way to positioning an object with extreme precision. Using ultrathin CdS thin films, we demonstrate vertical piezoelectricity in atomic scale (three to five space lattices). With an in situ scanning Kelvin force microscopy and single and dual ac resonance tracking piezoelectric force microscopy, the vertical piezoelectric coefficient (d 33) up to 33 pm·V(-1) was determined for the CdS ultrathin films. These findings shed light on the design of next-generation sensors and microelectromechanical devices.

Piezoelectric properties and thermal stabilities of cobalt-modified potassium bismuth titanate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Zhen-Lei; Wang, Chun-Ming; Zhao, Tian-Long; Yu, Si-Long; Cao, Zhao-Peng

2013-01-01

The cobalt-modified potassium bismuth titanate (K 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 , KBT) piezoelectric ceramics have been prepared using conventional solid–state reaction. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the cobalt-modified KBT ceramics have a pure four-layer (m = 4) Aurivillius-type structure. The dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties of cobalt-modified KBT ceramics were investigated in detail. The piezoelectric activities of KBT ceramics were significantly improved by the cobalt modification. The reasons for piezoelectric activities enhancement with cobalt modification were given. The piezoelectric coefficient d 33 and Curie temperature T c for the 5 mol% cobalt-modified KBT ceramics (KBT-Co5) were found to be 28 pC/N and 575 °C, respectively. The DC resistivity, frequency constants (N p and N t ), and electromechanical properties at elevated temperature were investigated, indicating the cobalt-modified KBT piezoelectric ceramics possess stable piezoelectric properties up to 500 °C. The results show the cobalt-modified KBT ceramics are potential materials for high temperature piezoelectric applications. - Highlights: • We examine the piezoelectric properties of the cobalt-modified K 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 . • A high level of piezoelectric activities (d 33 = 28 pC/N) are obtained. • High Curie temperature (T c = 575 °C) is acquired for the optimal composition. • The Co-modified K 0.5 Bi 4.5 Ti 4 O 15 is promising as high temperature materials

Special topics in the theory of piezoelectricity

CERN Document Server

Yang, Jiashi

2009-01-01

Piezoelectricity has been a steadily growing field, with recent advances made by researchers from applied physics, acoustics, materials science, and engineering. This collective work presents a comprehensive treatment of selected advanced topics in the subject. The book is written for an intermediate graduate level and is intended for researchers, mechanical engineers, and applied mathematicians interested in the advances and new applications in piezoelectricity.

Energy harvesting performance of piezoelectric ceramic and polymer nanowires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crossley, Sam; Kar-Narayan, Sohini

2015-01-01

Energy harvesting from ubiquitous ambient vibrations is attractive for autonomous small-power applications and thus considerable research is focused on piezoelectric materials as they permit direct inter-conversion of mechanical and electrical energy. Nanogenerators (NGs) based on piezoelectric nanowires are particularly attractive due to their sensitivity to small-scale vibrations and may possess superior mechanical-to-electrical conversion efficiency when compared to bulk or thin-film devices of the same material. However, candidate piezoelectric nanowires have hitherto been predominantly analyzed in terms of NG output (i.e. output voltage, output current and output power density). Surprisingly, the corresponding dynamical properties of the NG, including details of how the nanowires are mechanically driven and its impact on performance, have been largely neglected. Here we investigate all realizable NG driving contexts separately involving inertial displacement, applied stress T and applied strain S, highlighting the effect of driving mechanism and frequency on NG performance in each case. We argue that, in the majority of cases, the intrinsic high resonance frequencies of piezoelectric nanowires (∼tens of MHz) present no barrier to high levels of NG performance even at frequencies far below resonance (<1 kHz) typically characteristic of ambient vibrations. In this context, we introduce vibrational energy harvesting (VEH) coefficients η S and η T , based on intrinsic materials properties, for comparing piezoelectric NG performance under strain-driven and stress-driven conditions respectively. These figures of merit permit, for the first time, a general comparison of piezoelectric nanowires for NG applications that takes into account the nature of the mechanical excitation. We thus investigate the energy harvesting performance of prototypical piezoelectric ceramic and polymer nanowires. We find that even though ceramic and polymer nanowires have been found, in

Piezoelectric ceramic implants: in vivo results.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, J B; Kelly, B J; Kenner, G H; von Recum, A F; Grether, M F; Coffeen, W W

1981-01-01

The suitability of barium titanate (BaTiO3) ceramic for direct substitution of hard tissues was evaluated using both electrically stimulated (piezoelectric) and inactive (nonpolarized) test implants. Textured cylindrical specimens, half of them made piezoelectric by polarization in a high electric field, were implanted into the cortex of the midshaft region of the femora of dogs for various periods of time. Interfacial healing and bio-compatibility of the implant material were studied using mechanical, microradiographical, and histological techniques. Our results indicate that barium titanate ceramic shows a very high degree of biocompatibility as evidenced by the absence of inflammatory or foreign body reactions at the implant-tissue interface. Furthermore, the material and its surface porosity allowed a high degree of bone ingrowth as evidenced by microradiography and a high degree of interfacial tensile strength. No difference was found between the piezoelectric and the electrically neutral implant-tissue interfaces. Possible reasons for this are discussed. The excellent mechanical properties of barium titanate, its superior biocompatibility, and the ability of bone to form a strong mechanical interfacial bond with it, makes this material a new candidate for further tests for hard tissue replacement.

Enhanced piezoelectricity of monolayer phosphorene oxides: a theoretical study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Huabing; Zheng, Guang-Ping; Gao, Jingwei; Wang, Yuanxu; Ma, Yuchen

2017-10-18

Two-dimensional (2D) piezoelectric materials have potential applications in miniaturized sensors and energy conversion devices. In this work, using first-principles simulations at different scales, we systematically study the electronic structures and piezoelectricity of a series of 2D monolayer phosphorene oxides (POs). Our calculations show that the monolayer POs have tunable band gaps along with remarkable piezoelectric properties. The calculated piezoelectric coefficient d 11 of 54 pm V -1 in POs is much larger than those of 2D transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers and the widely used bulk α-quartz and AlN, and almost reaches the level of the piezoelectric effect in recently discovered 2D GeS. Furthermore, two other considerable piezoelectric coefficients, i.e., d 31 and d 26 with values of -10 pm V -1 and 21 pm V -1 , respectively, are predicted in some monolayer POs. We also examine the correlation between the piezoelectric coefficients and energy stability. The enhancement of piezoelectricity for monolayer phosphorene by oxidation will broaden the applications of phosphorene and phosphorene derivatives in nano-sized electronic and piezotronic devices.

Design, Manufacturing and Characterization of Functionally Graded Flextensional Piezoelectric Actuators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amigo, R C R; Vatanabe, S L; Silva, E C N

2013-01-01

Previous works have been shown several advantages in using Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) for the performance of flextensional devices, such as reduction of stress concentrations and gains in reliability. In this work, the FGM concept is explored in the design of graded devices by using the Topology Optimization Method (TOM), in order to determine optimal topologies and gradations of the coupled structures of piezoactuators. The graded pieces are manufactured by using the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique and are bonded to piezoelectric ceramics. The graded actuators are then tested by using a modular vibrometer system for measuring output displacements, in order to validate the numerical simulations. The technological path developed here represents the initial step toward the manufacturing of an integral piezoelectric device, constituted by piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric materials without bonding layers.

MEMS Accelerometer with Screen Printed Piezoelectric Thick Film

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hindrichsen, Christian Carstensen; Lau-Moeller, R.; Bove, T.

2006-01-01

A bulk-micromachined piezoelectric MEMS accelerometer with screen printed piezoelectric Pb(ZrxTil )O3(PZT) thick film (TF) as the sensing material has been fabricated and characterized. The accelerometer has a four beam structure with a central seismic mass (3600x3600x500 pm3) and a total chip size...

Full Piezoelectric Multilayer-Stacked Hybrid Actuation/Transduction Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Ji; Jiang, Xiaoning; Zu, Tian-Bing

2011-01-01

The Stacked HYBATS (Hybrid Actuation/Transduction system) demonstrates significantly enhanced electromechanical performance by using the cooperative contributions of the electromechanical responses of multilayer, stacked negative strain components and positive strain components. Both experimental and theoretical studies indicate that, for Stacked HYBATS, the displacement is over three times that of a same-sized conventional flextensional actuator/transducer. The coupled resonance mode between positive strain and negative strain components of Stacked HYBATS is much stronger than the resonance of a single element actuation only when the effective lengths of the two kinds of elements match each other. Compared with the previously invented hybrid actuation system (HYBAS), the multilayer Stacked HYBATS can be designed to provide high mechanical load capability, low voltage driving, and a highly effective piezoelectric constant. The negative strain component will contract, and the positive strain component will expand in the length directions when an electric field is applied on the device. The interaction between the two elements makes an enhanced motion along the Z direction for Stacked-HYBATS. In order to dominate the dynamic length of Stacked-HYBATS by the negative strain component, the area of the cross-section for the negative strain component will be much larger than the total cross-section areas of the two positive strain components. The transverse strain is negative and longitudinal strain positive in inorganic materials, such as ceramics/single crystals. Different piezoelectric multilayer stack configurations can make a piezoelectric ceramic/single-crystal multilayer stack exhibit negative strain or positive strain at a certain direction without increasing the applied voltage. The difference of this innovation from the HYBAS is that all the elements can be made from one-of-a-kind materials. Stacked HYBATS can provide an extremely effective piezoelectric

Optimization of the piezoelectric response of 0–3 composites: a modeling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambion, B; Goujon, L; Badie, L; Mugnier, Y; Barthod, C; Galez, C; Wiebel, S; Venet, C

2011-01-01

Finite element modeling is used in this study to optimize the electromechanical behavior of 0–3 composites according to the material properties of their constituents. Our modeling approach considers an 'extended' 2D representative volume element (RVE) with randomly dispersed piezoelectric particles. A variable distribution of their polarization axes is also implemented because a full periodic arrangement of fillers and a unique poling orientation are unrealistic in practice. Comparisons with a simpler RVE and with an analytical model based on the Mori–Tanaka approach are performed as a function of the particle concentration for the elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric homogenized properties. An optimization of the piezoelectric response of 0–3 composites according to material considerations is then computed, allowing it to be shown that the piezoelectric strain coefficient is not the only relevant parameter and that lead-free piezoelectric fillers such as LiNbO 3 and ZnO are competitive alternatives. Finally, the piezoelectric responses of 0–3 composites with different filler arrangements are quantitatively compared to 1–3 composites and to the corresponding bulk material

BaTiO3-based piezoelectrics: Fundamentals, current status, and perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Acosta, M.; Novak, N.; Rojas, V.; Patel, S.; Vaish, R.; Koruza, J.; Rossetti, G. A.; Rödel, J.

2017-12-01

We present a critical review that encompasses the fundamentals and state-of-the-art knowledge of barium titanate-based piezoelectrics. First, the essential crystallography, thermodynamic relations, and concepts necessary to understand piezoelectricity and ferroelectricity in barium titanate are discussed. Strategies to optimize piezoelectric properties through microstructure control and chemical modification are also introduced. Thereafter, we systematically review the synthesis, microstructure, and phase diagrams of barium titanate-based piezoelectrics and provide a detailed compilation of their functional and mechanical properties. The most salient materials treated include the (Ba,Ca)(Zr,Ti)O3, (Ba,Ca)(Sn,Ti)O3, and (Ba,Ca)(Hf,Ti)O3 solid solution systems. The technological relevance of barium titanate-based piezoelectrics is also discussed and some potential market indicators are outlined. Finally, perspectives on productive lines of future research and promising areas for the applications of these materials are presented.

Actuation Using Piezoelectric Materials: Application in Augmenters, Energy Harvesters, and Motors

Science.gov (United States)

Hasenoehrl, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Piezoelectric actuators are used in many manipulation, movement, and mobility applications as well as transducers and sensors. When used at the resonance frequencies of the piezoelectric stack, the actuator performs at its maximum actuation capability. In this Space Grant internship, three applications of piezoelectric actuators were investigated including hammering augmenters of rotary drills, energy harvesters, and piezo-motors. The augmenter shows improved drill performance over rotation only. The energy harvesters rely on moving fluid to convert mechanical energy into electrical power. Specific designs allow the harvesters more freedom to move, which creates more power. The motor uses the linear movement of the actuator with a horn applied to the side of a rotor to create rotational motion. Friction inhibits this motion and is to be minimized for best performance. Tests and measurements were made during this internship to determine the requirements for optimal performance of the studied mechanisms and devices.

Improvement of the piezoelectric properties of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites by poling treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, S M; Hwang, H Y

2013-01-01

Recently, a new non-destructive method has been proposed for damage monitoring of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials using the piezoelectric characteristics of a polymeric matrix. Several studies of the piezoelectric properties of unidirectional glass fiber epoxy composites and damage monitoring of double-cantilever beams have supported the claim that the piezoelectric method is feasible and powerful enough to monitor the damage of glass fiber epoxy composites. Generally, conventional piezoelectric materials have higher piezoelectric characteristics through poling treatment. In this work, we investigated the change of the piezoelectric properties of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites before and after poling treatment. The piezoelectric constants (d 33 ) of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites increased by more than 400%. Also, x-ray diffraction tests revealed that poling treatment changed the degree of crystallinity of the epoxy matrix, and this led to the improvement of the piezoelectric characteristics of glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. (paper)

TOPICAL REVIEW: Progress in engineering high strain lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Leontsev, Serhiy O.; Eitel, Richard E.

2010-08-01

Environmental concerns are strongly driving the need to replace the lead-based piezoelectric materials currently employed as multilayer actuators. The current review describes both compositional and structural engineering approaches to achieve enhanced piezoelectric properties in lead-free materials. The review of the compositional engineering approach focuses on compositional tuning of the properties and phase behavior in three promising families of lead-free perovskite ferroelectrics: the titanate, alkaline niobate and bismuth perovskites and their solid solutions. The 'structural engineering' approaches focus instead on optimization of microstructural features including grain size, grain orientation or texture, ferroelectric domain size and electrical bias field as potential paths to induce large piezoelectric properties in lead-free piezoceramics. It is suggested that a combination of both compositional and novel structural engineering approaches will be required in order to realize viable lead-free alternatives to current lead-based materials for piezoelectric actuator applications.

Micromechanics approach to the magnetoelectric properties of laminate and fibrous piezoelectric/magnetostrictive composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Haitao; Zhou, L.M.

2004-01-01

We use a micromechanics approach to study the magnetoelectric (ME) properties of the piezoelectric/magnetostrictive composite with a 2-2 laminate structure and a 3-1 fibrous structure. It is found that the 3-1 composite has a higher ME coefficient than the 2-2 one, if the volume ratio of piezoelectric material is the same. The reason is that the 3-1 fibrous composite makes use of the longitudinal piezoelectric response and the piezoelectric voltage constant g 33 is 2-3 times that of g 31 . Generally, a smaller volume ratio of the piezoelectric material will generate a higher ME response. The tensile stress at the piezoelectric/magnetostrictive interface of the 3-1 fibrous composite, however, could be high enough to induce plastic deformation or microcracks, which leads to a ME coefficient lower than the theoretically predicted one

LEAD-FREE BNKT PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Moosavi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available An actuator is a device that converts input energy into mechanical energy. According to various types of input energy, various actuators have been advanced. Displacement in the electromagnetic, hydraulic and pneumatic actuators achieve by moving a piston via electromagnetic force or pressure, however the piezoelectric actuator (piezoceramic plates displace directly. Therefore, accuracy and speed in the piezoelectric device are higher than other types of actuators. In the present work, the high-field electromechanical response of high-quality (1−x(Bi 0.5Na0.5TiO3–x(Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 samples abbreviated to BNKTx with x = 0.18, 0.20, 0.22 and 0.24 ceramic materials across its MPB was investigated. The piezoelectrics and actuation characteristics were characterized. Ourresults indicate that x = 0.20, indeed, constitutes the best choice for the MPB composition in the system. Maximum of remanent polarization (37.5 μC cm−2 was obtained for x=0.20. High-field electromechanical responses were also obtained for BNKT0.20 samples. This material exhibited giant field induced strains of 0.13% under 1 kV mm -1 at room temperature.

Fabrication of polypeptide-based piezoelectric composite polymer film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farrar, Dawnielle; West, James E.; Busch-Vishniac, Ilene J.; Yu, Seungju M.

2008-01-01

A new class of molecular composite piezoelectric material was produced by simultaneous poling and curing of a homogeneous solution comprising poly(γ-benzyl α,L-glutamate) and methylmethacrylate via corona discharge methods. This film exhibited high piezoelectricity (d 33 = 23 pC N -1 ), and its mechanical characteristics (modulus = 450 MPa) were similar to those of low molecular weight poly(methylmethacrylate). As it is produced via solution-based fabrication processes, the composite film is conducive to miniaturization for small sensors with integrated electronics, and could also potentially be used in piezoelectric coating applications

Love-type waves in functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) sandwiched between initially stressed layer and elastic substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Saroj, Pradeep K.; Sahu, S. A.; Chaudhary, S.; Chattopadhyay, A.

2015-10-01

This paper investigates the propagation behavior of Love-type surface waves in three-layered composite structure with initial stress. The composite structure has been taken in such a way that a functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) layer is bonded between initially stressed piezoelectric upper layer and an elastic substrate. Using the method of separation of variables, frequency equation for the considered wave has been established in the form of determinant for electrical open and short cases on free surface. The bisection method iteration technique has been used to find the roots of the dispersion relations which give the modes for electrical open and short cases. The effects of gradient variation of material constant and initial stress on the phase velocity of surface waves are discussed. Dependence of thickness on each parameter of the study has been shown explicitly. Study has been also done to show the existence of cut-off frequency. Graphical representation has been done to exhibit the findings. The obtained results are significant for the investigation and characterization of Love-type waves in FGPM-layered media.

Shape-Memory PVDF Exhibiting Switchable Piezoelectricity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeher, Robin; Raidt, Thomas; Novak, Nikola; Katzenberg, Frank; Tiller, Joerg C

2015-12-01

In this study, a material is designed which combines the properties of shape-memory and electroactive polymers. This is achieved by covalent cross-linking of polyvinylidene fluoride. The resulting polymer network exhibits excellent shape-memory properties with a storable strain of 200%, and fixity as well as recovery values of 100%. Programming upon rolling induces the transformation from the nonelectroactive α-phase to the piezoelectric β-phase. The highest β-phase content is found to be 83% for a programming strain of 200% affording a d33 value of -30 pm V(-1). This is in good accordance with literature known values for piezoelectric properties. Thermal triggering this material does not only result in a shape change but also renders the material nonelectroactive. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The impact of electrode materials on 1/f noise in piezoelectric AlN contour mode resonators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoe Joon Kim

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a detailed analysis on the impact of electrode materials and dimensions on flicker frequency (1/f noise in piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN contour mode resonators (CMRs. Flicker frequency noise is a fundamental noise mechanism present in any vibrating mechanical structure, whose sources are not generally well understood. 1 GHz AlN CMRs with three different top electrode materials (Al, Au, and Pt along with various electrode lengths and widths are fabricated to control the overall damping acting on the device. Specifically, the use of different electrode materials allows control of thermoelastic damping (TED, which is the dominant damping mechanism for high frequency AlN CMRs and largely depends on the thermal properties (i.e. thermal diffusivities and expansion coefficients of the metal electrode rather than the piezoelectric film. We have measured Q and 1/f noise of 68 resonators and the results show that 1/f noise decreases with increasing Q, with a power law dependence that is about 1/Q4. Interestingly, the noise level also depends on the type of electrode materials. Devices with Pt top electrode demonstrate the best noise performance. Our results help unveiling some of the sources of 1/f noise in these resonators, and indicate that a careful selection of the electrode material and dimensions could reduce 1/f noise not only in AlN-CMRs, but also in various classes of resonators, and thus enable ultra-low noise mechanical resonators for sensing and radio frequency applications.

Hybrid energy harvesting systems, using piezoelectric elements and dielectric polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Cornogolub, Alexandru; Cottinet, Pierre-Jean; Petit, Lionel

2016-09-01

Interest in energy harvesting applications has increased a lot during recent years. This is especially true for systems using electroactive materials like dielectric polymers or piezoelectric materials. Unfortunately, these materials despite multiple advantages, present some important drawbacks. For example, many dielectric polymers demonstrated high energy densities; they are cheap, easy to process and can be easily integrated in many different structures. But at the same time, dielectric polymer generators require an external energy supply which could greatly compromise their autonomy. Piezoelectric systems, on the other hand, are completely autonomous and can be easily miniaturized. However, most common piezoelectric materials present a high rigidity and are brittle by nature and therefore their integration could be difficult. This paper investigates the possibility of using hybrid systems combining piezoelectric elements and dielectric polymers for mechanical energy harvesting applications and it is focused mainly on the problem of electrical energy transfer. Our objective is to show that such systems can be interesting and that it is possible to benefit from the advantages of both materials. For this, different configurations were considered and the problem of their optimization was addressed. The experimental work enabled us to prove the concept and identify the main practical limitations.

Human-computer interface glove using flexible piezoelectric sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Youngsu; Seo, Jeonggyu; Kim, Jun-Sik; Park, Jung-Min

2017-05-01

In this note, we propose a human-computer interface glove based on flexible piezoelectric sensors. We select polyvinylidene fluoride as the piezoelectric material for the sensors because of advantages such as a steady piezoelectric characteristic and good flexibility. The sensors are installed in a fabric glove by means of pockets and Velcro bands. We detect changes in the angles of the finger joints from the outputs of the sensors, and use them for controlling a virtual hand that is utilized in virtual object manipulation. To assess the sensing ability of the piezoelectric sensors, we compare the processed angles from the sensor outputs with the real angles from a camera recoding. With good agreement between the processed and real angles, we successfully demonstrate the user interaction system with the virtual hand and interface glove based on the flexible piezoelectric sensors, for four hand motions: fist clenching, pinching, touching, and grasping.

A novel in situ device based on a bionic piezoelectric actuator to study tensile and fatigue properties of bulk materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shupeng; Zhang, Zhihui; Ren, Luquan; Zhao, Hongwei; Liang, Yunhong; Zhu, Bing

2014-06-01

In this work, a miniaturized device based on a bionic piezoelectric actuator was developed to investigate the static tensile and dynamic fatigue properties of bulk materials. The device mainly consists of a bionic stepping piezoelectric actuator based on wedge block clamping, a pair of grippers, and a set of precise signal test system. Tensile and fatigue examinations share a set of driving system and a set of signal test system. In situ tensile and fatigue examinations under scanning electron microscope or metallographic microscope could be carried out due to the miniaturized dimensions of the device. The structure and working principle of the device were discussed and the effects of output difference between two piezoelectric stacks on the device were theoretically analyzed. The tensile and fatigue examinations on ordinary copper were carried out using this device and its feasibility was verified through the comparison tests with a commercial tensile examination instrument.

Transformative piezoelectric enhancement of P(VDF-TrFE) synergistically driven by nanoscale dimensional reduction and thermal treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ico, G; Myung, A; Kim, B S; Myung, N V; Nam, J

2018-02-08

Despite the significant potential of organic piezoelectric materials in the electro-mechanical or mechano-electrical applications that require light and flexible material properties, the intrinsically low piezoelectric performance as compared to traditional inorganic materials has limited their full utilization. In this study, we demonstrate that dimensional reduction of poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) at the nanoscale by electrospinning, combined with an appropriate thermal treatment, induces a transformative enhancement in piezoelectric performance. Specifically, the piezoelectric coefficient (d 33 ) reached up to -108 pm V -1 , approaching that of inorganic counterparts. Electrospun mats composed of thermo-treated 30 nm nanofibers with a thickness of 15 μm produced a consistent peak-to-peak voltage of 38.5 V and a power output of 74.1 μW at a strain of 0.26% while sustaining energy production over 10k repeated actuations. The exceptional piezoelectric performance was realized by the enhancement of piezoelectric dipole alignment and the materialization of flexoelectricity, both from the synergistic effects of dimensional reduction and thermal treatment. Our findings suggest that dimensionally controlled and thermally treated electrospun P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers provide an opportunity to exploit their flexibility and durability for mechanically challenging applications while matching the piezoelectric performance of brittle, inorganic piezoelectric materials.

The effect of particle aspect ratio on the electroelastic properties of piezoelectric nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrews, C; Lin, Y; Sodano, H A

2010-01-01

Piezoelectric materials offer exceptional sensing and actuation properties; however, they are prone to breakage and difficult to apply on curved surfaces in their monolithic form. One method of alleviating these issues is through the use of 0–3 nanocomposites, which are formed by embedding piezoelectric particles into a polymer matrix. Material of this class offers certain advantages over monolithic materials; however, it has seen little use due to its low coupling. Here we develop micromechanics and finite element models to study the electroelastic properties of an active nanocomposite, as a function of the aspect ratio and alignment of the piezoelectric filler. Our results show that the aspect ratio is critical for achieving high electromechanical coupling, and with an increase from 1 to 10 at 30% volume fraction of piezoelectric filler the coupling can increase to 60 times its initial value and achieve a bulk composite coupling as high as 90% for a pure PZT-7A piezoelectric constituent

The origin of ultrahigh piezoelectricity in relaxor-ferroelectric solid solution crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Fei; Zhang, Shujun; Yang, Tiannan; Xu, Zhuo; Zhang, Nan; Liu, Gang; Wang, Jianjun; Wang, Jianli; Cheng, Zhenxiang; Ye, Zuo-Guang; Luo, Jun; Shrout, Thomas R.; Chen, Long-Qing (Penn); (Xian Jiaotong); (CIW); (Simon); (TRS Techn); (Wollongong)

2016-12-19

The discovery of ultrahigh piezoelectricity in relaxor-ferroelectric solid solution single crystals is a breakthrough in ferroelectric materials. A key signature of relaxor-ferroelectric solid solutions is the existence of polar nanoregions, a nanoscale inhomogeneity, that coexist with normal ferroelectric domains. Despite two decades of extensive studies, the contribution of polar nanoregions to the underlying piezoelectric properties of relaxor ferroelectrics has yet to be established. Here we quantitatively characterize the contribution of polar nanoregions to the dielectric/piezoelectric responses of relaxor-ferroelectric crystals using a combination of cryogenic experiments and phase-field simulations. The contribution of polar nanoregions to the room-temperature dielectric and piezoelectric properties is in the range of 50–80%. A mesoscale mechanism is proposed to reveal the origin of the high piezoelectricity in relaxor ferroelectrics, where the polar nanoregions aligned in a ferroelectric matrix can facilitate polarization rotation. This mechanism emphasizes the critical role of local structure on the macroscopic properties of ferroelectric materials.

The origin of ultrahigh piezoelectricity in relaxor-ferroelectric solid solution crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fei; Zhang, Shujun; Yang, Tiannan; Xu, Zhuo; Zhang, Nan; Liu, Gang; Wang, Jianjun; Wang, Jianli; Cheng, Zhenxiang; Ye, Zuo-Guang; Luo, Jun; Shrout, Thomas R; Chen, Long-Qing

2016-12-19

The discovery of ultrahigh piezoelectricity in relaxor-ferroelectric solid solution single crystals is a breakthrough in ferroelectric materials. A key signature of relaxor-ferroelectric solid solutions is the existence of polar nanoregions, a nanoscale inhomogeneity, that coexist with normal ferroelectric domains. Despite two decades of extensive studies, the contribution of polar nanoregions to the underlying piezoelectric properties of relaxor ferroelectrics has yet to be established. Here we quantitatively characterize the contribution of polar nanoregions to the dielectric/piezoelectric responses of relaxor-ferroelectric crystals using a combination of cryogenic experiments and phase-field simulations. The contribution of polar nanoregions to the room-temperature dielectric and piezoelectric properties is in the range of 50-80%. A mesoscale mechanism is proposed to reveal the origin of the high piezoelectricity in relaxor ferroelectrics, where the polar nanoregions aligned in a ferroelectric matrix can facilitate polarization rotation. This mechanism emphasizes the critical role of local structure on the macroscopic properties of ferroelectric materials.

Enhanced piezoelectric effect at the edges of stepped molybdenum disulfide nanosheets.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiaoxue; Hui, Fei; Gilmore, Keith; Wang, Bingru; Jing, Guangyin; Fan, Zhongchao; Grustan-Gutierrez, Enric; Shi, Yuanyuan; Lombardi, Lucia; Hodge, Stephen A; Ferrari, Andrea C; Lanza, Mario

2017-05-18

The development of piezoelectric layered materials may be one of the key elements enabling expansion of nanotechnology, as they offer a solution for the construction of efficient transducers for a wide range of applications, including self-powered devices. Here, we investigate the piezoelectric effect in multilayer (ML) stepped MoS 2 flakes obtained by liquid-phase exfoliation, which is especially interesting because it may allow the scalable fabrication of electronic devices using large area deposition techniques (e.g. solution casting, spray coating, inkjet printing). By using a conductive atomic force microscope we map the piezoelectricity of the MoS 2 flakes at the nanoscale. Our experiments demonstrate the presence of electrical current densities above 100 A cm -2 when the flakes are strained in the absence of bias, and the current increases proportional to the bias. Simultaneously collected topographic and current maps demonstrate that the edges of stepped ML MoS 2 flakes promote the piezoelectric effect, where the largest currents are observed. Density functional theory calculations are consistent with the ring-like piezoelectric potential generated when the flakes are strained, as well as the enhanced piezoelectric effect at edges. Our results pave the way to the design of piezoelectric devices using layered materials.

A classical mechanics model for the interpretation of piezoelectric property data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bell, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

In order to provide a means of understanding, the relationship between the primary electromechanical coefficients and simple crystal chemistry parameters for piezoelectric materials, a static analysis of a 3 atom, dipolar molecule has been undertaken to derive relationships for elastic compliance s E , dielectric permittivity ε X , and piezoelectric charge coefficient d in terms of an effective ionic charge and two inter-atomic force constants. The relationships demonstrate the mutual interdependence of the three coefficients, in keeping with experimental evidence from a large dataset of commercial piezoelectric materials. It is shown that the electromechanical coupling coefficient k is purely an expression of the asymmetry in the two force constants or bond compliances. The treatment is extended to show that the quadratic electrostriction relation between strain and polarization, in both centrosymmetric and non-centrosymmetric systems, is due to the presence of a non-zero 2nd order term in the bond compliance. Comparison with experimental data explains the counter-intuitive, positive correlation of k with s E and ε X and supports the proposition that high piezoelectric activity in single crystals is dominated by large compliance coupled with asymmetry in the sub-cell force constants. However, the analysis also shows that in polycrystalline materials, the dielectric anisotropy of the constituent crystals can be more important for attaining large charge coefficients. The model provides a completely new methodology for the interpretation of piezoelectric and electrostrictive property data and suggests methods for rapid screening for high activity in candidate piezoelectric materials, both experimentally and by novel interrogation of ab initio calculations

A classical mechanics model for the interpretation of piezoelectric property data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bell, Andrew J., E-mail: a.j.bell@leeds.ac.uk [Institute for Materials Research, School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom)

2015-12-14

In order to provide a means of understanding, the relationship between the primary electromechanical coefficients and simple crystal chemistry parameters for piezoelectric materials, a static analysis of a 3 atom, dipolar molecule has been undertaken to derive relationships for elastic compliance s{sup E}, dielectric permittivity ε{sup X}, and piezoelectric charge coefficient d in terms of an effective ionic charge and two inter-atomic force constants. The relationships demonstrate the mutual interdependence of the three coefficients, in keeping with experimental evidence from a large dataset of commercial piezoelectric materials. It is shown that the electromechanical coupling coefficient k is purely an expression of the asymmetry in the two force constants or bond compliances. The treatment is extended to show that the quadratic electrostriction relation between strain and polarization, in both centrosymmetric and non-centrosymmetric systems, is due to the presence of a non-zero 2nd order term in the bond compliance. Comparison with experimental data explains the counter-intuitive, positive correlation of k with s{sup E} and ε{sup X} and supports the proposition that high piezoelectric activity in single crystals is dominated by large compliance coupled with asymmetry in the sub-cell force constants. However, the analysis also shows that in polycrystalline materials, the dielectric anisotropy of the constituent crystals can be more important for attaining large charge coefficients. The model provides a completely new methodology for the interpretation of piezoelectric and electrostrictive property data and suggests methods for rapid screening for high activity in candidate piezoelectric materials, both experimentally and by novel interrogation of ab initio calculations.

Piezoelectric valve

Science.gov (United States)

Petrenko, Serhiy Fedorovich

2013-01-15

A motorized valve has a housing having an inlet and an outlet to be connected to a pipeline, a saddle connected with the housing, a turn plug having a rod, the turn plug cooperating with the saddle, and a drive for turning the valve body and formed as a piezoelectric drive, the piezoelectric drive including a piezoelectric generator of radially directed standing acoustic waves, which is connected with the housing and is connectable with a pulse current source, and a rotor operatively connected with the piezoelectric generator and kinematically connected with the rod of the turn plug so as to turn the turn plug when the rotor is actuated by the piezoelectric generator.

Piezoelectric motor development at AlliedSignal Inc., Kansas City Division

Science.gov (United States)

Pressly, Robert B.; Mentesana, Charles P.

1994-11-01

The Kansas City Division of AlliedSignal Inc. has been investigating the fabrication and use of piezoelectric motors in mechanisms for United States Department of Energy (DOE) weapons applications for about four years. These motors exhibit advantages over solenoids and other electromagnetic actuators. Prototype processes have been developed for complete fabrication of motors from stock materials, including abrasive machining of piezoelectric ceramics and more traditional machining of other motor components, electrode plating and sputtering, electric poling, cleaning, bonding and assembly. Drive circuits have been fabricated and motor controls are being developed. Laboratory facilities have been established for electrical/mechanical testing and evaluation of piezo materials and completed motors. Recent project efforts have focused on the potential of piezoelectric devices for commercial and industrial use. A broad range of various motor types and application areas has been identified, primarily in Japan. The Japanese have been developing piezo motors for many years and have more recently begun commercialization. Piezoelectric motor and actuator technology is emerging in the United States and quickly gaining in commercial interest. The Kansas City Division is continuing development of piezoelectric motors and actuators for defense applications while supporting and participating in the commercialization of piezoelectric devices with private industry through various technology transfer and cooperative development initiatives.

Impedance-based damage assessment using piezoelectric sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Rim, Mi-Sun; Yoo, Seung-Jae; Lee, In; Song, Jae-Hoon; Yang, Jae-Won

2011-04-01

Recently structural health monitoring (SHM) systems are being focused because they make it possible to assess the health of structures at real-time in many application fields such as aircraft, aerospace, civil and so on. Piezoelectric materials are widely used for sensors of SHM system to monitor damage of critical parts such as bolted joints. Bolted joints could be loosened by vibration, thermal cycling, shock, corrosion, and they cause serious mechanical failures. In this paper, impedance-based method using piezoelectric sensors was applied for real-time SHM. A steel beam specimen fastened by bolts was tested, and polymer type piezoelectric materials, PVDFs were used for sensors to monitor the condition of bolted joint connections. When structure has some damage, for example loose bolts, the impedance of PVDF sensors showed different tendency with normal structure which has no loose bolts. In the case of loose bolts, impedance values are decreased and admittance values are increased.

Comparative analysis of the planar capacitor and IDT piezoelectric thin-film micro-actuator models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myers, Oliver J; Anjanappa, M; Freidhoff, Carl B

2011-01-01

A comparison of the analysis of similarly developed microactuators is presented. Accurate modeling and simulation techniques are vital for piezoelectrically actuated microactuators. Coupling analytical and numerical modeling techniques with variational design parameters, accurate performance predictions can be realized. Axi-symmetric two-dimensional and three-dimensional static deflection and harmonic models of a planar capacitor actuator are presented. Planar capacitor samples were modeled as unimorph diaphragms with sandwiched piezoelectric material. The harmonic frequencies were calculated numerically and compared well to predicted values and deformations. The finite element modeling reflects the impact of the d 31 piezoelectric constant. Two-dimensional axi-symmetric models of circularly interdigitated piezoelectrically membranes are also presented. The models include the piezoelectric material and properties, the membrane materials and properties, and incorporates various design considerations of the model. These models also include the electro-mechanical coupling for piezoelectric actuation and highlight a novel approach to take advantage of the higher d 33 piezoelectric coupling coefficient. Performance is evaluated for varying parameters such as electrode pitch, electrode width, and piezoelectric material thickness. The models also showed that several of the design parameters were naturally coupled. The static numerical models correlate well with the maximum static deflection of the experimental devices. Finally, this paper deals with the development of numerical harmonic models of piezoelectrically actuated planar capacitor and interdigitated diaphragms. The models were able to closely predict the first two harmonics, conservatively predict the third through sixth harmonics and predict the estimated values of center deflection using plate theory. Harmonic frequency and deflection simulations need further correlation by conducting extensive iterative

Power enhancement of piezoelectric transformers by adding heat transfer equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Yu-Hao; Liu, Yuan-Ping; Vasic, Dejan; Wu, Wen-Jong; Costa, François; Lee, Chih-Kung

2012-10-01

It is known that piezoelectric transformers have several inherent advantages compared with conventional electromagnetic transformers. However, the maximum power capacity of piezoelectric transformers is not as large as electromagnetic transformers in practice, especially in the case of high output current. The theoretical power density of piezoelectric transformers calculated by stress boundary can reach 330 W/cm(3), but no piezoelectric transformer has ever reached such a high power density in practice. The power density of piezoelectric transformers is limited to 33 W/cm(3) in practical applications. The underlying reason is that the maximum passing current of the piezoelectric material (mechanical current) is limited by the temperature rise caused by heat generation. To increase this current and the power capacity, we proposed to add a thermal pad to the piezoelectric transformer to dissipate heat. The experimental results showed that the proposed techniques can increase by 3 times the output current of the piezoelectric transformer. A theoretical-phenomenological model which explains the relationship between vibration velocity and generated heat is also established to verify the experimental results.

Study the Postbuckling of Hexagonal Piezoelectric Nanowires with Surface Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. Rahmani

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric nanobeams having circular, rectangular and hexagonal cross-sections are synthesized and used in various Nano structures; however, piezoelectric nanobeams with hexagonal cross-sections have not been studied in detail. In particular, the physical mechanisms of the surface effect and the role of surface stress, surface elasticity and surface piezoelectricity have not been discussed thoroughly. The present study investigated post-buckling behavior of piezoelectric nanobeams by examining surface effects. The energy method was applied to post-buckling of hexagonal nanobeams and the critical buckling voltage and amplitude are derived analytically from bulk and surface material properties and geometric factors.

Cylindrical Piezoelectric Fiber Composite Actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Sidney G.; Shams, Qamar A.; Fox, Robert L.

2008-01-01

The use of piezoelectric devices has become widespread since Pierre and Jacques Curie discovered the piezoelectric effect in 1880. Examples of current applications of piezoelectric devices include ultrasonic transducers, micro-positioning devices, buzzers, strain sensors, and clocks. The invention of such lightweight, relatively inexpensive piezoceramic-fiber-composite actuators as macro fiber composite (MFC) actuators has made it possible to obtain strains and displacements greater than those that could be generated by prior actuators based on monolithic piezoceramic sheet materials. MFC actuators are flat, flexible actuators designed for bonding to structures to apply or detect strains. Bonding multiple layers of MFC actuators together could increase force capability, but not strain or displacement capability. Cylindrical piezoelectric fiber composite (CPFC) actuators have been invented as alternatives to MFC actuators for applications in which greater forces and/or strains or displacements may be required. In essence, a CPFC actuator is an MFC or other piezoceramic fiber composite actuator fabricated in a cylindrical instead of its conventional flat shape. Cylindrical is used here in the general sense, encompassing shapes that can have circular, elliptical, rectangular or other cross-sectional shapes in the planes perpendicular to their longitudinal axes.

Analysis of Piezoelectric Solids using Finite Element Method

Science.gov (United States)

Aslam, Mohammed; Nagarajan, Praveen; Remanan, Mini

2018-03-01

Piezoelectric materials are extensively used in smart structures as sensors and actuators. In this paper, static analysis of three piezoelectric solids is done using general-purpose finite element software, Abaqus. The simulation results from Abaqus are compared with the results obtained using numerical methods like Boundary Element Method (BEM) and meshless point collocation method (PCM). The BEM and PCM are cumbersome for complex shape and complicated boundary conditions. This paper shows that the software Abaqus can be used to solve the governing equations of piezoelectric solids in a much simpler and faster way than the BEM and PCM.

Tuning piezoelectric properties through epitaxy of La2Ti2O7 and related thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaspar, Tiffany C.; Hong, Seungbum; Bowden, Mark E.; Varga, Tamas; Yan, Pengfei; Wang, Chongmin; Spurgeon, Steven R.; Comes, Ryan B.; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Henager, Charles H.

2018-02-14

Current piezoelectric sensors and actuators are limited to operating temperatures less than ~200°C due to the low Curie temperature of the piezoelectric material. High temperature piezoelectric materials such as La2Ti2O7 (LTO) would facilitate the development of high-temperature sensors if the piezoelectric coupling coefficient could be maximized. We have deposited epitaxial LTO films on SrTiO3(001), SrTiO3(110), and rutile TiO2(110) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and show that the crystalline orientation of the LTO film, and thus its piezoelectric coupling direction, can be controlled by epitaxial matching to the substrate. The structure and phase purity of the films were investigated by x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. To characterize the piezoelectric properties, piezoresponse force microscopy was used to measure the in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling in the films. We find that the strength of the out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling can be increased when the piezoelectric crystalline direction is rotated partially out-of-plane via epitaxy. The strongest out-of-plane coupling is observed for LTO/STO(001). Deposition on TiO2(110) results in epitaxial La2/3TiO3, an orthorhombic perovskite of interest as a microwave dielectric material. La2/3TiO3 can be difficult to stabilize in bulk form, and epitaxial deposition has not been previously reported. These results confirm that control of the crystalline orientation of LTO-based materials can increase the out-of-plane strength of its piezoelectric coupling, which can be exploited in piezoelectric devices.

Optimization of piezoelectric cantilever energy harvesters including non-linear effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patel, R; McWilliam, S; Popov, A A

2014-01-01

This paper proposes a versatile non-linear model for predicting piezoelectric energy harvester performance. The presented model includes (i) material non-linearity, for both substrate and piezoelectric layers, and (ii) geometric non-linearity incorporated by assuming inextensibility and accurately representing beam curvature. The addition of a sub-model, which utilizes the transfer matrix method to predict eigenfrequencies and eigenvectors for segmented beams, allows for accurate optimization of piezoelectric layer coverage. A validation of the overall theoretical model is performed through experimental testing on both uniform and non-uniform samples manufactured in-house. For the harvester composition used in this work, the magnitude of material non-linearity exhibited by the piezoelectric layer is 35 times greater than that of the substrate layer. It is also observed that material non-linearity, responsible for reductions in resonant frequency with increases in base acceleration, is dominant over geometric non-linearity for standard piezoelectric harvesting devices. Finally, over the tested range, energy loss due to damping is found to increase in a quasi-linear fashion with base acceleration. During an optimization study on piezoelectric layer coverage, results from the developed model were compared with those from a linear model. Unbiased comparisons between harvesters were realized by using devices with identical natural frequencies—created by adjusting the device substrate thickness. Results from three studies, each with a different assumption on mechanical damping variations, are presented. Findings showed that, depending on damping variation, a non-linear model is essential for such optimization studies with each model predicting vastly differing optimum configurations. (paper)

A piezoelectric fibre composite based energy harvesting device for potential wearable applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swallow, L M; Luo, J K; Siores, E; Patel, I; Dodds, D

2008-01-01

Rapid technological advances in nanotechnology, microelectronic sensors and systems are becoming increasingly miniaturized to the point where embedded wearable applications are beginning to emerge. A restriction to the widespread application of these microsystems is the power supply of relatively sizable dimensions, weight, and limited lifespan. Emerging micropower sources exploit self-powered generators utilizing the intrinsic energy conversion characteristics of smart materials. 'Energy harvesting' describes the process by which energy is extracted from the environment, converted and stored. Piezoelectric materials have been used to convert mechanical into electrical energy through their inherent piezoelectric effect. This paper focuses on the development of a micropower generator using microcomposite based piezoelectric materials for energy reclamation in glove structures. Devices consist of piezoelectric fibres, 90–250 µm in diameter, aligned in a unidirectional manner and incorporated into a composite structure. The fibres are laid within a single laminate structure with copper interdigitated electrodes assembled on both sides, forming a thin film device. Performances of devices with different fibre diameters and material thicknesses are investigated. Experiments are outlined that detail the performance characteristics of such piezoelectric fibre laminates. Results presented show voltage outputs up to 6 V which is considered enough for potential applications in powering wearable microsystems

Ultrahigh piezoelectricity in ferroelectric ceramics by design

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fei; Lin, Dabin; Chen, Zibin; Cheng, Zhenxiang; Wang, Jianli; Li, ChunChun; Xu, Zhuo; Huang, Qianwei; Liao, Xiaozhou; Chen, Long-Qing; Shrout, Thomas R.; Zhang, Shujun

2018-03-01

Piezoelectric materials, which respond mechanically to applied electric field and vice versa, are essential for electromechanical transducers. Previous theoretical analyses have shown that high piezoelectricity in perovskite oxides is associated with a flat thermodynamic energy landscape connecting two or more ferroelectric phases. Here, guided by phenomenological theories and phase-field simulations, we propose an alternative design strategy to commonly used morphotropic phase boundaries to further flatten the energy landscape, by judiciously introducing local structural heterogeneity to manipulate interfacial energies (that is, extra interaction energies, such as electrostatic and elastic energies associated with the interfaces). To validate this, we synthesize rare-earth-doped Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PMN-PT), as rare-earth dopants tend to change the local structure of Pb-based perovskite ferroelectrics. We achieve ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficients d33 of up to 1,500 pC N-1 and dielectric permittivity ɛ33/ɛ0 above 13,000 in a Sm-doped PMN-PT ceramic with a Curie temperature of 89 °C. Our research provides a new paradigm for designing material properties through engineering local structural heterogeneity, expected to benefit a wide range of functional materials.

High Temperature Piezoelectric Drill

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Badescu, Mircea; Shrout, Tom

2012-01-01

Venus is one of the planets in the solar systems that are considered for potential future exploration missions. It has extreme environment where the average temperature is 460 deg C and its ambient pressure is about 90 atm. Since the existing actuation technology cannot maintain functionality under the harsh conditions of Venus, it is a challenge to perform sampling and other tasks that require the use of moving parts. Specifically, the currently available electromagnetic actuators are limited in their ability to produce sufficiently high stroke, torque, or force. In contrast, advances in developing electro-mechanical materials (such as piezoelectric and electrostrictive) have enabled potential actuation capabilities that can be used to support such missions. Taking advantage of these materials, we developed a piezoelectric actuated drill that operates at the temperature range up to 500 deg C and the mechanism is based on the Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) configuration. The detailed results of our study are presented in this paper

Progress in the analysis of non-axisymmetric wave propagation in a homogeneous solid circular cylinder of a piezoelectric transversely isotropic material

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Every, AG

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Non-axisymmetric waves in a free homogeneous piezoelectric cylinder of transversely isotropic material with axial polarization are investigated on the basis of the linear theory of elasticity and linear electromechanical coupling. The solution...

Design and Performance of a Metal-Shielded Piezoelectric Sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Sáenz de Inestrillas, Álvaro; Camarena, Francisco; Bou Cabo, Manuel; Barreiro, Julián M; Reig, Antonio

2017-06-04

In certain circumstances when acoustic measurements are required in the presence of explosive atmospheres the sensor must be placed inside a Faraday Cage. Piezoelectric active materials are suitable for this purpose as they do not need an electrical power supply, although the metal shielding can considerably reduce sensor sensitivity, which is already low at the acoustic frequency range (<20 kHz). This paper describes a metal-shielded piezoelectric sensor designed to work in the range of frequencies between 1 and 2 kHz and in these environmental conditions. The main idea was to add a thin material layer to the front face of the piezoelectric ceramic in order to force the system to vibrate in flexure mode at low frequencies. The resonant frequency and sensitivity of the system was studied as a function of the radius, thickness, and material of the thin layer. The study includes a comparison of theoretical model, FEM simulation, and real data measured using three aluminum and three steel prototypes of different sizes.

FRICTIONLESS CONTACT IN A LAYERED PIEZOELECTRIC MEDIUM COMPOSED OF MATERIALS WITH HEXAGONAL SYMMETRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillermo Ramírez

Full Text Available A matrix formulation is presented for the solution of frictionless contact problems on arbitrarily multilayered piezoelectric half-planes. Different arrangements of elastic and transversely orthotropic piezoelectric materials within the multilayered medium are considered. A generalized plane deformation is used to obtain the governing equilibrium equations for each individual layer. These equations are solved using the infinite Fourier transform technique. The problem is then reformulated using the local/global stiffness method, in which a local stiffness matrix relating the stresses and electric displacement to the mechanical displacements and electric potential in the transformed domain is formulated for each layer. Then it is assembled into a global stiffness matrix for the entire half-plane by enforcing interfacial continuity of tractions and displacements. This local/global stiffness approach not only eliminates the necessity of explicitly finding the unknown Fourier coefficients, but also allows the use of efficient numerical algorithms, many of which have been developed for finite element analysis. Unlike finite element methods, the present approach requires minimal input. Application of the mixed boundary conditions reduces the problem to an integral equation. This integral equation is numerically solved for the unknown contact pressure using a technique based on the Chebyshev polynomials.

Mathematical model and characteristic analysis of hybrid photovoltaic/piezoelectric actuation mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jing; Li, Xiaonan; Ding, Jincheng; Yue, Honghao; Deng, Zongquan

2016-12-01

Photovoltaic materials can turn light energy into electric energy directly, and thus have the advantages of high electrical output voltages and the ability to realize remote or non-contact control. When high-energy ultraviolet light illuminates polarized PbLaZrTi (PLZT) materials, high photovoltages will be generated along the spontaneous polarization direction due to the photovoltaic effect. In this paper, a novel hybrid photovoltaic/piezoelectric actuation mechanism is proposed. PLZT ceramics are used as a photovoltaic generator to drive a piezoelectric actuator. A mathematical model is established to define the time history of the actuation voltage between two electrodes of the piezoelectric actuator, which is experimentally validated by the test results of a piezoelectric actuator with different geometrical parameters under irradiation at different light intensities. Some important characteristics of this novel actuation mechanism are analyzed and it can be concluded that (1) it is experimentally validated that there is no hysteresis between voltage and deformation which exists in a PLZT actuator; (2) the saturated voltage and response speed can be improved by using a multi-patch PLZT generator to drive the piezoelectric actuator; and (3) the initial voltage of the piezoelectric actuator can be acquired by controlling the logical switch between the PLZT and the piezoelectric actuator while the initial voltages increase with the rise of light intensity.

Piezoelectricity of a ferroelectric liquid crystal with a glass transition.

Science.gov (United States)

Jákli, A; Tóth-Katona, T; Scharf, T; Schadt, M; Saupe, A

2002-07-01

Pressure-electric (hydrostatic piezoelectric) measurements are reported on bookshelf textures of a ferroelectric smectic-C (Sm C*) liquid crystal with a glass transition. The continuous variation of a partially fluid state to the solid glass enables one to trace how the piezoelectric effect depends on the consistency of the material. It was observed that in the Sm C* samples with poled glass the piezoelectric constants are comparable to conventional piezoelectric crystals and poled piezoelectric polymers. This implies their application possibilities. The magnitude of the piezoelectric constant in the glassy state depends very much on the poling conditions. The studies indicate that there are two counteracting effects, which cancel each other out in the Sm C* phase near the glass transition. Our analysis indicates that the pressure-induced director tilt change has a dominating effect both in the fluid and the glassy Sm C* states.

Structural control by the use of piezoelectric active members

Science.gov (United States)

Fanson, J. L.; Chen, J.-C.

1987-01-01

Large Space Structures (LSS) exhibit characteristics which make the LSS control problem different form other control problems. LSS will most likely exhibit low frequency, densely spaced and lightly damped modes. In theory, the number of these modes is infinite. Because these structures are flexible, Vibration Suppression (VS) is an important aspect of LSS operation. In terms of VS, the control actuators should be as low mass as possible, have infinite bandwidth, and be electrically powered. It is proposed that actuators be built into the structure as dual purpose structural elements. A piezoelectric active member is proposed for the control of LSS. Such a device would consist of a piezoelectric actuator and sensor for measuring strain, and screwjack actuator in series for use in quasi-static shape control. An experiment simulates an active member using piezoelectric ceramic thin sheet material on a thin, uniform cantilever beam. The feasibility of using the piezoelectric materials for VS on LSS was demonstrated. Positive positive feedback as a VS control strategy was implemented. Multi-mode VS was achieved with dramatic reduction in dynamic response.

Nonlinear piezoelectricity in epitaxial ferroelectrics at high electric fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Grigoriev, Alexei; Sichel, Rebecca; Lee, Ho Nyung; Landahl, Eric C; Adams, Bernhard; Dufresne, Eric M; Evans, Paul G

2008-01-18

Nonlinear effects in the coupling of polarization with elastic strain have been predicted to occur in ferroelectric materials subjected to high electric fields. Such predictions are tested here for a PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 ferroelectric thin film at electric fields in the range of several hundred MV/m and strains reaching up to 2.7%. The piezoelectric strain exceeds predictions based on constant piezoelectric coefficients at electric fields from approximately 200 to 400 MV/m, which is consistent with a nonlinear effect predicted to occur at corresponding piezoelectric distortions.

Piezoelectric coefficients and spontaneous polarization of ScAlN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caro, Miguel A; Laurila, Tomi; Zhang, Siyuan; Moram, Michelle A; Riekkinen, Tommi; Ylilammi, Markku; Molarius, Jyrki; Lopez-Acevedo, Olga

2015-01-01

We present a computational study of spontaneous polarization and piezoelectricity in Sc x Al 1−x N alloys in the compositional range from x = 0 to x = 0.5, obtained in the context of density functional theory and the Berry-phase theory of electric polarization using large periodic supercells. We report composition-dependent values of piezoelectric coefficients e ij , piezoelectric moduli d ij and elastic constants C ij . The theoretical findings are complemented with experimental measurement of e 33 for a series of sputtered ScAlN films carried out with a piezoelectric resonator. The rapid increase with Sc content of the piezoelectric response reported in previous studies is confirmed for the available data. A detailed description of the full methodology required to calculate the piezoelectric properties of ScAlN, with application to other complex alloys, is presented. In particular, we find that the large amount of internal strain present in ScAlN and its intricate relation with electric polarization make configurational sampling and the use of large supercells at different compositions necessary in order to accurately derive the piezoelectric response of the material. (paper)

Static aeroelastic behavior of an adaptive laminated piezoelectric composite wing

Science.gov (United States)

Weisshaar, T. A.; Ehlers, S. M.

1990-01-01

The effect of using an adaptive material to modify the static aeroelastic behavior of a uniform wing is examined. The wing structure is idealized as a laminated sandwich structure with piezoelectric layers in the upper and lower skins. A feedback system that senses the wing root loads applies a constant electric field to the piezoelectric actuator. Modification of pure torsional deformaton behavior and pure bending deformation are investigated, as is the case of an anisotropic composite swept wing. The use of piezoelectric actuators to create an adaptive structure is found to alter static aeroelastic behavior in that the proper choice of the feedback gain can increase or decrease the aeroelastic divergence speed. This concept also may be used to actively change the lift effectiveness of a wing. The ability to modify static aeroelastic behavior is limited by physical limitations of the piezoelectric material and the manner in which it is integrated into the parent structure.

Phase structure and piezoelectric properties of Li-modified NKLN lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sin-Woong; Lee, Sung-Chan; Kim, Min-Soo; Jeong, Soon-Jong; Kim, In-Sung; Song, Jae-Sung

2012-01-01

Through the low-temperature sintering method, a sintered body with excellent characteristics was produced in an eco-friendly niobate-based piezoelectric ceramic, whose application was low in expectation due to poor sinterability. Li 2 CO 3 was added in excess to (Na 0.49 K 0.45 Li 0.06 )NbO 3 , and ceramics were manufactured using a commercial sintering method. Then, the sinterability and the piezoelectric properties of the specimens containing varying amounts of Li 2 CO 3 were investigated. The microstructure demonstrated the typical abnormal grain growth tendencies with the addition of Li 2 CO 3 , and this was explained through changes in the critical driving force in the interface reaction-controlled nucleation and growth theory. When the specimen had been sintered at 1000 .deg. C for 4 hours in air after the addition of 1.5 mol% Li 2 CO 3 , the sintered body showed outstanding characteristics with a piezoelectric coefficient of 180 pC/N, an electromechanical coupling coefficient of 0.32, and a dielectric constant of 975. These results showed that eco-friendly niobate-based ceramics, whose use in applications was expected to be difficult in spite of their excellent properties, could be used to produce piezoelectric materials with outstanding properties through a commercial low-temperature sintering method using additives.

Phase structure and piezoelectric properties of Li-modified NKLN lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sin-Woong; Lee, Sung-Chan; Kim, Min-Soo; Jeong, Soon-Jong; Kim, In-Sung; Song, Jae-Sung [Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, Changwon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-09-15

Through the low-temperature sintering method, a sintered body with excellent characteristics was produced in an eco-friendly niobate-based piezoelectric ceramic, whose application was low in expectation due to poor sinterability. Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3} was added in excess to (Na{sub 0.49}K{sub 0.45}Li{sub 0.06})NbO{sub 3}, and ceramics were manufactured using a commercial sintering method. Then, the sinterability and the piezoelectric properties of the specimens containing varying amounts of Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3} were investigated. The microstructure demonstrated the typical abnormal grain growth tendencies with the addition of Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, and this was explained through changes in the critical driving force in the interface reaction-controlled nucleation and growth theory. When the specimen had been sintered at 1000 .deg. C for 4 hours in air after the addition of 1.5 mol% Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3}, the sintered body showed outstanding characteristics with a piezoelectric coefficient of 180 pC/N, an electromechanical coupling coefficient of 0.32, and a dielectric constant of 975. These results showed that eco-friendly niobate-based ceramics, whose use in applications was expected to be difficult in spite of their excellent properties, could be used to produce piezoelectric materials with outstanding properties through a commercial low-temperature sintering method using additives.

Effect of garment design on piezoelectricity harvesting from joint movement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jin-Hee; Cho, Hyun-Seung; Park, Seon-Hyung; Song, Seung-Hwan; Yun, Kwang-Seok; Lee, Joo Hyeon

2016-01-01

The harvesting of piezoelectricity through the human body involves the conversion of mechanical energy, mostly generated by the repeated movements of the body, to electrical energy, irrespective of the time and location. In this research, it was expected that the garment design would play an important role in increasing the efficiency of piezoelectricity scavenged in a garment because the mechanical deformation imposed on the energy harvester could increase through an optimal design configuration for the garment parts supporting a piezoelectricity harvester. With this expectation, this research aimed to analyze the effect of the clothing factors, and that of human factors on the efficiency of piezoelectricity harvesting through clothing in joint movements. These analyses resulted in that the efficiency of the piezoelectricity harvesting was affected from both two clothing factors, tightness level depending upon the property of the textile material and design configuration of the garment part supporting the piezoelectricity harvesting. Among the three proposed designs of the garment part supporting the piezoelectricity harvesting, ‘reinforced 3D module design,’ which maximized the value of radius in the piezoelectricity harvester, showed the highest efficiency across all areas of the joints in the human body. The two human factors, frequency of movement and body part, affected the efficiency of the piezoelectricity harvesting as well. (paper)

The development of all-polymer-based piezoelectrically active photocurable resin for 3D printing process (Conference Presentation)

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Evan; Chu, Weishen; Ware, Henry Oliver T.; Farsheed, Adam C.; Sun, Cheng

2017-02-01

We present in this work the development and experimental validation of a new piezoelectric material (V-Ink) designed for compatibility with projection stereolithography additive manufacturing techniques. Piezoelectric materials generate a voltage output when a stress is applied to the material, and also can be actuated by using an external voltage and power source. This new material opens up new opportunities for functional devices to be developed and rapidly produced at low cost using emerging 3D printing techniques. The new piezoelectric material was able to generate 115mV under 1N of strain after being polled at 80°C for 40 minutes and the optimal results had a piezoelectric coefficient of 105x10^(-3)V.m/N. The current iteration of the material is a suspension, although further work is ongoing to make the resin a true solution. The nature of the suspension was characterized by a time-lapse monitoring and through viscosity testing. The potential exists to further increase the piezoelectric properties of this material by integrating a mechanical to electrical enhancer such as carbon nanotubes or barium titanate into the material. Such materials need to be functionalized to be integrated within the material, which is currently being explored. Printing with this material on a "continuous SLA" printer that we have developed will reduce build times by an order of magnitude to allow for mass manufacturing. Pairing those two advancements will enable faster printing and enhanced piezoelectric properties.

Vertical comb drive actuator for the measurement of piezoelectric coefficients in small-scale systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wooldridge, J; Muniz-Piniella, A; Stewart, M; Shean, T A V; Weaver, P M; Cain, M G

2013-01-01

A micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) vertical levitation comb drive actuator has been created for the measurement of piezoelectric coefficients in thin/thick films or piezoelectrically active micro-scale components of other MEMS devices. The device exerts a dynamic force of 33 μN at an applied voltage of 100 V. The charge developed on the piezoelectric test device is measured using a charge sensitive pre-amplifier and lock-in technique, enabling measurements down to 1×10 −5 pC. The system was tested with ten different piezoelectric samples with coefficients in the range 70–1375 pC N −1 and showed a good correlation (r = 0.9997) to measurements performed with macroscopic applied stresses, and piezoelectric impedance resonance techniques. The measurement of the direct piezoelectric effect in micro- and nano-scale piezo-materials has been made possible using MEMS processing technology. This new application of a MEMS metrology device has been developed and fully characterized in order to accurately evaluate the functional properties of piezoelectric materials at the scale required in micro- to nano-scale applications. (paper)

The design and fabrication of highly piezoelectric polymeric composites and their use in responsive devices

Science.gov (United States)

Baur, Cary Allen

In this work, novel approaches to the design of highly piezoelectric and flexible polymer composites were explored. Diverging from past work focused on the addition of piezoelectric particles into polymer matrices, this research explores the ability to increase the piezoelectric performance of a host polymer through the incorporation of charge via polarizable, organic particles. The ability to insert charge into polymers, known as electrets, is well documented but widely considered impractical because of the low lifetime and temperature resistance of the inserted charge. Through the addition of particles that are polarizable, charge can be inserted into a system in a stable manner that results in highly charged materials with long lifetimes. Here, carbon structures, such as Buckminsterfullerenes (C60) and single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs), were composited into poly(vinylidene difluoride) at very low loading levels (0.05-0.25 wt%), resulting in the ability to insert stable charge into the system. We show that these highly charged systems can result in a doubling of the piezoelectric response of the host polymer when optimized. The low amount of nanoparticle filler required to improve these materials allows for the advantageous properties of the polymer matrix such as flexibility and compliance to be preserved, enabling highly piezoelectric and flexible system. This dissertation outlines research efforts towards the design and fabrication of 1) polymer composites with high piezoelectric response, 2) piezoelectric composites with increased operating temperatures, 3) motion control devices that incorporate piezoelectric materials and shape memory polymers, and 4) artificial muscles with piezoelectric polymers. The piezoelectric polymer composites developed in this work have potential to be utilized as highly efficient, flexible energy harvesters that can be used to capture ambient energy from environmental vibrations and motion from the human body. As actuators, these

Piezoelectricity and absorption of water in biomaterials: bone and tendon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghilardi Netto, T.

1973-01-01

A new application of the Fabry-Perot interferometer has been developed, capable of measuring variations in length with a precision of the order of one angstrom. The method has been applied to the determination of some of the inverse piezoelectric coefficients of bovine bone and tendon. The effect of water in these materials was carefully measured and shown to decrease the piezoelectricity. Correlations between the piezoelectricity and length, weight, and volume and surface resistivity were made during the absorption of water [pt

Wafer-scale integration of piezoelectric actuation capabilities in nanoelectromechanical systems resonators

OpenAIRE

DEZEST, Denis; MATHIEU, Fabrice; MAZENQ, Laurent; SOYER, Caroline; COSTECALDE, Jean; REMIENS, Denis; THOMAS, Olivier; DEÜ, Jean-François; NICU, Liviu

2013-01-01

In this work, we demonstrate the integration of piezoelectric actuation means on arrays of nanocantilevers at the wafer scale. We use lead titanate zirconate (PZT) as piezoelectric material mainly because of its excellent actuation properties even when geometrically constrained at extreme scale

Fracture mechanics of piezoelectric and ferroelectric solids

CERN Document Server

Fang, Daining

2013-01-01

Fracture Mechanics of Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric Solids presents a systematic and comprehensive coverage of the fracture mechanics of piezoelectric/ferroelectric materials, which includes the theoretical analysis, numerical computations and experimental observations. The main emphasis is placed on the mechanics description of various crack problems such static, dynamic and interface fractures as well as the physical explanations for the mechanism of electrically induced fracture. The book is intended for postgraduate students, researchers and engineers in the fields of solid mechanics, applied physics, material science and mechanical engineering. Dr. Daining Fang is a professor at the School of Aerospace, Tsinghua University, China; Dr. Jinxi Liu is a professor at the Department of Engineering Mechanics, Shijiazhuang Railway Institute, China.

Flexible Piezoelectric Generators by Using the Bending Motion Method of Direct-Grown-PZT Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanotubes.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jin Kyu; Jeon, Do Hyun; Cho, Sam Yeon; Kang, Sin Wook; Lim, Jongsun; Bu, Sang Don

2017-10-07

Recently, composite-type nanogenerators (NGs) formed from piezoelectric nanostructures and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have become one of the excellent candidates for future energy harvesting because of their ability to apply the excellent electrical and mechanical properties of CNTs. However, the synthesis of NG devices with a high proportion of piezoelectric materials and a low polymer content, such as of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), continues to be problematic. In this work, high-piezoelectric-material-content flexible films produced from Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT)-atomically-interconnected CNTs and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are presented. Various physical and chemical characterization techniques are employed to examine the morphology and structure of the materials. The direct growth of the piezoelectric material on the CNTs, by stirring the PZT and CNT mixed solution, results in various positive effects, such as a high-quality dispersion in the polymer matrix and addition of flexoelectricity to piezoelectricity, resulting in the enhancement of the output voltage by an external mechanical force. The NGs repeatedly generate an output voltage of 0.15 V. These results present a significant step toward the application of NGs using piezoelectric nanocomposite materials.

Flexible Piezoelectric Generators by Using the Bending Motion Method of Direct-Grown-PZT Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanotubes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Kyu Han

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Recently, composite-type nanogenerators (NGs formed from piezoelectric nanostructures and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs, have become one of the excellent candidates for future energy harvesting because of their ability to apply the excellent electrical and mechanical properties of CNTs. However, the synthesis of NG devices with a high proportion of piezoelectric materials and a low polymer content, such as of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS, continues to be problematic. In this work, high-piezoelectric-material-content flexible films produced from Pb(Zr,TiO3 (PZT-atomically-interconnected CNTs and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE are presented. Various physical and chemical characterization techniques are employed to examine the morphology and structure of the materials. The direct growth of the piezoelectric material on the CNTs, by stirring the PZT and CNT mixed solution, results in various positive effects, such as a high-quality dispersion in the polymer matrix and addition of flexoelectricity to piezoelectricity, resulting in the enhancement of the output voltage by an external mechanical force. The NGs repeatedly generate an output voltage of 0.15 V. These results present a significant step toward the application of NGs using piezoelectric nanocomposite materials.

Analysis of active piezoelectric energy harvester

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yiliang CUI

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Most of the existing piezoelectric traps are designed for a narrow frequency range of vibration, but the surrounding environment has a very wide frequency range, and the frequency may also be subject to change, causing the problem of difficult to achieve energy capture or capture inefficiency. In order to solve problem, a new T-type piezoelectric cantilever is proposed as a capture energy structure in the paper. To begin with the aspects of structural design and circuit design, the static analysis, modal analysis and resonance analysis of the structure are carried out and the natural frequency and excitation frequency of the device are analyzed. The design and calculation of the power consumption and the loss of the components of the circuit are analyzed by the simulation and verification of the active capture energy circuit, and the active and passive techniques are compared and analyzed, the simulation of the active capture circuit is verified by analyzing the power consumption of the circuit and the maximum power obtained by the active technology is 5 times of that of the passive technology. And then the voltage-controlled active boundary control method can be used for interface circuit design, taking the initiative to use each piezoelectric transduction cycle triggered by the electrical boundary conditions to effectively increase the input piezoelectric pump energy, and then increase output power. The way of utilizing the active trapping of piezoelectric materials is innovated, which has a positive effect on the development of piezoelectric traps.

Dielectric loss against piezoelectric power harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Junrui; Shu-Hung Chung, Henry; Liao, Wei-Hsin

2014-09-01

Piezoelectricity is one of the most popular electromechanical transduction mechanisms for constructing kinetic energy harvesting systems. When a standard energy harvesting (SEH) interface circuit, i.e., bridge rectifier plus filter capacitor, is utilized for collecting piezoelectric power, the previous literature showed that the power conversion can be well predicted without much consideration for the effect of dielectric loss. Yet, as the conversion power gets higher by adopting power-boosting interface circuits, such as synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI), the neglect of dielectric loss might give rise to deviation in harvested power estimation. Given the continuous progress on power-boosting interface circuits, the role of dielectric loss in practical piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) systems should receive attention with better evaluation. Based on the integrated equivalent impedance network model, this fast track communication provides a comprehensive study on the susceptibility of harvested power in PEH systems under different conditions. It shows that, dielectric loss always counteracts piezoelectric power harvesting by causing charge leakage across piezoelectric capacitance. In particular, taking corresponding ideal lossless cases as references, the counteractive effect might be aggravated under one of the five conditions: larger dielectric loss tangent, lower vibration frequency, further away from resonance, weaker electromechanical coupling, or using power-boosting interface circuit. These relationships are valuable for the study of PEH systems, as they not only help explain the role of dielectric loss in piezoelectric power harvesting, but also add complementary insights for material, structure, excitation, and circuit considerations towards holistic evaluation and design for practical PEH systems.

Dielectric loss against piezoelectric power harvesting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Junrui; Shu-Hung Chung, Henry; Liao, Wei-Hsin

2014-01-01

Piezoelectricity is one of the most popular electromechanical transduction mechanisms for constructing kinetic energy harvesting systems. When a standard energy harvesting (SEH) interface circuit, i.e., bridge rectifier plus filter capacitor, is utilized for collecting piezoelectric power, the previous literature showed that the power conversion can be well predicted without much consideration for the effect of dielectric loss. Yet, as the conversion power gets higher by adopting power-boosting interface circuits, such as synchronized switch harvesting on inductor (SSHI), the neglect of dielectric loss might give rise to deviation in harvested power estimation. Given the continuous progress on power-boosting interface circuits, the role of dielectric loss in practical piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) systems should receive attention with better evaluation. Based on the integrated equivalent impedance network model, this fast track communication provides a comprehensive study on the susceptibility of harvested power in PEH systems under different conditions. It shows that, dielectric loss always counteracts piezoelectric power harvesting by causing charge leakage across piezoelectric capacitance. In particular, taking corresponding ideal lossless cases as references, the counteractive effect might be aggravated under one of the five conditions: larger dielectric loss tangent, lower vibration frequency, further away from resonance, weaker electromechanical coupling, or using power-boosting interface circuit. These relationships are valuable for the study of PEH systems, as they not only help explain the role of dielectric loss in piezoelectric power harvesting, but also add complementary insights for material, structure, excitation, and circuit considerations towards holistic evaluation and design for practical PEH systems. (fast track communications)

Radial-Electric-Field Piezoelectric Diaphragm Pumps

Science.gov (United States)

Bryant, Robert G.; Working, Dennis C.; Mossi, Karla; Castro, Nicholas D.; Mane, Pooma

2009-01-01

In a recently invented class of piezoelectric diaphragm pumps, the electrode patterns on the piezoelectric diaphragms are configured so that the electric fields in the diaphragms have symmetrical radial (along-the-surface) components in addition to through-the-thickness components. Previously, it was accepted in the piezoelectric-transducer art that in order to produce the out-of-plane bending displacement of a diaphragm needed for pumping, one must make the electric field asymmetrical through the thickness, typically by means of electrodes placed on only one side of the piezoelectric material. In the present invention, electrodes are placed on both sides and patterned so as to produce substantial radial as well as through-the-thickness components. Moreover, unlike in the prior art, the electric field can be symmetrical through the thickness. Tests have shown in a given diaphragm that an electrode configuration according to this invention produces more displacement than does a conventional one-sided electrode pattern. The invention admits of numerous variations characterized by various degrees of complexity. Figure 1 is a simplified depiction of a basic version. As in other piezoelectric diaphragm pumps of similar basic design, the prime mover is a piezoelectric diaphragm. Application of a suitable voltage to the electrodes on the diaphragm causes it to undergo out-of-plane bending. The bending displacement pushes a fluid out of, or pulls the fluid into, a chamber bounded partly by the diaphragm. Also as in other diaphragm pumps in general, check valves ensure that the fluid flows only in through one port and only out through another port.

Piezoelectric polydimethylsiloxane films for MEMS transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jhih-Jhe; Hsu, Tsung-Hsing; Yeh, Che-Nan; Tsai, Jui-Wei; Su, Yu-Chuan

2012-01-01

We have successfully demonstrated the fabrication of piezoelectric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films utilizing multilayer casting, stacking, surface coating and micro plasma discharge processes. To realize the desired electromechanical sensitivity, cellular PDMS structures with micrometer-sized voids are implanted with bipolar charges on the opposite inner surfaces. The implanted charge pairs function as dipoles, which respond promptly to diverse electromechanical stimulation. In the prototype demonstration, cellular PDMS films with various void geometries are fabricated and internally coated with a thin layer of polytetrafluoroethylene, which can help secure the implanted charges. An electric field up to 35 MV m −1 is applied across the fabricated PDMS films to ionize the air in the voids and to accelerate the resulting bipolar charges to bombard the opposite inner surfaces. The resulting charge-implanted, cellular PDMS films show a low effective elastic modulus (E) of about 500 kPa, and a piezoelectric coefficient (d 33 ) higher than 300 pC N −1 , which is more than ten times higher than those of common piezoelectric polymers (e.g. polyvinylidene fluoride). Furthermore, the piezoelectricity of the PDMS films can be tailored by adjusting the dimensions of the cellular structures. As such, the demonstrated piezoelectric PDMS films could potentially serve as flexible and sensitive electromechanical materials, and fulfill the needs of a variety of sensor and energy harvesting applications. (paper)

Porous InP as piezoelectric matrix material in 1-3 magnetoelectric composite sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerngross, M.-D.; Leisner, M.; Carstensen, J.; Foell, H.

2011-01-01

This work shows the results of the fabrication of semi-insulating piezoelectric porous InP structures by electrochemical etching and subsequent purely chemical post-etching in an isotropic HF, HNO 3 , EtOH and HAc containing electrolyte. The piezoelectric modulus d 14 of porous InP is measured to around |60| pm / V, which larger by a factor of 30 compared to bulk InP.

Use of piezoelectric multicomponent force measuring devices in fluid mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, A.; Stefan, K.

1979-01-01

The characterisitics of piezoelectric multicomponent transducers are discussed, giving attention to the advantages of quartz over other materials. The main advantage of piezoelectric devices in aerodynamic studies is their ability to indicate rapid changes in the values of physical parameters. Problems in the accuracy of measurments by piezoelectric devices can be overcome by suitable design approaches. A practical example is given of how such can be utilized to measure rapid fluctuations of fluid forces exerted on a circular cylinder mounted in a water channel.

Control of piezoelectricity in amino acids by supramolecular packing

Science.gov (United States)

Guerin, Sarah; Stapleton, Aimee; Chovan, Drahomir; Mouras, Rabah; Gleeson, Matthew; McKeown, Cian; Noor, Mohamed Radzi; Silien, Christophe; Rhen, Fernando M. F.; Kholkin, Andrei L.; Liu, Ning; Soulimane, Tewfik; Tofail, Syed A. M.; Thompson, Damien

2018-02-01

Piezoelectricity, the linear relationship between stress and induced electrical charge, has attracted recent interest due to its manifestation in biological molecules such as synthetic polypeptides or amino acid crystals, including gamma (γ) glycine. It has also been demonstrated in bone, collagen, elastin and the synthetic bone mineral hydroxyapatite. Piezoelectric coefficients exhibited by these biological materials are generally low, typically in the range of 0.1-10 pm V-1, limiting technological applications. Guided by quantum mechanical calculations we have measured a high shear piezoelectricity (178 pm V-1) in the amino acid crystal beta (β) glycine, which is of similar magnitude to barium titanate or lead zirconate titanate. Our calculations show that the high piezoelectric coefficients originate from an efficient packing of the molecules along certain crystallographic planes and directions. The highest predicted piezoelectric voltage constant for β-glycine crystals is 8 V mN-1, which is an order of magnitude larger than the voltage generated by any currently used ceramic or polymer.

Control of piezoelectricity in amino acids by supramolecular packing.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerin, Sarah; Stapleton, Aimee; Chovan, Drahomir; Mouras, Rabah; Gleeson, Matthew; McKeown, Cian; Noor, Mohamed Radzi; Silien, Christophe; Rhen, Fernando M F; Kholkin, Andrei L; Liu, Ning; Soulimane, Tewfik; Tofail, Syed A M; Thompson, Damien

2018-02-01

Piezoelectricity, the linear relationship between stress and induced electrical charge, has attracted recent interest due to its manifestation in biological molecules such as synthetic polypeptides or amino acid crystals, including gamma (γ) glycine. It has also been demonstrated in bone, collagen, elastin and the synthetic bone mineral hydroxyapatite. Piezoelectric coefficients exhibited by these biological materials are generally low, typically in the range of 0.1-10 pm V -1 , limiting technological applications. Guided by quantum mechanical calculations we have measured a high shear piezoelectricity (178 pm V -1 ) in the amino acid crystal beta (β) glycine, which is of similar magnitude to barium titanate or lead zirconate titanate. Our calculations show that the high piezoelectric coefficients originate from an efficient packing of the molecules along certain crystallographic planes and directions. The highest predicted piezoelectric voltage constant for β-glycine crystals is 8 V mN -1 , which is an order of magnitude larger than the voltage generated by any currently used ceramic or polymer.

Nanostructured piezoelectric energy harvesters

CERN Document Server

Briscoe, Joe

2014-01-01

This book covers a range of devices that use piezoelectricity to convert mechanical deformation into electrical energy and relates their output capabilities to a range of potential applications. Starting with a description of the fundamental principles and properties of piezo- and ferroelectric materials, where applications of bulk materials are well established, the book shows how nanostructures of these materials are being developed for energy harvesting applications. The authors show how a nanostructured device can be produced, and put in context some of the approaches that are being invest

Lead-free piezoelectric materials and ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaheh Taghaddos

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric materials have been vastly used in ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging. In this paper, firstly, the most promising lead-free compositions with perovskite structure for medical imaging applications have been reviewed. The electromechanical properties of various lead-free ceramics, composites, and single crystals based on barium titanate, bismuth sodium titanate, potassium sodium niobate, and lithium niobate are presented. Then, fundamental principles and design considerations of ultrasonic transducers are briefly described. Finally, recent developments in lead-free ultrasonic probes are discussed and their acoustic performance is compared to lead-based transducers. Focused transducers with different beam focusing methods such as lens focusing and mechanical shaping are explained. Additionally, acoustic characteristics of lead-free probes including the pulse-echo results as well as their imaging capabilities for various applications such as phantom imaging, in vitro intravascular ultrasound imaging of swine aorta, and in vivo or ex vivo imaging of human eyes and skin are reviewed.

A layered shell containing patches of piezoelectric fibers and interdigitated electrodes: Finite element modeling and experimental validation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Bo Bjerregaard; Nielsen, Martin S.; Santos, Ilmar

2017-01-01

The work gives a theoretical and experimental contribution to the problem of smart materials connected to double curved flexible shells. In the theoretical part the finite element modeling of a double curved flexible shell with a piezoelectric fiber patch with interdigitated electrodes (IDEs......) is presented. The developed element is based on a purely mechanical eight-node isoparametric layered element for a double curved shell, utilizing first-order shear deformation theory. The electromechanical coupling of piezoelectric material is added to all elements, but can also be excluded by setting...... the piezoelectric material properties to zero. The electrical field applied via the IDEs is aligned with the piezoelectric fibers, and hence the direct d33 piezoelectric constant is utilized for the electromechanical coupling. The dynamic performance of a shell with a microfiber composite (MFC) patch...

Investigation of free vibration analysis of functionally graded annular piezoelectric plate using COMSOL

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Trivendra Kumar; Parashar, Sandeep Kumar

2018-05-01

In the present age functionally graded piezoelectric materials (FGPM) are increasingly being used as actuators and sensors. In spite of the fact that the piezoelectric coupling coefficient for shear d15 has much higher value in comparison to d31 or d33, it is far less utilized for the applications due to complex nature of the shear induced vibrations. In this work three dimensional free vibration analysis of functionally graded piezoelectric material annular plates with free-free boundary conditions is presented. The annular FGPM plate is polarized along the radial direction while the electric field is applied along the thickness direction inducing flexural vibrations of the plate due to d15 effect of functionally graded piezoelectric materials. The material properties are assumed to have a power law variation along the thickness. COMSOL Multiphysics is used to obtain the natural frequencies and modeshapes. Detailed numerical study is performed to ascertain the effect of variation in power law index and various geometrical parameters. The results presented shall be helpful in optimizing the existing applications and developing the new ones utilizing the FGPM annular plates.

Using Piezoelectric Devices to Transmit Power through Walls

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Bao, Xiaoqi

2008-01-01

A method denoted wireless acoustic-electric feed-through (WAEF) has been conceived for transmitting power and/or data signals through walls or other solid objects made of a variety of elastic materials that could be electrically conductive or nonconductive. WAEF would make it unnecessary to use wires, optical fibers, tubes, or other discrete wall-penetrating signal-transmitting components, thereby eliminating the potential for structural weakening or leakage at such penetrations. Avoidance of such penetrations could be essential in some applications in which maintenance of pressure, vacuum, or chemical or biological isolation is required. In a basic WAEF setup, a transmitting piezoelectric transducer on one side of a wall would be driven at resonance to excite ultrasonic vibrations in the wall. A receiving piezoelectric transducer on the opposite side of the wall would convert the vibrations back to an ultrasonic AC electric signal, which would then be detected and otherwise processed in a manner that would depend on the modulation (if any) applied to the signal and whether the signal was used to transmit power, data, or both. An electromechanical-network model has been derived as a computationally efficient means of analyzing and designing a WAEF system. This model is a variant of a prior model, known in the piezoelectric-transducer art as Mason's equivalent-circuit model, in which the electrical and mechanical dynamics, including electromechanical couplings, are expressed as electrical circuit elements that can include inductors, capacitors, and lumped-parameter complex impedances. The real parts of the complex impedances are used to account for dielectric, mechanical, and coupling losses in all components (including all piezoelectric-transducer, wall, and intermediate material layers). In an application to a three-layer piezoelectric structure, this model was shown to yield the same results as do solutions of the wave equations of piezoelectricity and acoustic

Piezoelectric Motors, an Overview

OpenAIRE

Karl Spanner; Burhanettin Koc

2016-01-01

Piezoelectric motors are used in many industrial and commercial applications. Various piezoelectric motors are available in the market. All of the piezoelectric motors use the inverse piezoelectric effect, where microscopically small oscillatory motions are converted into continuous or stepping rotary or linear motions. Methods of obtaining long moving distance have various drive and functional principles that make these motors categorized into three groups: resonance-drive (piezoelectric ult...

Piezoelectric displacement in ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stewart, M.; Cain, M.; Gee, M.

1999-01-01

This Good Practice Guide is intended to aid a user to perform displacement measurements on piezoelectric ceramic materials such as PZT (lead zirconium titanate) in either monolithic or multilayer form. The various measurement issues that the user must consider are addressed, and good measurement practise is described for the four most suitable methods. (author)

A piezoelectric-based infinite stiffness generation method for strain-type load sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Shuwen; Shao, Shubao; Xu, Minglong; Chen, Jie

2015-01-01

Under certain application conditions like nanoindentation technology and the mechanical property measurement of soft materials, the elastic deformation of strain-type load sensors affects their displacement measurement accuracy. In this work, a piezoelectric-based infinite stiffness generation method for strain-type load sensors that compensates for this elastic deformation is presented. The piezoelectric material-based deformation compensation method is proposed. An Hottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH (HBM) Z30A/50N load sensor acts as the foundation of the method presented in this work. The piezoelectric stack is selected based on its size, maximum deformation value, blocking force and stiffness. Then, a clamping and fixing structure is designed to integrate the HBM sensor with the piezoelectric stack. The clamping and fixing structure, piezoelectric stack and HBM load sensor comprise the sensing part of the enhanced load sensor. The load-deformation curve and the voltage-deformation curve of the enhanced load sensor are then investigated experimentally. Because a hysteresis effect exists in the piezoelectric structure, the relationship between the control signal and the deformation value of the piezoelectric material is nonlinear. The hysteresis characteristic in a quasi-static condition is studied and fitted using a quadratic polynomial, and its coefficients are analyzed to enable control signal prediction. Applied arithmetic based on current theory and the fitted data is developed to predict the control signal. Finally, the experimental effects of the proposed method are presented. It is shown that when a quasi-static load is exerted on this enhanced strain-type load sensor, the deformation is reduced and the equivalent stiffness appears to be almost infinite. (paper)

Thermally Stable, Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Polymeric Substrates and Method Relating Thereto

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Joycelyn O. (Inventor); St.Clair, Terry L. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

Production of an electric voltage in response to mechanical excitation (piezoelectricity) or thermal excitation (pyroelectricity) requires a material to have a preferred dipole orientation in its structure. This preferred orientation or polarization occurs naturally in some crystals such as quartz and can be induced into some ceramic and polymeric materials by application of strong electric or mechanical fields. For some materials, a combination of mechanical and electrical orientation is necessary to completely polarize the material. The only commercially available piezoelectric polymer is poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVF2). However, this polymer has material and process limitations which prohibit its use in numerous device applications where thermal stability is a requirement. By the present invention, thermally stable, piezoelectric and pyroelectric polymeric substrates were prepared from polymers having a softening temperature greater than 1000C. A metal electrode material is deposited onto the polymer substrate and several electrical leads are attached to it. The polymer substrate is heated in a low dielectric medium to enhance molecular mobility of the polymer chains. A voltage is then applied to the polymer substrate inducing polarization. The voltage is then maintained while the polymer substrate is cooled 'freezing in' the molecular orientation. The novelty of the invention resides in the process of preparing the piezoelectric and pyroelectric polymeric substrate. The nonobviousness of the invention is found in heating the polymeric substrate in a low dielectric medium while applying a voltage.

Design and Performance of a Metal-Shielded Piezoelectric Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro Sáenz de Inestrillas

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In certain circumstances when acoustic measurements are required in the presence of explosive atmospheres the sensor must be placed inside a Faraday Cage. Piezoelectric active materials are suitable for this purpose as they do not need an electrical power supply, although the metal shielding can considerably reduce sensor sensitivity, which is already low at the acoustic frequency range (<20 kHz. This paper describes a metal-shielded piezoelectric sensor designed to work in the range of frequencies between 1 and 2 kHz and in these environmental conditions. The main idea was to add a thin material layer to the front face of the piezoelectric ceramic in order to force the system to vibrate in flexure mode at low frequencies. The resonant frequency and sensitivity of the system was studied as a function of the radius, thickness, and material of the thin layer. The study includes a comparison of theoretical model, FEM simulation, and real data measured using three aluminum and three steel prototypes of different sizes.

Characteristics of Response of Piezoelectric Actuators in Electron Flux Excitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Philip C. Hadinata

2003-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper the working parameters of non-contact strain control for piezoelectric ceramics are evaluated. The piezoelectric material functions as an actuator that transforms electrical into mechanical energy, and the electrical input is carried out by electron flux on the positive surface. The sample is exposed to some quasi-static inputs, and its responses are recorded using strain gages. The data shows faster and more stable response in the positive regime, but significantly slower response with drift in the negative regime. An electron collector is introduced on the positive surface to enhance the response in the negative regime. Theoretical analyses of energy transfer and electron movements is discussed, and a string of working conditions for controlling the surface strain of piezoelectric material are given as conclusions.

Understanding the peculiarities of the piezoelectric effect in macro-porous BaTiO3.

Science.gov (United States)

Roscow, James I; Topolov, Vitaly Yu; Bowen, Christopher R; Taylor, John; Panich, Anatoly E

2016-01-01

This work demonstrates the potential of porous BaTiO 3 for piezoelectric sensor and energy-harvesting applications by manufacture of materials, detailed characterisation and application of new models. Ferroelectric macro-porous BaTiO 3 ceramics for piezoelectric applications are manufactured for a range of relative densities, α  = 0.30-0.95, using the burned out polymer spheres method. The piezoelectric activity and relevant parameters for specific applications are interpreted by developing two models: a model of a 3-0 composite and a 'composite in composite' model. The appropriate ranges of relative density for the application of these models to accurately predict piezoelectric properties are examined. The two models are extended to take into account the effect of 90° domain-wall mobility within ceramic grains on the piezoelectric coefficients [Formula: see text]. It is shown that porous ferroelectrics provide a novel route to form materials with large piezoelectric anisotropy [Formula: see text] at 0.20 ≤ α ≤ 0.45 and achieve a high squared figure of merit [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]. The modelling approach allows a detailed analysis of the relationships between the properties of the monolithic and porous materials for the design of porous structures with optimum properties.

Piezoelectric Motors, an Overview

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karl Spanner

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric motors are used in many industrial and commercial applications. Various piezoelectric motors are available in the market. All of the piezoelectric motors use the inverse piezoelectric effect, where microscopically small oscillatory motions are converted into continuous or stepping rotary or linear motions. Methods of obtaining long moving distance have various drive and functional principles that make these motors categorized into three groups: resonance-drive (piezoelectric ultrasonic motors, inertia-drive, and piezo-walk-drive. In this review, a comprehensive summary of piezoelectric motors, with their classification from initial idea to recent progress, is presented. This review also includes some of the industrial and commercial applications of piezoelectric motors that are presently available in the market as actuators.

Role of Reversible Phase Transformation for Strong Piezoelectric Performance at the Morphotropic Phase Boundary

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hui; Chen, Jun; Huang, Houbing; Fan, Longlong; Ren, Yang; Pan, Zhao; Deng, Jinxia; Chen, Long-Qing; Xing, Xianran

2018-01-01

A functional material with coexisting energetically equivalent phases often exhibits extraordinary properties such as piezoelectricity, ferromagnetism, and ferroelasticity, which is simultaneously accompanied by field-driven reversible phase transformation. The study on the interplay between such phase transformation and the performance is of great importance. Here, we have experimentally revealed the important role of field-driven reversible phase transformation in achieving enhanced electromechanical properties using in situ high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction combined with 2D geometry scattering technology, which can establish a comprehensive picture of piezoelectric-related microstructural evolution. High-throughput experiments on various Pb /Bi -based perovskite piezoelectric systems suggest that reversible phase transformation can be triggered by an electric field at the morphotropic phase boundary and the piezoelectric performance is highly related to the tendency of electric-field-driven phase transformation. A strong tendency of phase transformation driven by an electric field generates peak piezoelectric response. Further, phase-field modeling reveals that the polarization alignment and the piezoelectric response can be much enhanced by the electric-field-driven phase transformation. The proposed mechanism will be helpful to design and optimize the new piezoelectrics, ferromagnetics, or other related functional materials.

Loss Factor Characterization Methodology for Piezoelectric Ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuang Yuan; Ural, Seyit O; Uchino, Kenji

2011-01-01

The key factor for the miniaturization of piezoelectric devices is power density, which is limited by the heat generation or loss mechanisms. There are three loss components for piezoelectric vibrators, i.e., dielectric, elastic and piezoelectric losses. The mechanical quality factor, determined by these three factors, is the figure of merit in the sense of loss or heat generation. In this paper, quality factors of resonance and antiresonance for k 31 , k 33 , and k 15 vibration modes are derived, and the methodology to determine loss factors in various directions is provided. For simplicity, we focus on materials with ∞mm (equivalent to 6mm) crystal symmetry for deriving the loss factors of polycrystalline ceramics, and 16 different loss factors among total 20 can be obtained from the admittance/ impedance measurements.

Development of temperature stable charge based piezoelectric composite quasi-static pressure sensors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ende, D.A. van den; Groen, W.A.; Zwaag, S. van der

2010-01-01

In this work piezoelectric composite charge based sensors are developed, aimed at quasi-static pressure sensor or switch type applications. The use of piezoelectric composite materials allows for manufacturing robust devices which can easily be integrated with conventional polymer processing.

Tubular fluoropolymer arrays with high piezoelectric response

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukov, Sergey; Eder-Goy, Dagmar; Biethan, Corinna; Fedosov, Sergey; Xu, Bai-Xiang; von Seggern, Heinz

2018-01-01

Polymers with electrically charged internal air cavities called ferroelectrets exhibit a pronounced piezoelectric effect and are regarded as soft functional materials suitable for sensor and actuator applications. In this work, a simple method for fabricating piezoelectret arrays with open-tubular channels is introduced. A set of individual fluoroethylenepropylene (FEP) tubes is compressed between two heated metal plates. The squeezed FEP tubes are melted together at +270 °C. The resulting structure is a uniform, multi-tubular, flat array that reveals a strong piezoelectric response after a poling step. The fabricated arrays have a high ratio between piezoelectrically active and non-active areas. The optimal charging voltage and stability of the piezoelectric coefficients with pressures and frequency were experimentally investigated for two specific array structures with wall thickness of 50 and 120 μm. The array fabricated from 50 μm thick FEP tubes reveals a stable and high piezoelectric coefficient of {d}33 = 120-160 pC N-1 with a flat frequency response between 0.1 Hz and 10 kHz for pressures between 1 and 100 kPa. An increase of wall thickness to 120 μm is accompanied by a more than twofold decrease in the piezoelectric coefficient as a result of a simultaneously higher effective array stiffness and lower remanent polarization. The obtained experimental results can be used to optimize the array design with regard to the electromechanical performance.

Experimental measurements and finite element models of High Displacement Piezoelectric Actuators.

Science.gov (United States)

Camargo, Gilberto; Ashford, Gevale; Naco, Eris; Usher, Tim

2004-03-01

Piezoelectric actuators have many applications including morphable wing technology and piezoelectric transformers. A Piezoelectric ceramic is a material that will move when a voltage is applied and conversely produces a charge when a pressure is applied. In our study, we examine THUNDER (Thin Layer Unimorph Ferroelectric Driver and Sensor) actuators (Thunder TM is a trademark of FACE International Corporation.) Thunder actuators are constructed by bonding thin PZT piezoelectric ceramics to metal sheets. We will present physical measurements of piezoelectric actuators, as well as measurements of the displacements due to applied voltages. In our studies we used a laser micrometer to measure the dimensional characteristics of four sizes of THUNDER actuators including TH-8R, TH-9R, TH-10R, and finally the TH-11R. We also developed computer models using a commercial fine element modeling package (FEM) known as ANSYS6.0®. This software enables us to construct our models controlling such attributes as exact dimensions of the three layers of the piezoelectric actuator, the material properties of each element, the type of load that is to be applied as well as the manner in which the layers are bonded together. The computer model compares favorably with the experimental results. Acknowledgements: NASA Grant No. 0051-0078 Department of Defense (DoD) Control No.ISP02-EUG15

Failure Analysis of High-Power Piezoelectric Transducers

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gabrielson, T. B

2005-01-01

... and stress in a piezoelectric material. For a transducer operated near resonance, there will be "hot spots" or regions of locally intense stress and electric field that precipitate premature failure...

Piezoelectric paints as one approach to smart structural materials with health-monitoring capabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Egusa, Shigenori; Iwasawa, Naozumi

1998-08-01

Piezoelectric paints have a potential to change a conventional structural material into an intelligent material system with health-monitoring capabilities such as vibration sensing and damage detection. Such paints were prepared using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic powder as a pigment and epoxy resin as a binder. The obtained paints were coated on aluminum test specimens, and were cured at room temperature or at 150 0964-1726/7/4/002/img5, thus forming the paint films having different thicknesses of 25-300 0964-1726/7/4/002/img6. These films were then poled at room temperature, and were evaluated with regard to the sensitivities as vibration and acoustic emission sensors in the frequency ranges of 0-250 Hz and 0-1.0 MHz, respectively. This paper mainly describes the effects of the film thickness and the cure temperature on the poling behavior of the PZT/epoxy paint film. This paper describes also the application of the paint film as a vibration modal sensor integrated into a structural material.

Tuning piezoelectric properties through epitaxy of La2Ti2O7 and related thin films.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaspar, Tiffany C; Hong, Seungbum; Bowden, Mark E; Varga, Tamas; Yan, Pengfei; Wang, Chongmin; Spurgeon, Steven R; Comes, Ryan B; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Henager, Charles H

2018-02-14

Current piezoelectric sensors and actuators are limited to operating temperatures less than ~200 °C due to the low Curie temperature of the piezoelectric material. Strengthening the piezoelectric coupling of high-temperature piezoelectric materials, such as La 2 Ti 2 O 7 (LTO), would allow sensors to operate across a broad temperature range. The crystalline orientation and piezoelectric coupling direction of LTO thin films can be controlled by epitaxial matching to SrTiO 3 (001), SrTiO 3 (110), and rutile TiO 2 (110) substrates via pulsed laser deposition. The structure and phase purity of the films are investigated by x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Piezoresponse force microscopy is used to measure the in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling in the films. The strength of the out-of-plane piezoelectric coupling can be increased when the piezoelectric direction is rotated partially out-of-plane via epitaxy. The strongest out-of-plane coupling is observed for LTO/STO(001). Deposition on TiO 2 (110) results in epitaxial La 2/3 TiO 3 , an orthorhombic perovskite of interest as a microwave dielectric material and an ion conductor. La 2/3 TiO 3 can be difficult to stabilize in bulk form, and epitaxial stabilization on TiO 2 (110) is a promising route to realize La 2/3 TiO 3 for both fundamental studies and device applications. Overall, these results confirm that control of the crystalline orientation of epitaxial LTO-based materials can govern the resulting functional properties.

Silicon nanowires nanogenerator based on the piezoelectricity of alpha-quartz.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Kui; Lin, Haiyang; Cai, Qian; Zhao, Yi; Lee, Shuit-Tong; Hu, Fei; Shao, Mingwang

2013-12-21

Silicon nanowires are important semiconductor with core/shell structure. In this work, the piezoelectric material alpha-quartz was grown in the interface of silicon nanowires by thermal treatment at 600 °C for 0.5 h. These nanowires were employed as starting materials to fabricate piezoelectric nanogenerators, which could convert kinetic energy into electrical one, exhibiting an output voltage of 36.5 V and a response current of 1.4 μA under a free-falling object of 300 g at a height of 30 cm.

Outer hair cell piezoelectricity: frequency response enhancement and resonance behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Weitzel, Erik K; Tasker, Ron; Brownell, William E

2003-09-01

Stretching or compressing an outer hair cell alters its membrane potential and, conversely, changing the electrical potential alters its length. This bi-directional energy conversion takes place in the cell's lateral wall and resembles the direct and converse piezoelectric effects both qualitatively and quantitatively. A piezoelectric model of the lateral wall has been developed that is based on the electrical and material parameters of the lateral wall. An equivalent circuit for the outer hair cell that includes piezoelectricity shows a greater admittance at high frequencies than one containing only membrane resistance and capacitance. The model also predicts resonance at ultrasonic frequencies that is inversely proportional to cell length. These features suggest all mammals use outer hair cell piezoelectricity to support the high-frequency receptor potentials that drive electromotility. It is also possible that members of some mammalian orders use outer hair cell piezoelectric resonance in detecting species-specific vocalizations.

Size-dependent effective properties of anisotropic piezoelectric composites with piezoelectric nano-particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Ming-Juan; Fang, Xue-Qian; Liu, Jin-Xi; Feng, Wen-Jie; Zhao, Yong-Mao

2015-01-01

Based on the electro-elastic surface/interface theory, the size-dependent effective piezoelectric and dielectric coefficients of anisotropic piezoelectric composites that consist of spherically piezoelectric inclusions under a uniform electric field are investigated, and the analytical solutions for the elastic displacement and electric potentials are derived. With consideration of the coupling effects of elasticity, permittivity and piezoelectricity, the effective field method is introduced to derive the effective dielectric and piezoelectric responses in the dilute limit. The numerical examples show that the effective dielectric constant exhibits a significant variation due to the surface/interface effect. The dielectric property of the surface/interface displays greater effect than the piezoelectric property, and the elastic property shows little effect. A comparison with the existing results validates the present approach. (paper)

A piezoelectric transformer

Science.gov (United States)

Won, C. C.

1993-01-01

This work describes a modeling and design method whereby a piezoelectric system is formulated by two sets of second-order equations, one for the mechanical system, and the other for the electrical system, coupled through the piezoelectric effect. The solution to this electromechanical coupled system gives a physical interpretation of the piezoelectric effect as a piezoelectric transformer that is a part of the piezoelectric system, which transfers the applied mechanical force into a force-controlled current source, and short circuit mechanical compliance into capacitance. It also transfers the voltage source into a voltage-controlled relative velocity input, and free motional capacitance into mechanical compliance. The formulation and interpretation simplify the modeling of smart structures and lead to physical insight that aids the designer. Due to its physical realization, the smart structural system can be unconditional stable and effectively control responses. This new concept has been demonstrated in three numerical examples for a simple piezoelectric system.

One-Step Solvent Evaporation-Assisted 3D Printing of Piezoelectric PVDF Nanocomposite Structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Bodkhe, Sampada; Turcot, Gabrielle; Gosselin, Frederick P; Therriault, Daniel

2017-06-21

Development of a 3D printable material system possessing inherent piezoelectric properties to fabricate integrable sensors in a single-step printing process without poling is of importance to the creation of a wide variety of smart structures. Here, we study the effect of addition of barium titanate nanoparticles in nucleating piezoelectric β-polymorph in 3D printable polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and fabrication of the layer-by-layer and self-supporting piezoelectric structures on a micro- to millimeter scale by solvent evaporation-assisted 3D printing at room temperature. The nanocomposite formulation obtained after a comprehensive investigation of composition and processing techniques possesses a piezoelectric coefficient, d 31 , of 18 pC N -1 , which is comparable to that of typical poled and stretched commercial PVDF film sensors. A 3D contact sensor that generates up to 4 V upon gentle finger taps demonstrates the efficacy of the fabrication technique. Our one-step 3D printing of piezoelectric nanocomposites can form ready-to-use, complex-shaped, flexible, and lightweight piezoelectric devices. When combined with other 3D printable materials, they could serve as stand-alone or embedded sensors in aerospace, biomedicine, and robotic applications.

A Resonant Damping Study Using Piezoelectric Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Min, J. B.; Duffy, K. P.; Choi, B. B.; Morrison, C. R.; Jansen, R. H.; Provenza, A. J.

2008-01-01

Excessive vibration of turbomachinery blades causes high cycle fatigue (HCF) problems requiring damping treatments to mitigate vibration levels. Based on the technical challenges and requirements learned from previous turbomachinery blade research, a feasibility study of resonant damping control using shunted piezoelectric patches with passive and active control techniques has been conducted on cantilever beam specimens. Test results for the passive damping circuit show that the optimum resistive shunt circuit reduces the third bending resonant vibration by almost 50%, and the optimum inductive circuit reduces the vibration by 90%. In a separate test, active control reduced vibration by approximately 98%.

Fabrication and modelling of 3-3 piezoelectric composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perry, Andrew John

2002-07-01

Three-dimensional modelling of a 3-3 piezoelectric structure was carried out using ANSYS finite element modelling software. Hydrophone figures of merit were calculated for structures with increasing amounts of interconnecting porosity. In addition to air being the second phase, polymer fillers were added to the three dimensional model in order to observe the effect of polymer Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio on the piezoelectric response of the composite material. Results show that increasing the porosity has the effect of improving the hydrostatic piezoelectric properties for applications such as low frequency hydrophones. The optimum amount of porosity depends on the figure of merit to be maximised. In order to validate model predictions, porous piezoelectric structures were fabricated by either the BurPS (Burnt out Polymer Spheres) method or polymer foam reticulation. Corresponding measurements of piezoelectric coefficients were carried out on the porous samples. Experimental results confirmed finite element modelling predictions. PZT-porosity composites and PZT-polymer composites were produced exhibiting superior hydrostatic strain constant (d{sub h}), hydrostatic voltage constant (g{sub h}) and hydrostatic figure of merit (d{sub h}g{sub h}) compared to that of dense PZT. (author)

Finite Element Study on Acoustic Energy Harvesting Using Lead-Free Piezoelectric Ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Anuruddh; Sharma, Anshul; Kumar, Rajeev; Vaish, Rahul

2018-02-01

In this article, a numerical investigation is performed for ambient acoustic energy harvesting at a low-frequency acoustic signal. A model of a quarter-wavelength resonator with a rectangular cross section is constructed, and piezoelectric-laminated bimorph plates are placed inside the system. Finite element modeling is implemented to numerically formulate the piezoelectric energy harvester. With the application of acoustic pressure at the open end of the resonator, amplified acoustic pressure inside the tube vibrates the piezolaminated bimorphs inside the tube, thus generating electric potential on the piezoelectric layers. To generate higher voltage and power in the acoustic harvester, multiple piezolaminated plates are positioned inside the resonator. The lead-free piezoelectric material K0.475Na0.475Li0.05 (Nb0.92Ta0.05Sb0.03)O3 (KNLNTS) is laminated on the host structure as a layer of piezoelectric material for the acoustic energy harvester. With the application of an acoustic sound pressure of 1 dB at the opening of the tube, a maximum output voltage of 16.3 V is measured at the first natural frequency, while the maximum power calculated is 0.033 mW. Maximum voltage is obtained when five piezoelectric bimorphs are place inside the resonator. At the second natural frequency, the maximum voltage measured is 8.40 V, obtained when eight piezoelectric bimorphs are placed inside the resonator, and the maximum power calculated is 0.020 mW.

Atomistic configurational effects on piezoelectric properties of La3Ta0.5Ga5.5O14 and a new piezoelectric crystal design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Chan-Yeup; Yaokawa, Ritsuko; Mizuseki, Hiroshi; Kawazoe, Yoshiyuki

2011-01-01

Single crystalline langatate (LTG, La 3 Ta 0.5 Ga 5.5 O 14 ) has been widely used as a sensor material in high temperature applications because of its thermally stable piezoelectric properties. In this research, to elucidate the relationship between piezoelectric tensors and local ionic configurations, first-principles calculations based on density functional perturbation theory (DFPT) were performed on various local ionic structures. The results indicate that two independent relaxed-ion piezoelectric coefficients, e 11 and e 14 , increased with increases in La (3e) -O and Ta (1a) -O distances or decreases in Ga (3f,2d) -O distances. Thus, to obtain high piezoelectric constants in this crystal, ions larger than La 3+ should be incorporated at 3e sites to open the distance between 3e ions and oxygen ions, and ions smaller than Ga 3+ should be introduced at 2d and 3f sites to reduce the distance between Ga and O ions. Finally, from this design rule, a new crystal, BTAS (Ba 3 TaAl 3 Si 2 O 14 ), which belongs to the same P321 group, is proposed. The calculated relaxed-ion piezoelectric coefficient e 11 of BTAS was 17.7% higher than the coefficient of a LTG crystal. This significant increase confirms BTAS as a useful new piezo-material, especially in applications where there is also a need to reduce the use of more expensive elements.

Effect of porosity on the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 piezoelectric ceramics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yap, Emily W.; Glaum, Julia; Oddershede, Jette

2018-01-01

The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Zr0.1Ti0.9)O3 (BCZT) ceramics were measured as a function of porosity. Porous BCZT ceramics were fabricated using the sacrificial fugitive technique. Two different pore morphologies were induced by adding polymeric microspheres...... and fibres as the pore-forming agents. Increasing porosity led to decreasing ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties due to a reduction of polarisable BCZT ceramic available. With the benefit of being a lead-free piezoelectric material, porous BCZT ceramics may be considered for acoustic impedance...

Piezoelectric smart biomaterials for bone and cartilage tissue engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, Jaicy; More, Namdev; Kalia, Kiran; Kapusetti, Govinda

2018-01-01

Tissues like bone and cartilage are remodeled dynamically for their functional requirements by signaling pathways. The signals are controlled by the cells and extracellular matrix and transmitted through an electrical and chemical synapse. Scaffold-based tissue engineering therapies largely disturb the natural signaling pathways, due to their rigidity towards signal conduction, despite their therapeutic advantages. Thus, there is a high need of smart biomaterials, which can conveniently generate and transfer the bioelectric signals analogous to native tissues for appropriate physiological functions. Piezoelectric materials can generate electrical signals in response to the applied stress. Furthermore, they can stimulate the signaling pathways and thereby enhance the tissue regeneration at the impaired site. The piezoelectric scaffolds can act as sensitive mechanoelectrical transduction systems. Hence, it is applicable to the regions, where mechanical loads are predominant. The present review is mainly concentrated on the mechanism related to the electrical stimulation in a biological system and the different piezoelectric materials suitable for bone and cartilage tissue engineering.

Thermo-Electro-Mechanical Analysis of a Curved Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Actuator with Sandwich Structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liying Jiang

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In this work, the problem of a curved functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP actuator with sandwich structure under electrical and thermal loads is investigated. The middle layer in the sandwich structure is functionally graded with the piezoelectric coefficient g31 varying continuously along the radial direction of the curved actuator. Based on the theory of linear piezoelectricity, analytical solutions are obtained by using Airy stress function to examine the effects of material gradient and heat conduction on the performance of the curved actuator. It is found that the material gradient and thermal load have significant influence on the electroelastic fields and the mechanical response of the curved FGP actuator. Without the sacrifice of actuation deflection, smaller internal stresses are generated by using the sandwich actuator with functionally graded piezoelectric layer instead of the conventional bimorph actuator. This work is very helpful for the design and application of curved piezoelectric actuators under thermal environment.

Thermo-Electro-Mechanical Analysis of a Curved Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Actuator with Sandwich Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Zhi; Zaman, Mostafa; Jiang, Liying

2011-12-12

In this work, the problem of a curved functionally graded piezoelectric (FGP) actuator with sandwich structure under electrical and thermal loads is investigated. The middle layer in the sandwich structure is functionally graded with the piezoelectric coefficient g 31 varying continuously along the radial direction of the curved actuator. Based on the theory of linear piezoelectricity, analytical solutions are obtained by using Airy stress function to examine the effects of material gradient and heat conduction on the performance of the curved actuator. It is found that the material gradient and thermal load have significant influence on the electroelastic fields and the mechanical response of the curved FGP actuator. Without the sacrifice of actuation deflection, smaller internal stresses are generated by using the sandwich actuator with functionally graded piezoelectric layer instead of the conventional bimorph actuator. This work is very helpful for the design and application of curved piezoelectric actuators under thermal environment.

Relation of the external mechanical stress to the properties of piezoelectric materials for energy harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Soon-Jong; Kim, Min-Soo; Lee, Dae-Su; Song, Jae-Sung; Cho, Kyung-Ho

2013-12-01

We investigated the piezoelectric properties and the generation of voltage and power under the mechanical compressive loads for three types of piezoelectric ceramics 0.2Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.8Pb(Zr0.475Ti0.525)O3 (soft-PZT), 0.1Pb(Mg1/3Sb2/3)O3- 0.9Pb(Zr0.475Ti0.525)O3 (hard-PZT) and [0.675Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.35PbTiO3]+5 wt% BaTiO3 (textured-PMNT). The piezoelectric d 33 coefficients of all specimens increased with increasing compressive load. The generated voltage and power showed a linear relation and square relation to the applied stress, respectively. These results were larger than those calculated using the simple piezoelectric equation due to the non-linear characteristics of the ceramics, so they were evaluated with a simple model based on a non-linear relation.

Piezoelectric Resonance Defined High Performance Sensors and Modulators

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-30

19.00 20.00 30.00 Received Paper 3.00 Juan P. Tamez, Amar Bhalla, Ruyan Guo. Design and Simulation of 100 kHz and 200 kHz Tri-Phasic PZT Piezoelectric...electrooptic coefficient r_51 of tetragonal potassium lithium tantalate niobate K_095Li_005Ta_040Nb_060O_3 single crystal, Optical Materials Express, (11...Experimental Studies on Tri- Phasic PZT Piezoelectric Transducer, Ferroelectrics, (12 2014): 0. doi: 10.1080/00150193.2014.974472 Jun Li, Yang Li

Modeling and Tuning for Vibration Energy Harvesting using a Piezoelectric Bimorph

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yongqing

With the development of wireless sensors and other devices, the need for continuous power supply with high reliability is growing ever more. The traditional battery power supply has the disadvantage of limited duration of continuous power supply capability so that replacement for new batteries has to be done regularly. This can be quite inconvenient and sometimes quite difficult especially when the sensors are located in places not easily accessible such as the inside of a machine or wild field. This situation stimulates the development of renewable power supply which can harvest energy from the environment. The use of piezoelectric materials to converting environment vibration to electrical energy is one of the alternatives of which a broad range of research has been done by many researchers, focusing on different issues. The improvement of efficiency is one of the most important issues in vibration based energy harvesting. For this purpose different methods are devised and more accurate modeling of coupled piezoelectric mechanical systems is investigated. In the current paper, the research is focused on improving voltage generation of a piezoelectric bimorph on a vibration beam, as well as the analytical modeling of the same system. Also an initial study is conducted on the characteristics of the vibration of Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire, which is a promising material for its coupled semiconducting and piezoelectric properties. The effect on the voltage generation by different placement of the piezoelectric bimorph on the vibrating beam is investigated. The relation between the voltage output and the curvature is derived which is used to explain the effect of placement on voltage generation. The effect of adding a lumped mass on the modal frequencies of the beam and on the curvature distribution is investigated. The increased voltage output from the piezoelectric bimorph by using appropriately selected mass is proved analytically and also verified by experiment. For

Piezoelectricity induced defect modes for shear waves in a periodically stratified supperlattice

Science.gov (United States)

Piliposyan, Davit

2018-01-01

Properties of shear waves in a piezoelectric stratified periodic structure with a defect layer are studied for a superlattice with identical piezoelectric materials in a unit cell. Due to the electro-mechanical coupling in piezoelectric materials the structure exhibits defect modes in the superlattice with full transmission peaks both for full contact and electrically shorted interfaces. The results show an existence of one or two transmission peaks depending on the interfacial conditions. In the long wavelength region where coupling between electro-magnetic and elastic waves creates frequency band gaps the defect layer introduces one or two defect modes transmitting both electro-magnetic and elastic energies. Other parameters affecting the defect modes are the thickness of the defect layer, differences in refractive indexes and the magnitude of the angle of the incident wave. The results of the paper may be useful in the design of narrow band filters or multi-channel piezoelectric filters.

High Reliability Cryogenic Piezoelectric Valve Actuator, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Piezoelectric actuators constructed with the "smart material" PZT offer many potential advantages for use in NASA cryo-valve missions relative to conventional...

Applications of Piezoelectric Ceramics

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Applications of Piezoelectric Ceramics. Piezoelectric Actuators. Nano and Micropositioners. Vibration Control Systems. Computer Printers. Piezoelectric Transformers,Voltage Generators, Spark Plugs, Ultrasonic Motors,. Ultrasonic Generators and Sensors. Sonars, Medical Diagnostic. Computer Memories. NVFRAM ...

Nonlinear piezoelectricity in PZT ceramics for generating ultrasonic phase conjugate waves

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto; Kokubo; Sakai; Takagi

2000-03-01

We have succeeded in the generation of acoustic phase conjugate waves with nonlinear PZT piezoelectric ceramics and applied them to ultrasonic imaging systems. Our aim is to make a phase conjugator with 100% efficiency. For this purpose, it is important to clarify the mechanism of acoustic phase conjugation through nonlinear piezoelectricity. The process is explained by the parametric interaction via the third-order nonlinear piezoelectricity between the incident acoustic wave at angular frequency omega and the pump electric field at 2 omega. We solved the coupling equations including the third-ordered nonlinear piezoelectricity and theoretically derived the amplitude efficiency of the acoustic phase conjugation. We compared the efficiencies between the theoretical and experimental values for PZT ceramics with eight different compositions. Pb[(Zn1/3Nb2/3)(1 - x)Tix]O3 (X = 0.09, PZNT91/9) piezoelectric single crystals have been investigated for high-performance ultrasonic transducer application, because these have large piezoelectric constants, high electrical-mechanical coupling factors and high dielectric constants. We found that they have third-order nonlinear piezoelectric constants much larger than PZT and are hopeful that the material as a phase conjugator has over 100% efficiency.

Photothermoacoustic effect in solids with piezoelectric detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozachenko, V. V.; Kucherov, I.Ya.

2004-01-01

, Zn and TsTS-19 piezoelectric ceramics in the frequency range within 9-1000 Hz. The experimental results are well compounded with the theory. The experimental data are used to determine the values of the reduced Young's modulus and the thermal diffusivity of the materials under study

Theoretical and experimental research on the influence of multiple piezoelectric effects on physical parameters of piezoelectric actuator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liping Shi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Compared with the traditional actuator of machinery and electricity, the piezoelectric actuator has the advantages of a compact structure, small volume, no mechanical friction, athermancy and no electromagnetic interference. Therefore, it has high application value in the fields of MEMS, bioengineering, medical science and so on. This article draws conclusions from the influence of multiple piezoelectric effects on the physical parameters (dielectric coefficient, equivalent capacity, energy conversion and piezoelectric coefficient of piezoelectric actuators. These data from theoretical and experimental research show the following: (1 The rate between the dielectric coefficient of piezoelectric in mechanical freedom and clamping is obtained from the secondary direct piezoelectric effect, which enhances the dielectric property, increases the dielectric coefficient and decreases the coefficient of dielectric isolation; (2 Under external field, E n ( ex = E 1 , exterior stress T = 0, that is to say, under the boundary condition of mechanical freedom, piezoelectric can store electric energy and elasticity, which obtains power density, elastic density and an electromechanical coupling factor; (3 According to the piezoelectric strain S i ( 1 , piezoelectric displacement D m ( 2 and piezoelectric strain S i ( 3 of multiple piezoelectric effects, when the dielectric coefficient of the first converse piezoelectric effect ε33 is 1326 and the dielectric coefficient of the secondary direct piezoelectric effect increases to 3336, the dielectric coefficient of the ceramic chip increases. When the piezoelectric coefficient of the first converse piezoelectric effect d33 is 595 and the piezoelectric coefficient of the secondary direct piezoelectric effect decreases to 240, the piezoelectric coefficient of the ceramic chip will decrease. It is of major significance both in the applications and in basic theory to research the influence of multiple piezoelectric

Study of piezoelectric materials combined with electromagnetic design for bicycle harvesting system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dyi-Cheng Chen

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Energy harvesting device involves capturing energy from the environment and it is increasingly crucial in the crisis of greenhouse effect nowadays. Equipping bicycles with many types of shock absorbers can enhance the riding comfort. Additionally, an embedded energy harvesting device will gain much benefit beyond the sports. This study applied the finite element method to analyze the components of nonlinear magnetic spring. The analytical simulations were conducted to analyze the electromagnetic effect in ANSYS©/Emag software. A model equipped with nonlinear magnetic springs was constructed to absorb the impact energy. Nevertheless, the piezoelectric components were used to capture the piezoelectric effect current caused by the compressive stress. A series of simulations were conducted, such as changing the diameter of the magnet, electric coil width, and the position of the coils. Moreover, with those finite element analysis data, the Taguchi method L9(34 orthogonal arrays were applied to determine the optimal parametric dimensions of the electromagnetic and piezoelectric assemblies for maximizing the captured kinetic energy and power transformation. The results could assist the suspension manufacturers to innovate their design for energy harvesting and impact absorbing.

Piezoelectric Composite Actuators : Modelling of the Static and Dynamic Behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wiwattananon, P.

2013-01-01

Smart actuators, made of smart materials, are becoming more attractive in many applications because smart materials are not subjected to wear and does not require lubrication during services. Piezoelectric materials are a group of the many attractive smart materials that are being investigated for

Subperiosteal preparation using a new piezoelectric device: a histological examination

OpenAIRE

Stoetzer, Marcus; Magel, Anja; Kampmann, Andreas; Lemound, Juliana; Gellrich, Nils-Claudius; von See, Constantin

2014-01-01

Introduction: Subperiosteal preparation using a periosteal elevator leads to disturbances of local immunohistochemistry and periosteal histology due to a microtrauma. Usually soft-tissue damage can be considerably reduced by using piezoelectric technology. For this reason, the effects of a novel piezoelectric device on immunohistochemistry and periosteal histology were examined and compared to conventional preparation of the periosteum using a periosteal elevator.Material and methods: Lewis...

Piezoelectric drive circuit

Science.gov (United States)

Treu, C.A. Jr.

1999-08-31

A piezoelectric motor drive circuit is provided which utilizes the piezoelectric elements as oscillators and a Meacham half-bridge approach to develop feedback from the motor ground circuit to produce a signal to drive amplifiers to power the motor. The circuit automatically compensates for shifts in harmonic frequency of the piezoelectric elements due to pressure and temperature changes. 7 figs.

Piezoelectric properties of the new generation active matrix hybrid (micro-nano) composites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parali, Levent, E-mail: levent.parali@cbu.edu.tr [Department of Electronics and Automation, Celal Bayar University, Manisa (Turkey); Şabikoğlu, İsrafil [Department of Physics, Celal Bayar University, Manisa (Turkey); Kurbanov, Mirza A. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Baku (Azerbaijan)

2014-11-01

Highlights: • We prepared hybrid structured piezocomposites. • We examine thermostimulated depolarization of piezocomposites. • We examine frequency characteristic of piezocomposites with SiO{sub 2} and BaTiO{sub 3}. • The piezocomposites can be used in acoustic applications at 5 Hz–40 kHz. - Abstract: A hybrid piezoelectric composite structure is obtained by addition of nano-sized BaTiO{sub 3}, SiO{sub 2} to the micro-sized PZT and polymers composition. Although the PZT material itself has excellent piezoelectric properties, PZT-based composite variety is limited. Piezoelectric properties of PZT materials can be varied with an acceptor or a donor added to the material. In addition, varieties of PZT-based sensors can be increased with doping polymers which have physical-mechanical, electrophysical, thermophysical and photoelectrical properties. The active matrix hybrid structure occurs when bringing together the unique piezoelectric properties of micro-sized PZT with electron trapping properties of nano-sized insulators (BaTiO{sub 3} or SiO{sub 2}), and their piezoelectric, mechanic and electromechanic properties significantly change. In this study, the relationship between the piezoelectric constant and the coupling factor values of microstructure (PZT–PVDF) and the hybrid structure (PZT–PVDF–BaTiO{sub 3}) composite are compared. The d{sub 33} value and the coupling factor of the hybrid structure have shown an average of 54 and 62% increase according to microstructure composite, respectively. In addition, the d{sub 33} value and the coupling factor of the hybrid structure (PZT–HDPE–SiO{sub 2}) have exhibited about 68 and 52% increase according to microstructure composite (PZT–HDPE), respectively.

Using piezo-electric material to simulate a vibration environment

Science.gov (United States)

Jepsen, Richard A.; Davie, Neil T.; Vangoethem, Douglas J.; Romero, Edward F.

2010-12-14

A target object can be vibrated using actuation that exploits the piezo-electric ("PE") property. Under combined conditions of vibration and centrifugal acceleration, a centrifugal load of the target object on PE vibration actuators can be reduced by using a counterweight that offsets the centrifugal loading. Target objects are also subjected to combinations of: spin, vibration, and acceleration; spin and vibration; and spin and acceleration.

Electromechanical-Traffic Model of Compression-Based Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kok B.C.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Piezoelectric energy harvesting has advantages over other alternative sources due to its large power density, ease of applications, and capability to be fabricated at different scales: macro, micro, and nano. This paper presents an electromechanical-traffic model for roadway compression-based piezoelectric energy harvesting system. A two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF electromechanical model has been developed for the piezoelectric energy harvesting unit to define its performance in power generation under a number of external excitations on road surface. Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT-5H is selected as the piezoelectric material to be used in this paper due to its high Piezoelectric Charge Constant (d and Piezoelectric Voltage Constant (g values. The main source of vibration energy that has been considered in this paper is the moving vehicle on the road. The effect of various frequencies on possible generated power caused by different vibration characteristics of moving vehicle has been studied. A single unit of circle-shape Piezoelectric Cymbal Transducer (PCT with diameter of 32 mm and thickness of 0.3 mm be able to generate about 0.12 mW and 13 mW of electric power under 4 Hz and 20 Hz of excitation, respectively. The estimated power to be generated for multiple arrays of PCT is approximately 150 kW/ km. Thus, the developed electromechanical-traffic model has enormous potential to be used in estimating the macro scale of roadway power generation system.

Analytical model for nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvesting devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neiss, S; Goldschmidtboeing, F; M Kroener; Woias, P

2014-01-01

In this work we propose analytical expressions for the jump-up and jump-down point of a nonlinear piezoelectric energy harvester. In addition, analytical expressions for the maximum power output at optimal resistive load and the 3 dB-bandwidth are derived. So far, only numerical models have been used to describe the physics of a piezoelectric energy harvester. However, this approach is not suitable to quickly evaluate different geometrical designs or piezoelectric materials in the harvester design process. In addition, the analytical expressions could be used to predict the jump-frequencies of a harvester during operation. In combination with a tuning mechanism, this would allow the design of an efficient control algorithm to ensure that the harvester is always working on the oscillator's high energy attractor. (paper)

The effects of porosity, electrode and barrier materials on the conductivity of piezoelectric ceramics in high humidity and dc electric field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weaver, P M; Cain, M G; Stewart, M; Anson, A; Franks, J; Lipscomb, I P; McBride, J W; Zheng, D; Swingler, J

2012-01-01

Prolonged operation of piezoelectric ceramic devices under high dc electric fields promotes leakage currents between the electrodes. This paper investigates the effects of ceramic porosity, edge conduction and electrode materials and geometry in the development of low resistance conduction paths through the ceramic. Localized changes in the ceramic structure and corresponding microscopic breakdown sites are shown to be associated with leakage currents and breakdown processes resulting from prolonged operation in harsh environments. The role of barrier coatings in mitigating the effects of humidity is studied, and results are presented on improved performance using composite diamond-like carbon/polymer coatings. In contrast to the changes in the electrical properties of the ceramic, the measurements of the piezoelectric properties showed no significant effect of humidity. (paper)

Preliminary study on piezoresistive and piezoelectric properties of a double-layer soft material for tactile sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan He

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a double-layer simplified sensor unit based on the interesting electromechanical properties of MWNT mixed by polymer composite and PVDF films, which is envisaged to imitate the distributed tactile receptors of human hands so as to help the disabled to recover the basic tactile perception. This paper shows the fabrication and performance research of such a new piezoelectric-piezoresistive composite material which indicates a promising .application in prosthtic hand.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.21.2.6454

Piezoelectric Polymer Ultrasound Transducers and Its Biomedical Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Kang Lyeol; Cao, Yanggang [Department of Physics, Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2012-10-15

PVDF(poly vinylidene fluoride) and P(VDF-TrFE)(poly vinylidene fluoride-tetrafluoroethylene) are the typical piezoelectric polymers with unique properties. Even they are inferior to conventional piezoelectric ceramics PZT in electromechanical conversion efficiency and interior loss, though they are superior in receiving sensitivity and frequency bandwidth. Their acoustic impedances are relatively close to water or biological tissue and it is easier to make thin film than other piezoelectric materials. Furthermore, the film is so flexible that it is easy to attach on a complex surface. Those properties are suitable for the ultrasound transducers which are useful for medical and biological application, so that various types of polymer transducers have been developed. In this paper, several important considerations for design and fabrication of piezoelectric polymer transducers were described and their effect on the transducer performance were demonstrated through the KLM model analysis. Then, it was briefly reviewed about the structures of the polymer transducers developed for obtaining images as well as the characteristics of the images in several important medical and biological application fields.

Analysis of non-axisymmetric wave propagation in a homogeneous piezoelectric solid circular cylinder of transversely isotropic material

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Shatalov, MY

2009-01-01

Full Text Available ). The main disadvantage of this approach is that the roots of characteristic arguments ( ( )0, 1, , 4k kξ = = … ) are also displayed on the surface plots as obvious artefacts. An elaborate discussion of these artefacts is given in Yenwong-Fai (2008...-matrix interface by guided waves: Axisymmetric case. J. Acoust. Soc. Am 89 (6), 2573-2583. Yenwong-Fai, A., 2008. Wave propagation in a piezoelectric solid cylinder of transversely isotropic material. Master’s thesis, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg...

Review and Perspectives of Aurivillius Structures as a Lead-Free Piezoelectric System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Moure

2018-01-01

Full Text Available According to the EU-Directives 2002/95/EC, 2002/96/EC, lead-based piezoceramics must be substituted in the future with more environmentally friendly alternatives, only when a reliable alternative is found. This is why an increasing interest has grown in the research community to find lead free piezoelectric materials that fulfil the requirements for this substitution. Different families of compounds have been shown to be possible candidates for this use, such as bismuth and niobates based perovskites, pyrochlores, etc. However, a material with piezoelectric coefficients similar to those of PZT (lead zirconate titanate, Pb[ZrxTi1-x]O3 has not been yet found. Besides, each of these families has its specific characteristics in terms of remnant polarization, coercive field or application temperature. Thus, the choice of each material should be made according to the specific needs of the application. In this sense, Aurivillius-type structure materials (also known as Bismuth Layered Structure Ferroelectrics, BLSF can take advantage of their specific properties for uses as Lead Free Piezoelectric systems. Some of them have a high Curie temperature, which make them good candidates to be used as high temperature piezoelectrics; high coercive fields, which facilitates their use as actuators; or a high switching fatigue resistance, which can be useful for future applications as Ferroelectric Random Access Memories (FERAM.

Active Piezoelectric Vibration Control of Subscale Composite Fan Blades

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, Kirsten P.; Choi, Benjamin B.; Provenza, Andrew J.; Min, James B.; Kray, Nicholas

2012-01-01

As part of the Fundamental Aeronautics program, researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) are investigating new technologies supporting the development of lighter, quieter, and more efficient fans for turbomachinery applications. High performance fan blades designed to achieve such goals will be subjected to higher levels of aerodynamic excitations which could lead to more serious and complex vibration problems. Piezoelectric materials have been proposed as a means of decreasing engine blade vibration either through a passive damping scheme, or as part of an active vibration control system. For polymer matrix fiber composite blades, the piezoelectric elements could be embedded within the blade material, protecting the brittle piezoceramic material from the airflow and from debris. To investigate this idea, spin testing was performed on two General Electric Aviation (GE) subscale composite fan blades in the NASA GRC Dynamic Spin Rig Facility. The first bending mode (1B) was targeted for vibration control. Because these subscale blades are very thin, the piezoelectric material was surface-mounted on the blades. Three thin piezoelectric patches were applied to each blade two actuator patches and one small sensor patch. These flexible macro-fiber-composite patches were placed in a location of high resonant strain for the 1B mode. The blades were tested up to 5000 rpm, with patches used as sensors, as excitation for the blade, and as part of open- and closed-loop vibration control. Results show that with a single actuator patch, active vibration control causes the damping ratio to increase from a baseline of 0.3% critical damping to about 1.0% damping at 0 RPM. As the rotor speed approaches 5000 RPM, the actively controlled blade damping ratio decreases to about 0.5% damping. This occurs primarily because of centrifugal blade stiffening, and can be observed by the decrease in the generalized electromechanical coupling with rotor speed.

Deflection of Cross-Ply Composite Laminates Induced by Piezoelectric Actuators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Sheng Lin

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The coupling effects between the mechanical and electric properties of piezoelectric materials have drawn significant attention for their potential applications as sensors and actuators. In this investigation, two piezoelectric actuators are symmetrically surface bonded on a cross-ply composite laminate. Electric voltages with the same amplitude and opposite sign are applied to the two symmetric piezoelectric actuators, resulting in the bending effect on the laminated plate. The bending moment is derived by using the classical laminate theory and piezoelectricity. The analytical solution of the flexural displacement of the simply supported composite plate subjected to the bending moment is solved by using the plate theory. The analytical solution is compared with the finite element solution to show the validation of present approach. The effects of the size and location of the piezoelectric actuators on the response of the composite laminate are presented through a parametric study. A simple model incorporating the classical laminate theory and plate theory is presented to predict the deformed shape of the simply supported laminate plate.

Effects of mechanical deformation on energy conversion efficiency of piezoelectric nanogenerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Jinho; Kim, Wook; Choi, Dukhyun; Cho, Seunghyeon; Kim, Chang-Wan; Kwon, Jang-Yeon; Kim, Hojoong; Kim, Seunghyun; Chang, Yoon-Suk

2015-01-01

Piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) are capable of converting energy from various mechanical sources into electric energy and have many attractive features such as continuous operation, replenishment and low cost. However, many researchers still have studied novel material synthesis and interfacial controls to improve the power production from PNGs. In this study, we report the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) of PNGs dependent on mechanical deformations such as bending and twisting. Since the output power of PNGs is caused by the mechanical strain of the piezoelectric material, the power production and their ECE is critically dependent on the types of external mechanical deformations. Thus, we examine the output power from PNGs according to bending and twisting. In order to clearly understand the ECE of PNGs in the presence of those external mechanical deformations, we determine the ECE of PNGs by the ratio of output electrical energy and input mechanical energy, where we suggest that the input energy is based only on the strain energy of the piezoelectric layer. We calculate the strain energy of the piezoelectric layer using numerical simulation of bending and twisting of the PNG. Finally, we demonstrate that the ECE of the PNG caused by twisting is much higher than that caused by bending due to the multiple effects of normal and lateral piezoelectric coefficients. Our results thus provide a design direction for PNG systems as high-performance power generators. (paper)

Design optimization of PVDF-based piezoelectric energy harvesters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jundong Song

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Energy harvesting is a promising technology that powers the electronic devices via scavenging the ambient energy. Piezoelectric energy harvesters have attracted considerable interest for their high conversion efficiency and easy fabrication in minimized sensors and transducers. To improve the output capability of energy harvesters, properties of piezoelectric materials is an influential factor, but the potential of the material is less likely to be fully exploited without an optimized configuration. In this paper, an optimization strategy for PVDF-based cantilever-type energy harvesters is proposed to achieve the highest output power density with the given frequency and acceleration of the vibration source. It is shown that the maximum power output density only depends on the maximum allowable stress of the beam and the working frequency of the device, and these two factors can be obtained by adjusting the geometry of piezoelectric layers. The strategy is validated by coupled finite-element-circuit simulation and a practical device. The fabricated device within a volume of 13.1 mm3 shows an output power of 112.8 μW which is comparable to that of the best-performing piezoceramic-based energy harvesters within the similar volume reported so far.

Piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide nanowires: an ab initio study.

Science.gov (United States)

Korir, K K; Cicero, G; Catellani, A

2013-11-29

Nanowires made of materials with non-centrosymmetric crystal structures are expected to be ideal building blocks for self-powered nanodevices due to their piezoelectric properties, yet a controversial explanation of the effective operational mechanisms and size effects still delays their real exploitation. To solve this controversy, we propose a methodology based on DFT calculations of the response of nanostructures to external deformations that allows us to distinguish between the different (bulk and surface) contributions: we apply this scheme to evaluate the piezoelectric properties of ZnO [0001] nanowires, with a diameter up to 2.3 nm. Our results reveal that, while surface and confinement effects are negligible, effective strain energies, and thus the nanowire mechanical response, are dependent on size. Our unified approach allows for a proper definition of piezoelectric coefficients for nanostructures, and explains in a rigorous way the reason why nanowires are found to be more sensitive to mechanical deformation than the corresponding bulk material.

Piezoelectric properties of zinc oxide nanowires: an ab initio study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korir, K K; Cicero, G; Catellani, A

2013-01-01

Nanowires made of materials with non-centrosymmetric crystal structures are expected to be ideal building blocks for self-powered nanodevices due to their piezoelectric properties, yet a controversial explanation of the effective operational mechanisms and size effects still delays their real exploitation. To solve this controversy, we propose a methodology based on DFT calculations of the response of nanostructures to external deformations that allows us to distinguish between the different (bulk and surface) contributions: we apply this scheme to evaluate the piezoelectric properties of ZnO [0001] nanowires, with a diameter up to 2.3 nm. Our results reveal that, while surface and confinement effects are negligible, effective strain energies, and thus the nanowire mechanical response, are dependent on size. Our unified approach allows for a proper definition of piezoelectric coefficients for nanostructures, and explains in a rigorous way the reason why nanowires are found to be more sensitive to mechanical deformation than the corresponding bulk material. (paper)

Piezo-generated charge mapping revealed through direct piezoelectric force microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez, A; Gich, M; Carretero-Genevrier, A; Puig, T; Obradors, X

2017-10-24

While piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials play a key role in many everyday applications, there are still a number of open questions related to their physics. To enhance our understanding of piezoelectrics and ferroelectrics, nanoscale characterization is essential. Here, we develop an atomic force microscopy based mode that obtains a direct quantitative analysis of the piezoelectric coefficient d 33 . We report nanoscale images of piezogenerated charge in a thick single crystal of periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN), a bismuth ferrite (BiFO 3 ) thin film, and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) by applying a force and recording the current produced by these materials. The quantification of d 33 coefficients for PPLN (14 ± 3 pC per N) and BFO (43 ± 6 pC per N) is in agreement with the values reported in the literature. Even stronger evidence of the reliability of the method is provided by an equally accurate measurement of the significantly larger d 33 of PZT.

Multidirection Piezoelectricity in Mono- and Multilayered Hexagonal α-In2Se3

KAUST Repository

Xue, Fei

2018-04-25

Piezoelectric materials have been widely used for sensors, actuators, electronics, and energy conversion. Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin semiconductors, such as monolayer h-BN and MoS2 with their atom-level geometry, are currently emerging as new and attractive members of the piezoelectric family. However, their piezoelectric polarization is commonly limited to the in-plane direction of odd-number ultrathin layers, largely restricting their application in integrated nanoelectromechanical systems. Recently, theoretical calculations have predicted the existence of out-of-plane and in-plane piezoelectricity in monolayer α-In2Se3. Here, we experimentally report the coexistence of out-of-plane and in-plane piezoelectricity in monolayer to bulk α-In2Se3, attributed to their noncentrosymmetry originating from the hexagonal stacking. Specifically, the corresponding d33 piezoelectric coefficient of α-In2Se3 increases from 0.34 pm/V (monolayer) to 5.6 pm/V (bulk) without any odd-even effect. In addition, we also demonstrate a type of α-In2Se3-based flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator as an energy-harvesting cell and electronic skin. The out-of-plane and in-plane piezoelectricity in α-In2Se3 flakes offers an opportunity to enable both directional and nondirectional piezoelectric devices to be applicable for self-powered systems and adaptive and strain-tunable electronics/optoelectronics.

Cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester with multiple cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

S Srinivasulu Raju; M Umapathy; G Uma

2015-01-01

Energy harvesting employing piezoelectric materials in mechanical structures such as cantilever beams, plates, diaphragms, etc, has been an emerging area of research in recent years. The research in this area is also focused on structural tailoring to improve the harvested power from the energy harvesters. Towards this aim, this paper presents a method for improving the harvested power from a cantilever piezoelectric energy harvester by introducing multiple rectangular cavities. A generalized model for a piezoelectric energy harvester with multiple rectangular cavities at a single section and two sections is developed. A method is suggested to optimize the thickness of the cavities and the number of cavities required to generate a higher output voltage for a given cantilever beam structure. The performance of the optimized energy harvesters is evaluated analytically and through experimentation. The simulation and experimental results show that the performance of the energy harvester can be increased with multiple cavities compared to the harvester with a single cavity. (paper)

Survey of Active Structural Control and Repair Using Piezoelectric Patches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Abuzaid

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The piezoelectric actuator has gained popularity over the last few years. Attention has been directed towards the study of their electromechanical response in active repair and the control of damaged structures. This has been made possible through the development of various numerical and analytical techniques for such studies. The shift of focus towards the piezoelectric based approaches has been due to their advantages, which include strategic cost benefits in maintenance, as well as an increase in the life cycle of the repaired structures. Furthermore, adhesively bonded joints are widely used in the manufacturing and repairing of structures in many industries, especially automotive and aerospace engineering. This is due to the requirement for lightweight materials as well as the potential adhesive used to join materials with different characteristics. The piezoelectric actuator has also shown the capacity in controlling and lowering the shear stress concentration and joint edge peel in adhesively bonded joint systems. The structure’s control of stress and repair can generally be viewed as a reinforcement that influences the structure’s damage tolerance. Therefore, the interest of this review is on the applications of the piezoelectric actuators in both structural damage and the bonded adhesive joint system. The specific goal is to recognize the contemporary scientific challenges, including future opportunities.

Dipolar polarization and piezoelectricity of a hexagonal boron nitride sheet decorated with hydrogen and fluorine.

Science.gov (United States)

Noor-A-Alam, Mohammad; Kim, Hye Jung; Shin, Young-Han

2014-04-14

In contrast to graphene, a hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) monolayer is piezoelectric because it is non-centrosymmetric. However, h-BN shows neither in-plane nor out-of-plane dipole moments due to its three-fold symmetry on the plane and the fact that it is completely flat. Here, we show that the controlled adsorption of hydrogen and/or fluorine atoms on both sides of a pristine h-BN sheet induces flatness distortion in a chair form and an out-of plane dipole moment. In contrast, a boat form has no out-of-plane dipole moment due to the alternating boron and nitrogen positions normal to the plane. Consequently, the chair form of surface-modified h-BN shows both in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric responses; while pristine h-BN and the boat form of decorated h-BN have only in-plane piezoelectric responses. These in-plane and out-of-plane piezoelectric responses of the modified h-BN are comparable to those in known three-dimensional piezoelectric materials. Such an engineered piezoelectric two-dimensional boron nitride monolayer can be a candidate material for various nano-electromechanical applications.

Embedded piezoelectrics for sensing and energy harvesting in total knee replacement units

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Brooke E.; Meneghini, Michael; Anton, Steven R.

2015-04-01

The knee replacement is the second most common orthopedic surgical intervention in the United States, but currently only 1 in 5 knee replacement patients are satisfied with their level of pain reduction one year after surgery. It is imperative to make the process of knee replacement surgery more objective by developing a data driven approach to ligamentous balance, which increases implant life. In this work, piezoelectric materials are considered for both sensing and energy harvesting applications in total knee replacement implants. This work aims to embed piezoelectric material in the polyethylene bearing of a knee replacement unit to act as self-powered sensors that will aid in the alignment and balance of the knee replacement by providing intraoperative feedback to the surgeon. Postoperatively, the piezoelectric sensors can monitor the structural health of the implant in order to perceive potential problems before they become bothersome to the patient. Specifically, this work will present on the use of finite element modeling coupled with uniaxial compression testing to prove that piezoelectric stacks can be utilized to harvest sufficient energy to power sensors needed for this application.

Piezoelectric and electrooptic ferroics - qualitative domain and tensor characteristics

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Janovec, Václav; Čmelík, M.; Machonský, L.

2010-01-01

Roč. 83, č. 9 (2010), 670-681 ISSN 0141-1594 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : ferroic crystals * piezoelectric materials * electrooptic materials * species * orientation states * tensor domain states Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.006, year: 2010

Ultrahigh Piezoelectric Properties in Textured (K,Na)NbO3 -Based Lead-Free Ceramics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Peng; Zhai, Jiwei; Shen, Bo; Zhang, Shujun; Li, Xiaolong; Zhu, Fangyuan; Zhang, Xingmin

2018-02-01

High-performance lead-free piezoelectric materials are in great demand for next-generation electronic devices to meet the requirement of environmentally sustainable society. Here, ultrahigh piezoelectric properties with piezoelectric coefficients (d 33 ≈700 pC N -1 , d 33 * ≈980 pm V -1 ) and planar electromechanical coupling factor (k p ≈76%) are achieved in highly textured (K,Na)NbO 3 (KNN)-based ceramics. The excellent piezoelectric properties can be explained by the strong anisotropic feature, optimized engineered domain configuration in the textured ceramics, and facilitated polarization rotation induced by the intermediate phase. In addition, the nanodomain structures with decreased domain wall energy and increased domain wall mobility also contribute to the ultrahigh piezoelectric properties. This work not only demonstrates the tremendous potential of KNN-based ceramics to replace lead-based piezoelectrics but also provides a good strategy to design high-performance piezoelectrics by controlling appropriate phase and crystallographic orientation. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Design, fabrication, and properties of 2-2 connectivity cement/polymer based piezoelectric composites with varied piezoelectric phase distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dongyu, Xu; Xin, Cheng; Shifeng, Huang; Banerjee, Sourav

2014-01-01

The laminated 2-2 connectivity cement/polymer based piezoelectric composites with varied piezoelectric phase distribution were fabricated by employing Lead Zirconium Titanate ceramic as active phase, and mixture of cement powder, epoxy resin, and hardener as matrix phase with a mass proportion of 4:4:1. The dielectric, piezoelectric, and electromechanical coupling properties of the composites were studied. The composites with large total volume fraction of piezoelectric phase have large piezoelectric strain constant and relative permittivity, and the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composites are independent of the dimensional variations of the piezoelectric ceramic layer. The composites with small total volume fraction of piezoelectric phase have large piezoelectric voltage constant, but also large dielectric loss. The composite with gradually increased dimension of piezoelectric ceramic layer has the smallest dielectric loss, and that with the gradually increased dimension of matrix layer has the largest piezoelectric voltage constant. The novel piezoelectric composites show potential applications in fabricating ultrasonic transducers with varied surface vibration amplitude of the transducer

Monitoring of bone healing by piezoelectric-EMI method

Science.gov (United States)

Mazlina, M. H.; Sarpinah, Bibi; Tawie, Rudy; Daho, Claira Dalislone; Annuar, Ishak

2016-02-01

Smart Piezoelectric devices which have excellent piezoelectric properties have been employed for various sensor and actuators applications. The work presented here is an attempt to demonstrate the feasibility of bone healing monitoring by using piezoelectric-electromechanical impedance (EMI) method that have several advantages such as low cost, portable, light weight and simplicity in measurement. A Piezoelectric sensor (PZT) has been widely used in damage detection of various structures including concrete, pipes and bones due to their unique sensing and actuating properties. The EMI technique has emerged as a universal Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) tool suitable for almost all engineering materials and structures. The method used for this proposed study consists of put healing agent in the host structure in particular cracks bone to be monitored by PZT-needle sensor which is embedded to the host structure. The measurements were taken in the frequency range between 0.04 to 100 kHz at 1 kHz interval using AD5933 evaluation board. The signals retrieved from the AD5933 evaluation board, were quantify and analyse to obtain Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) percentage value. Measurements were taken every hour for 12 hours. The result from the study shows the feasibility of the piezoelectric-EMI method to effectively detect changes during bone-cracks healing process until the cracks bone is fully recovered.

Wind energy harvesting with a piezoelectric harvester

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Nan; Wang, Quan; Xie, Xiangdong

2013-01-01

An energy harvester comprising a cantilever attached to piezoelectric patches and a proof mass is developed for wind energy harvesting, from a cross wind-induced vibration of the cantilever, by the electromechanical coupling effect of piezoelectric materials. The vibration of the cantilever under the cross wind is induced by the air pressure owing to a vortex shedding phenomenon that occurs on the leeward side of the cantilever. To describe the energy harvesting process, a theoretical model considering the cross wind-induced vibration on the piezoelectric coupled cantilever energy harvester is developed, to calculate the charge and the voltage from the harvester. The influences of the length and location of the piezoelectric patches as well as the proof mass on the generated electric power are investigated. Results show that the total generated electric power can be as high as 2 W when the resonant frequency of the cantilever harvester is close to the vortex shedding frequency. Moreover, a value of total generated electric power up to 1.02 W can be practically realized for a cross wind with a variable wind velocity of 9–10 m s −1 by a harvester with a length of 1.2 m. This research facilitates an effective and compact wind energy harvesting device. (paper)

INFLUENCE OF PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCER TO GLASS FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE STIFFNESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Witold Rządkowski

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The main goal was to determine if transducers based on piezoelectric materials are suitable for strain calculations in thin GFRP specimens. Numerous experimental studies, both physical and numerical, performed by the authors, have shown that there is a huge influence of bonded piezoelectric transducer on the overall stiffness of the measured object. The paper presents tensile test performed on strength machine with Digital Image Correlation strain and deflection observations. Test were compared with FEM models for detailed investigation. The main conclusion is piezoelectric transducers has huge influence on local stiffness of measured object. That is critical especially when they are used as strain sensors, when presence of sensor is influencing to measured results.

Wave propagation in a piezoelectric solid bar of circular cross-section immersed in fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponnusamy, P.

2013-01-01

Wave propagation in a piezoelectric solid bar of circular cross-section immersed in fluid is discussed using three-dimensional theory of piezoelectricity. The equations of motion of the cylinder are formulated using the constitutive equations of a piezoelectric material. The equations of motion of the fluid are formulated using the constitutive equations of an inviscid fluid. Three displacement potential functions are introduced to uncouple the equations of motion, electric conduction. The frequency equation of the coupled system consisting of cylinder and fluid is developed under the assumption of perfect-slip boundary conditions at the fluid–solid interfaces. The frequency equations are obtained for longitudinal and flexural modes of vibration and are studied numerically for PZT-4 material bar immersed in fluid. The computed non-dimensional wave numbers are presented in the form of dispersion curves. The secant method is used to obtain the roots of the frequency equation. -- Highlights: ► Wave propagation in a piezoelectric solid bar of circular cross-section immersed in fluid is analyzed using secant method. ► Solid–fluid interaction for piezoelectric material of PZT-4 is analyzed using the boundary conditions. ► The computed non-dimensional wave numbers are plotted in the form of dispersion curves and studied its characters. ► A comparison is made between the non-dimensional wave numbers obtained by the author with the literature results

A theory of piezoelectric laminates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giangreco, E.

1997-01-01

A theory of piezoelectric laminates is rationally derived from the three-dimensional Voigt theory of piezoelectricity. The present theory is a generalization to piezoelectric laminates of the Reissner-Mindlin-type layer-wise theory of elastic laminates. Both a differential formulation and a variational formulation of the piezoelectric laminate problem are presented. The proposed theory is adopted in the analysis of simple problems, in order to verify its effectiveness. The results it provides turn out to be in good agreement with the results supplied by the Voigt theory of piezoelectricity

Environmental profile evaluations of piezoelectric polymers using life cycle assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Parvez Mahmud, M. A.; Huda, Nazmul; Hisan Farjana, Shahjadi; Lang, Candace

2018-05-01

Piezoelectric materials are indispensable to produce electricity, harvesting ambient mechanical energy through motion for sectors and products, from sensors, to biomedical systems, to tiny electronics. Nylon 66 and tetrafluoroethylene dominate the market among thousands of piezoelectric materials to provide an autonomous power supply. Emphasis has been given on investigating the environmental impacts of both materials due to the growing consciousness of the ecological and health risks of piezoelectric polymers. The fabrication steps of these polymers from raw materials are extremely hazardous to the environment in terms of toxicity and human health effects. However, no quantification of the possible environmental impacts for the manufacturing of nylon 66 and tetrafluoroethylene exists. This research paper addresses their comparative environmental effects, in terms of chemical constituents. Life cycle impact analysis has been carried out by ReCipe 2016 Endpoint, Ecopoints 97, Raw material flows and CML-IA baseline methods, using Australasian life cycle inventory database and SimaPro software. The impacts are considered in categories like global warming, eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, human carcinogenic toxicity, fine particulates, and marine ecotoxicity. The results show that there is a significant environmental impact caused by tetrafluoroethylene in comparison with nylon 66 polymer during the manufacturing process. These impacts occur due to the quantity of toxic chemical elements present as constituents of tetrafluoroethylene raw material and its fabrication periods. It can be anticipated that a better ecological performance can be attained through optimization, especially by cautiously picking substitute materials and machines, taking into account the toxicity aspects, and by minimizing the impacts related to designs, fabrication processes and usage.

Smart helicopter rotors optimization and piezoelectric vibration control

CERN Document Server

Ganguli, Ranjan; Viswamurthy, Sathyamangalam Ramanarayanan

2016-01-01

Exploiting the properties of piezoelectric materials to minimize vibration in rotor-blade actuators, this book demonstrates the potential of smart helicopter rotors to achieve the smoothness of ride associated with jet-engined, fixed-wing aircraft. Vibration control is effected using the concepts of trailing-edge flaps and active-twist. The authors’ optimization-based approach shows the advantage of multiple trailing-edge flaps and algorithms for full-authority control of dual trailing-edge-flap actuators are presented. Hysteresis nonlinearity in piezoelectric stack actuators is highlighted and compensated by use of another algorithm. The idea of response surfaces provides for optimal placement of trailing-edge flaps. The concept of active twist involves the employment of piezoelectrically induced shear actuation in rotating beams. Shear is then demonstrated for a thin-walled aerofoil-section rotor blade under feedback-control vibration minimization. Active twist is shown to be significant in reducing vibra...

Individual GaN nanowires exhibit strong piezoelectricity in 3D.

Science.gov (United States)

Minary-Jolandan, Majid; Bernal, Rodrigo A; Kuljanishvili, Irma; Parpoil, Victor; Espinosa, Horacio D

2012-02-08

Semiconductor GaN NWs are promising components in next generation nano- and optoelectronic systems. In addition to their direct band gap, they exhibit piezoelectricity, which renders them particularly attractive in energy harvesting applications for self-powered devices. Nanowires are often considered as one-dimensional nanostructures; however, the electromechanical coupling leads to a third rank tensor that for wurtzite crystals (GaN NWs) possesses three independent coefficients, d(33), d(13), and d(15). Therefore, the full piezoelectric characterization of individual GaN NWs requires application of electric fields in different directions and measurements of associated displacements on the order of several picometers. In this Letter, we present an experimental approach based on scanning probe microscopy to directly quantify the three-dimensional piezoelectric response of individual GaN NWs. Experimental results reveal that GaN NWs exhibit strong piezoelectricity in three dimensions, with up to six times the effect in bulk. Based on finite element modeling, this finding has major implication on the design of energy harvesting systems exhibiting unprecedented levels of power density production. The presented method is applicable to other piezoelectric NW materials as well as wires manufactured along different crystallographic orientations. © 2011 American Chemical Society

A study on impact monitoring using a piezoelectric paint sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Kyung Woo; Kang, Dong Hoon; Park, Seung Bok; Kang, Lae Hyong

2015-01-01

The piezoelectric paint sensor is a paint type sensor comprising of an epoxy and piezoelectric powder, which is the main component of a piezoelectric material. This sensor can be easily attached to any type of structure as compared to other sensors because it is viable to directly apply it on structures, as in the case with a typical paint. In this study, the capability of piezoelectric paint sensor for impact detection was evaluated. In Particular, the applications of the piezoelectric paint sensor for railroad vehicles were considered. There have been various cases reported about the damages caused by flying gravel to the under-cover of the railroad vehicle during operation. In order to prevent this, real-time monitoring of the large under-cover surface of the railroad vehicle is unavoidable. Under the assumption of vehicle application, sensor sensitivities were measured after multiple and prolonged exposure to thermal cycle environment -20⁓60 degrees Celsius). Sensitivity evaluation of paint sensor under environmental conditions was conducted in an aluminum specimen. In results, despite the small variations in sensitivity, we could confirm the applicability of this paint sensor for impact detection even after a severe environmental exposure test

Notes on Piezoelectricity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Redondo, Antonio [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-02-03

These notes provide a pedagogical discussion of the physics of piezoelectricity. The exposition starts with a brief analysis of the classical (continuum) theory of piezoelectric phenomena in solids. The main subject of the notes is, however, a quantum mechanical analysis. We first derive the Frohlich Hamiltonian as part of the description of the electron-phonon interaction. The results of this analysis are then employed to derive the equations of piezoelectricity. A couple of examples with the zinc blende and and wurtzite structures are presented at the end

Scattering of ultrasonic waves from porous piezoelectric multilayered structures immersed in a fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vashishth, Anil K; Gupta, Vishakha

2012-01-01

The interest in porous piezoelectric materials is due to the demand for low-frequency hydrophone/actuator devices for use in underwater acoustic systems and other oceanographic applications. Porosity decreases the acoustic impedance, thus improving the transfer of acoustic energy to water or biological tissues. The impedance mismatching problem between the dense piezoelectric materials and the surrounding medium can be solved by inclusion of porosity in dense piezoceramics. The complete description of acoustic propagation in a multilayered system is of great interest in a variety of applications, such as non-destructive evaluation and acoustic design, and there is need for a flexible model that can describe the reflection and transmission of ultrasonic waves in these media. The present paper elaborates a theoretical model, based on the transfer matrix method, for describing reflection and transmission of plane elastic waves through a porous piezoelectric laminated plate, immersed in a fluid. The analytical expressions for the reflection coefficient, transmission coefficient and acoustic impedance are derived. The effects of frequency, angle of incidence, number of layers, layer thickness and porosity are observed numerically for different configurations. The results obtained are deduced for the piezoelectric laminated structure, piezoelectric layer and poro-elastic layer immersed in a fluid, which are in agreement with earlier established results and experimental studies. (paper)

PZT/PLZT - elastomer composites with improved piezoelectric voltage coefficient

Science.gov (United States)

Harikrishnan, K.; Bavbande, D. V.; Mohan, Dhirendra; Manoharan, B.; Prasad, M. R. S.; Kalyanakrishnan, G.

2018-02-01

Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) and Lanthanum-modified Lead Zirconate Titanate (PLZT) ceramic sensor materials are widely used because of their excellent piezoelectric coefficients. These materials are brittle, high density and have low achievable piezoelectric voltage coefficients. The density of the sintered ceramics shall be reduced by burnable polymeric sponge method. The achievable porosity level in this case is nearly 60 - 90%. However, the porous ceramic structure with 3-3 connectivity produced by this method is very fragile in nature. The strength of the porous structure is improved with Sylgard®-184 (silicone elastomer) by vacuum impregnation method maintaining the dynamic vacuum level in the range of -650 mm Hg. The elastomer Sylgard®-184 is having low density, low dielectric constant and high compliance (as a resultant stiffness of the composites is increased). To obtain a net dipole moment, the impregnated ceramic composites were subjected to poling treatment with varying conditions of D.C. field and temperature. The properties of the poled PZT/PLZT - elastomer composites were characterized with LCR meter for measuring the dielectric constant values (k), d33 meter used for measuring piezo-electric charge coefficient values (d33) and piezo-electric voltage coefficient (g33) values which were derived from d33 values. The voltage coefficient (g33) values of these composites are increased by 10 fold as compared to the conventional solid ceramics demonstrates that it is possible to fabricate a conformable detector.

Piezoelectricity of single-atomic-layer MoS2 for energy conversion and piezotronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Wenzhuo; Wang, Lei; Li, Yilei; Zhang, Fan; Lin, Long; Niu, Simiao; Chenet, Daniel; Zhang, Xian; Hao, Yufeng; Heinz, Tony F; Hone, James; Wang, Zhong Lin

2014-10-23

The piezoelectric characteristics of nanowires, thin films and bulk crystals have been closely studied for potential applications in sensors, transducers, energy conversion and electronics. With their high crystallinity and ability to withstand enormous strain, two-dimensional materials are of great interest as high-performance piezoelectric materials. Monolayer MoS2 is predicted to be strongly piezoelectric, an effect that disappears in the bulk owing to the opposite orientations of adjacent atomic layers. Here we report the first experimental study of the piezoelectric properties of two-dimensional MoS2 and show that cyclic stretching and releasing of thin MoS2 flakes with an odd number of atomic layers produces oscillating piezoelectric voltage and current outputs, whereas no output is observed for flakes with an even number of layers. A single monolayer flake strained by 0.53% generates a peak output of 15 mV and 20 pA, corresponding to a power density of 2 mW m(-2) and a 5.08% mechanical-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency. In agreement with theoretical predictions, the output increases with decreasing thickness and reverses sign when the strain direction is rotated by 90°. Transport measurements show a strong piezotronic effect in single-layer MoS2, but not in bilayer and bulk MoS2. The coupling between piezoelectricity and semiconducting properties in two-dimensional nanomaterials may enable the development of applications in powering nanodevices, adaptive bioprobes and tunable/stretchable electronics/optoelectronics.

Effect of B-site substitution of complex ions on dielectric and piezoelectric properties in (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3 piezoelectric ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Changrong; Liu Xinyu

2008-01-01

The effect of B-site substitution of complex ions on dielectric and piezoelectric properties in (Bi 1/2 Na 1/2 )Ti 1-x (Zn 1/3 Nb 2/3 ) x O 3 (BNTZN-100x) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics was investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the materials are mono-perovskite phase. The morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) of BNTZN-100x ceramics between rhombohedral and tetragonal locates in the range of 0.5% ≤ x ≤ 2.0%. Temperature dependence of dielectric constant shows that these compounds are relaxor ferroelectrics. The compositions near the MPB exhibit relatively high piezoelectric properties. The piezoelectric constant (d 33 ) and the electromechanical coupling factor (k t ) show the maximum values of d 33 = 97 pC N -1 and k t = 0.46 at x = 2.0% and x = 1.0%, respectively. The BNTZN-100x ceramics are good candidate for use as ultrasonic transducer ceramics for high anisotropic with high k t value and low k p value

Development of a commercially viable piezoelectric force sensor system for static force measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jun; Luo, Xinwei; Liu, Jingcheng; Li, Min; Qin, Lan

2017-09-01

A compensation method for measuring static force with a commercial piezoelectric force sensor is proposed to disprove the theory that piezoelectric sensors and generators can only operate under dynamic force. After studying the model of the piezoelectric force sensor measurement system, the principle of static force measurement using a piezoelectric material or piezoelectric force sensor is analyzed. Then, the distribution law of the decay time constant of the measurement system and the variation law of the measurement system’s output are studied, and a compensation method based on the time interval threshold Δ t and attenuation threshold Δ {{u}th} is proposed. By calibrating the system and considering the influences of the environment and the hardware, a suitable Δ {{u}th} value is determined, and the system’s output attenuation is compensated based on the Δ {{u}th} value to realize the measurement. Finally, a static force measurement system with a piezoelectric force sensor is developed based on the compensation method. The experimental results confirm the successful development of a simple compensation method for static force measurement with a commercial piezoelectric force sensor. In addition, it is established that, contrary to the current perception, a piezoelectric force sensor system can be used to measure static force through further calibration.

Energy harvesting “3-D knitted spacer” based piezoelectric textiles

Science.gov (United States)

Anand, S.; Soin, N.; Shah, T. H.; Siores, E.

2016-07-01

The piezoelectric effect in Poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, was discovered over four decades ago and since then, significant work has been carried out aiming at the production of high p-phase fibres and their integration into fabric structures for energy harvesting. However, little work has been done in the area of production of “true piezoelectric fabric structures” based on flexible polymeric materials such as PVDF. In this work, we demonstrate “3-D knitted spacer” technology based all-fibre piezoelectric fabrics as power generators and energy harvesters. The knitted single-structure piezoelectric generator consists of high p-phase (~80%) piezoelectric PVDF monofilaments as the spacer yarn interconnected between silver (Ag) coated polyamide multifilament yarn layers acting as the top and bottom electrodes. The novel and unique textile structure provides an output power density in the range of 1.105.10 gWcm-2 at applied impact pressures in the range of 0.02-0.10 MPa, thus providing significantly higher power outputs and efficiencies over the existing 2-D woven and nonwoven piezoelectric structures. The high energy efficiency, mechanical durability and comfort of the soft, flexible and all-fibre based power generator is highly attractive for a variety of potential applications such as wearable electronic systems and energy harvesters charged from ambient environment or by human movement.

Improving the Sound Pressure Level of Two-Dimensional Audio Actuators by Coating Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes on Piezoelectric Films.

Science.gov (United States)

Um, Keehong

2015-10-01

As devices for amplifying or transforming electronic signals into audible signals through electromechanical operations, acoustic actuators in the form of loudspeakers are usually solid structures in three dimensional space. Recently there has been increasing demand for mobile electronic devices, such as mobile phones, to become smaller, thinner, and lighter. In contrast to a three dimensional audio system with magnets, we have invented a new type of flexible two dimensional device by utilizing the reverse piezoelectric effect in certain piezoelectric materials. Crystalline piezoelectric materials show electromechanical interaction between the mechanical state and the electrically-charged state. The piezoelectric effect is a reversible process in that materials exhibiting the direct piezoelectric effect (the internal generation of electrical charge resulting from an applied mechanical force) also exhibit the reverse piezoelectric effect (the internal generation of a mechanical strain resulting from an applied electrical field). We have adopted the plasma surface treatment in order to put coating materials on the surface of piezoelectric film. We compared two kinds of coating material, indium tin oxide and single-walled carbon nanotube, and found that single-walled carbon nanotube shows better performance. The results showed improvement of output power in a wider range of operating frequency; for the surface resistance of 0.5 kΩ/square, the single-walled CNT shows the range of operating frequency to be 0.75-17.5 kHz, but ITO shows 2.5-13.4 kHz. For the surface resistance of 1 kΩ/square, single-walled CNT shows the range of operating frequency to be 0.81-17 kHz, but ITO shows it cannot generate audible sound.

Nonlinear Optimal Tracking Control of a Piezoelectric Nanopositioning Stage

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Oates, William S; Smith, Ralph C

2006-01-01

... over relatively large displacements and a broad frequency range. Piezoelectric materials, which are typically employed in nanopositioning stages, provide excellent position control when driven at relatively low frequency and low field levels...

Hydrogen and fluorine co-decorated silicene: A first principles study of piezoelectric properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noor-A-Alam, Mohammad; Kim, Hye Jung; Shin, Young-Han

2015-01-01

A low-buckled silicene monolayer being centrosymmetric like graphene, in contrast to a piezoelectric hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), is not intrinsically piezoelectric. However, based on first principles calculations, we show that chemical co-decoration of hydrogen (H) and fluorine (F) on opposite sides of silicene (i.e., one side is decorated with H, while the other one is with F) breaks the centrosymmetry. Redistributing the charge density due to the electronegativity difference between the atoms, non-centrosymmetric co-decoration induces an out-of-plane dipolar polarization and concomitant piezoelectricity into non-piezoelectric silicene monolayer. Our piezoelectric coefficients are comparable with other known two-dimensional piezoelectric materials (e.g., hydrofluorinated graphene/h-BN) and some bulk semiconductors, such as wurtzite GaN and wurtzite BN. Moreover, because of silicene's lower elastic constants compared to graphene or h-BN, piezoelectric strain constants are found significantly larger than those of hydrofluorinated graphene/h-BN. We also predict that a wide range of band gaps with an average of 2.52 eV can be opened in a low-buckled gapless semi-metallic silicene monolayer by co-decoration of H and F atoms on the surface

Piezoelectric energy harvester under parquet floor

Science.gov (United States)

Bischur, E.; Schwesinger, N.

2011-03-01

The design, fabrication and testing of piezoelectric energy harvesting modules for floors is described. These modules are used beneath a parquet floor to harvest the energy of people walking over it. The harvesting modules consist of monoaxial stretched PVDF-foils. Multilayer modules are built up as roller-type capacitors. The fabrication process of the harvesting modules is simple and very suitable for mass production. Due to the use of organic polymers, the modules are characterized by a great flexibility and the possibility to create them in almost any geometrical size. The energy yield was determined depending on the dynamic loading force, the thickness of piezoelectric active material, the size of the piezoelectric modules, their alignment in the walking direction and their position on the floor. An increase of the energy yield at higher loading forces and higher thicknesses of the modules was observed. It was possible to generate up to 2.1mWs of electric energy with dynamic loads of 70kg using a specific module design. Furthermore a test floor was assembled to determine the influence of the size, alignment and position of the modules on the energy yield.

PZT Thin Film Piezoelectric Traveling Wave Motor

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Dexin; Zhang, Baoan; Yang, Genqing; Jiao, Jiwei; Lu, Jianguo; Wang, Weiyuan

1995-01-01

With the development of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), its various applications are attracting more and more attention. Among MEMS, micro motors, electrostatic and electromagnetic, are the typical and important ones. As an alternative approach, the piezoelectric traveling wave micro motor, based on thin film material and integrated circuit technologies, circumvents many of the drawbacks of the above mentioned two types of motors and displays distinct advantages. In this paper we report on a lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) piezoelectric thin film traveling wave motor. The PZT film with a thickness of 150 micrometers and a diameter of 8 mm was first deposited onto a metal substrate as the stator material. Then, eight sections were patterned to form the stator electrodes. The rotor had an 8 kHz frequency power supply. The rotation speed of the motor is 100 rpm. The relationship of the friction between the stator and the rotor and the structure of the rotor on rotation were also studied.

Piezoelectric ZnO nanostructure for energy harvesting

CERN Document Server

Leprince-Wang, Yamin

2015-01-01

Over the past decade, ZnO as an important II-VI semiconductor has attracted much attention within the scientific community over the world owing to its numerous unique and prosperous properties. This material, considered as a "future material", especially in nanostructural format, has aroused many interesting research works due to its large range of applications in electronics, photonics, acoustics, energy and sensing. The bio-compatibility, piezoelectricity & low cost fabrication make ZnO nanostructure a very promising material for energy harvesting.

On the Nonlinear Behavior of the Piezoelectric Coupling on Vibration-Based Energy Harvesters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana L. Silva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Vibration-based energy harvesting with piezoelectric elements has an increasing importance nowadays being related to numerous potential applications. A wide range of nonlinear effects is observed in energy harvesting devices and the analysis of the power generated suggests that they have considerable influence on the results. Linear constitutive models for piezoelectric materials can provide inconsistencies on the prediction of the power output of the energy harvester, mainly close to resonant conditions. This paper investigates the effect of the nonlinear behavior of the piezoelectric coupling. A one-degree of freedom mechanical system is coupled to an electrical circuit by a piezoelectric element and different coupling models are investigated. Experimental tests available in the literature are employed as a reference establishing the best matches of the models. Subsequently, numerical simulations are carried out showing different responses of the system indicating that nonlinear piezoelectric couplings can strongly modify the system dynamics.

Piezoelectric effect in strained quantum wells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dang, L.S.; Andre, R.; Cibert, J.

1995-01-01

This paper describes some physical aspects of the piezoelectric effect which takes place in strained semiconductor heterostructures grown along a polar axis. First we show how piezoelectric fields can be accurately measured by optical spectroscopy. Then we discuss about the origin of the non-linear piezoelectric effect reported recently for CdTe, and maybe for InAs as well. Finally we compare excitonic effects in piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric quantum wells. (orig.)

Low cost fabrication of polymer composite (h-ZnO + PDMS) material for piezoelectric device application

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Akanksha; Das, Sonatan; Bharathkumar, Mareddi; Revanth, D.; Karthik, ARB; Sudhakara Sastry, Bala; Ramgopal Rao, V.

2016-07-01

Flexible piezoelectric composites offer alternative and/or additional solutions to sensor, actuator and transducer applications. Here in this work, we have successfully fabricated highly flexible piezoelectric composites with poly dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) using herbal zinc oxide (h-ZnO) as filler having weight fractions up to 50 wt.% by solution casting of dispersions of h-ZnO in PDMS. Excellent piezo properties (Resonant frequency 935 Hz, d*33 29.76 pm V-1), physiochemical properties (Wurtzite structure ZnO, 380 nm absorbance) and mechanical properties (Young modulus 16.9 MPa) have been optimized with theoretical simulations and observed experimentally for h-ZnO + PDMS. As such, the demonstrated piezoelectric PDMS membranes combined with the excellent properties of these composites open new ways to ‘soft touch’ applications and could serve as a variety of soft and sensitive electromechanical transducers, which are desired for a variety of sensor and energy harvesting applications.

Freeze cast porous barium titanate for enhanced piezoelectric energy harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Roscow, J. I.; Zhang, Y.; Kraśny, M. J.; Lewis, R. W. C.; Taylor, J.; Bowen, C. R.

2018-06-01

Energy harvesting is an important developing technology for a new generation of self-powered sensor networks. This paper demonstrates the significant improvement in the piezoelectric energy harvesting performance of barium titanate by forming highly aligned porosity using freeze casting. Firstly, a finite element model demonstrating the effect of pore morphology and angle with respect to poling field on the poling behaviour of porous ferroelectrics was developed. A second model was then developed to understand the influence of microstructure-property relationships on the poling behaviour of porous freeze cast ferroelectric materials and their resultant piezoelectric and energy harvesting properties. To compare with model predictions, porous barium titanate was fabricated using freeze casting to form highly aligned microstructures with excellent longitudinal piezoelectric strain coefficients, d 33. The freeze cast barium titanate with 45 vol.% porosity had a d 33  =  134.5 pC N‑1 compared to d 33  =  144.5 pC N‑1 for dense barium titanate. The d 33 coefficients of the freeze cast materials were also higher than materials with uniformly distributed spherical porosity due to improved poling of the aligned microstructures, as predicted by the models. Both model and experimental data indicated that introducing porosity provides a large reduction in the permittivity () of barium titanate, which leads to a substantial increase in energy harvesting figure of merit, , with a maximum of 3.79 pm2 N‑1 for barium titanate with 45 vol.% porosity, compared to only 1.40 pm2 N‑1 for dense barium titanate. Dense and porous barium titanate materials were then used to harvest energy from a mechanical excitation by rectification and storage of the piezoelectric charge on a capacitor. The porous barium titanate charged the capacitor to a voltage of 234 mV compared to 96 mV for the dense material, indicating a 2.4-fold increase that was similar to that

Design, Simulation and Experimental Evaluation of Tri-Phasic Piezoelectric Composite Transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Tamez, Juan Pedro

Piezoelectric ceramics exhibit excellent piezoelectric and dielectric properties that is the basis of practically all transducers and piezoelectric devices, but their inherent properties, such as brittleness, non-ductility and poor shapeability may limit their applications in areas such as vibration sensing, impact detection, structural health monitoring and other reinforced structures and energy harvesting. To compensate for such limitations, the 1-3 piezoelectric composites transducers have become the material of choice for many high performance ultrasound transducers since it was invented in the late 1970's [ref. Newnham/Cross]. Extensive studies on 1-3 composites have been performed since then to improve the performance of a transducer by modifying their electromechanical coupling, bandwidth, quality factor, and flexibility and by reducing or eliminating the cross talk, i.e., induced noise between the active piezoelectric elements, especially in high power and low frequency applications. These fundamental issues, their possible solutions and their wide impact underline the motivation of the current work in this dissertation report. The motivation for this dissertation was to study and provide a foundation to designing multiphasic piezoelectric transducers that could be useful for multitude of applications. The goal was to improve the 1-3 diphasic composite transducer by eliminating the cross talk between the active piezoelectric elements while maintaining and improving the figures of merit of the design. To achieve the ultimate goal, the steps outlined below were followed: i. Understanding the theoretical and mathematical modeling for tri-phasic piezoelectric composite. ii. Implement Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and simulations of tri-phasic piezoelectric composites where the different active piezoelectric material PZT-5H and PMN-30%PT is surrounded by a vacuum phase that is enclosed by a hexagonal polymer walls. iii. Propose a redesign of the tri

Enhanced pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties of PZT with aligned porosity for energy harvesting applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Xie, Mengying; Roscow, James; Bao, Yinxiang; Zhou, Kechao; Zhang, Dou; Bowen, Chris R

2017-04-14

This paper demonstrates the significant benefits of exploiting highly aligned porosity in piezoelectric and pyroelectric materials for improved energy harvesting performance. Porous lead zirconate (PZT) ceramics with aligned pore channels and varying fractions of porosity were manufactured in a water-based suspension using freeze-casting. The aligned porous PZT ceramics were characterized in detail for both piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties and their energy harvesting performance figures of merit were assessed parallel and perpendicular to the freezing direction. As a result of the introduction of porosity into the ceramic microstructure, high piezoelectric and pyroelectric harvesting figures of merits were achieved for porous freeze-cast PZT compared to dense PZT due to the reduced permittivity and volume specific heat capacity. Experimental results were compared to parallel and series analytical models with good agreement and the PZT with porosity aligned parallel to the freezing direction exhibited the highest piezoelectric and pyroelectric harvesting response; this was a result of the enhanced interconnectivity of the ferroelectric material along the poling direction and reduced fraction of unpoled material that leads to a higher polarization. A complete thermal energy harvesting system, composed of a parallel-aligned PZT harvester element and an AC/DC converter, was successfully demonstrated by charging a storage capacitor. The maximum energy density generated by the 60 vol% porous parallel-connected PZT when subjected to thermal oscillations was 1653 μJ cm -3 , which was 374% higher than that of the dense PZT with an energy density of 446 μJ cm -3 . The results are beneficial for the design and manufacture of high performance porous pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials in devices for energy harvesting and sensor applications.

Electromechanical characteristics of piezoelectric ceramic transformers in radial vibration composed of concentric piezoelectric ceramic disk and ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Shuyu; Hu, Jing; Fu, Zhiqiang

2013-01-01

A new type of piezoelectric ceramic transformer in radial vibration is presented. The piezoelectric transformer consists of a pairing of a concentric piezoelectric ceramic circular disk and ring. The inner piezoelectric ceramic disk is axially polarized and the outer piezoelectric ring is radially polarized. Based on the plane stress theory, the exact analytical theory for the piezoelectric transformer is developed and its electromechanical equivalent circuit is introduced. The resonance/anti-resonance frequency equations of the transformer are obtained and the relationship between the resonance/anti-resonance frequency, the effective electromechanical coupling coefficient and the geometrical dimensions of the piezoelectric transformer is analyzed. The dependency of the voltage transformation ratio on the frequency is obtained. To verify the analytical theory, a numerical method is used to simulate the electromechanical characteristics of the piezoelectric transformer. It is shown that the analytical resonance/anti-resonance frequencies are in good agreement with the numerical results. (paper)

Structural, dielectric and piezoelectric study of Ca-, Zr-modified ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2017-08-22

Aug 22, 2017 ... Ferroelectric materials have attracted the attention of researchers around .... and piezoelectric properties than the BCTZ ceramics with finer grains but .... to the polycrys- tallinity and the porosity of the textured BCTZ ceramics.

Theoretical modeling and equivalent electric circuit of a bimorph piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer.

Science.gov (United States)

Sammoura, Firas; Kim, Sang-Gook

2012-05-01

An electric circuit model for a circular bimorph piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) was developed for the first time. The model was made up of an electric mesh, which was coupled to a mechanical mesh via a transformer element. The bimorph PMUT consisted of two piezoelectric layers of the same material, having equal thicknesses, and sandwiched between three thin electrodes. The piezoelectric layers, having the same poling axis, were biased with electric potentials of the same magnitude but opposite polarity. The strain mismatches between the two layers created by the converse piezoelectric effect caused the membrane to vibrate and, hence, transmit a pressure wave. Upon receiving the echo of the acoustic wave, the membrane deformation led to the generation of electric charges as a result of the direct piezoelectric phenomenon. The membrane angular velocity and electric current were related to the applied electric field, the impinging acoustic pressure, and the moment at the edge of the membrane using two canonical equations. The transduction coefficients from the electrical to the mechanical domain and vice-versa were shown to be bilateral and the system was shown to be reversible. The circuit parameters of the derived model were extracted, including the transformer ratio, the clamped electric impedance, the spring-softening impedance, and the open-circuit mechanical impedance. The theoretical model was fully examined by generating the electrical input impedance and average plate displacement curves versus frequency under both air and water loading conditions. A PMUT composed of piezoelectric material with a lossy dielectric was also investigated and the maximum possible electroacoustical conversion efficiency was calculated.

Piezoelectric ribbons printed onto rubber for flexible energy conversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Yi; Jafferis, Noah T; Lyons, Kenneth; Lee, Christine M; Ahmad, Habib; McAlpine, Michael C

2010-02-10

The development of a method for integrating highly efficient energy conversion materials onto stretchable, biocompatible rubbers could yield breakthroughs in implantable or wearable energy harvesting systems. Being electromechanically coupled, piezoelectric crystals represent a particularly interesting subset of smart materials that function as sensors/actuators, bioMEMS devices, and energy converters. Yet, the crystallization of these materials generally requires high temperatures for maximally efficient performance, rendering them incompatible with temperature-sensitive plastics and rubbers. Here, we overcome these limitations by presenting a scalable and parallel process for transferring crystalline piezoelectric nanothick ribbons of lead zirconate titanate from host substrates onto flexible rubbers over macroscopic areas. Fundamental characterization of the ribbons by piezo-force microscopy indicates that their electromechanical energy conversion metrics are among the highest reported on a flexible medium. The excellent performance of the piezo-ribbon assemblies coupled with stretchable, biocompatible rubber may enable a host of exciting avenues in fundamental research and novel applications.

Numerical Analysis and Optimization on Piezoelectric Properties of 0–3 Type Piezoelectric Cement-Based Materials with Interdigitated Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianlin Luo

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The health conditions of complicated concrete structures require intrinsic cement-based sensors with a fast sensing response and high accuracy. In this paper, static, modal, harmonic, and transient dynamic analyses for the 0–3 type piezoelectric cement-based material with interdigitated electrodes (IEPCM wafer were investigated using the ANSYS finite element numerical approach. Optimal design of the IEPCM was further implemented with electrode distance (P, electrode width (W, and wafer density (H as the main parameters. Analysis results show that the maximum stress and strain in the x-polarization direction of the IEPCM are 2.6 and 3.19 times higher than that in the y-direction, respectively; there exists no repetition frequency phenomenon for the IEPCM. These indicate 0–3 type IEPCM possesses good orthotropic features, and lateral driving capacity notwithstanding, a hysteresis effect exists. Allowing for the wafer width (Wp of 1 mm, the optimal design of the IEPCM wafer arrives at the best physical values of H, W and P are 6.2, 0.73 and 1.02 mm respectively, whereas the corresponding optimal volume is 10.9 mm3.

Relaxor-PT Single Crystal Piezoelectric Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoning Jiang

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Relaxor-PbTiO3 piezoelectric single crystals have been widely used in a broad range of electromechanical devices, including piezoelectric sensors, actuators, and transducers. This paper reviews the unique properties of these single crystals for piezoelectric sensors. Design, fabrication and characterization of various relaxor-PT single crystal piezoelectric sensors and their applications are presented and compared with their piezoelectric ceramic counterparts. Newly applicable fields and future trends of relaxor-PT sensors are also suggested in this review paper.

Calculations for piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jensen, H.

1986-05-01

Analysis of piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers implies a solution of a boundary value problem, for a body which consists of different materials, including a piezoelectric part. The problem is dynamic at frequencies, where a typical wavelength is somewhat less than the size of the body. Radiation losses as well as internal losses may be important. Due to the complexity of the problem, a closed form solution is the exception rather than the rule. For this reason, it is necessary to use approximate methods for the analysis. Equivalent circuits, the Rayleigh-Ritz method, Mindlin plate theory and in particular the finite element method are considered. The finite element method is utilized for analysis of axisymmetric transducers. An explicit, fully piezoelectric, triangular ring element, with linear variations in displacement and electric potential is given. The influence of a fluid half-space is also given, in the form of a complex stiffness matrix. A special stacking procedure, for analysis of the backing has been developed. This procedure gives a saving, which is similar to that of the fast fourier transform algorithm, and is also wellsuited for analysis of finite and infinite waveguides. Results obtained by the finite element method are shown and compared with measurements and exact solutions. Good agreement is obtained. It is concluded that the finite element method can be a valueable tool in analysis and design of ultrasonic transducers. (author)

Piezoelectric polymers as biomaterials for tissue engineering applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro, Clarisse; Sencadas, Vítor; Correia, Daniela M; Lanceros-Méndez, Senentxu

2015-12-01

Tissue engineering often rely on scaffolds for supporting cell differentiation and growth. Novel paradigms for tissue engineering include the need of active or smart scaffolds in order to properly regenerate specific tissues. In particular, as electrical and electromechanical clues are among the most relevant ones in determining tissue functionality in tissues such as muscle and bone, among others, electroactive materials and, in particular, piezoelectric ones, show strong potential for novel tissue engineering strategies, in particular taking also into account the existence of these phenomena within some specific tissues, indicating their requirement also during tissue regeneration. This referee reports on piezoelectric materials used for tissue engineering applications. The most used materials for tissue engineering strategies are reported together with the main achievements, challenges and future needs for research and actual therapies. This review provides thus a compilation of the most relevant results and strategies and a start point for novel research pathways in the most relevant and challenging open questions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microscopic origins of the large piezoelectricity of leadfree (Ba,Ca)(Zr,Ti)O3.

Science.gov (United States)

Nahas, Yousra; Akbarzadeh, Alireza; Prokhorenko, Sergei; Prosandeev, Sergey; Walter, Raymond; Kornev, Igor; Íñiguez, Jorge; Bellaiche, L

2017-06-20

In light of directives around the world to eliminate toxic materials in various technologies, finding lead-free materials with high piezoelectric responses constitutes an important current scientific goal. As such, the recent discovery of a large electromechanical conversion near room temperature in (1-x)Ba(Zr 0.2 Ti 0.8 )O 3 -x(Ba 0.7 Ca 0.3 )TiO 3 compounds has directed attention to understanding its origin. Here, we report the development of a large-scale atomistic scheme providing a microscopic insight into this technologically promising material. We find that its high piezoelectricity originates from the existence of large fluctuations of polarization in the orthorhombic state arising from the combination of a flat free-energy landscape, a fragmented local structure, and the narrow temperature window around room temperature at which this orthorhombic phase is the equilibrium state. In addition to deepening the current knowledge on piezoelectricity, these findings have the potential to guide the design of other lead-free materials with large electromechanical responses.

Vibration based monitoring of stay cable force using wireless piezoelectric based strain sensor nodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Khac Duy; Kim, Jeong Tae

2012-01-01

This study presents a method to monitor cable force using wireless sensor nodes and piezoelectric sensors. The following approaches are carried out to achieve the objective. Firstly, the principle of piezoelectric materials (e.g., PZT) as strain sensors is reviewed. A cable force estimation method using dynamic features of cables measured by piezoelectric materials is presented. Secondly, the design of an automated cable force monitoring system using the data acquisition sensor node Imote2/SHM DAQ is described. The sensor node is originally developed by University of Illinois at Urbana champaign and is adopted in this study to monitor strain induced voltage from PZT sensors. The advantages of the system are cheap, and eligible for wireless communication and automated operation. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed monitoring system is evaluated on a lab scaled cable

Piezoelectric textured ceramics: Effective properties and application to ultrasonic transducers.

Science.gov (United States)

Levassort, Franck; Pham Thi, Mai; Hemery, Henry; Marechal, Pierre; Tran-Huu-Hue, Louis-Pascal; Lethiecq, Marc

2006-12-22

Piezoelectric textured ceramics obtained by homo-template grain growth (HTGG) were recently demonstrated. A simple model with several assumptions has been used to calculate effective parameters of these new materials. Different connectivities have been simulated to show that spatial arrangements between the considered phases have little influence on the effective parameters, even through the 3-0 connectivity delivers the highest electromechanical thickness factor. A transducer based on a textured ceramic sample has been fabricated and characterised to show the efficiency of these piezoelectric materials. Finally, in a single element transducer configuration, simulation shows an improvement of 2 dB sensitivity for a transducer made with textured ceramic in comparison with a similar transducer design based on standard soft PZT (at equivalent bandwidths).

Vibration energy harvesting using piezoelectric unimorph cantilevers with unequal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths

OpenAIRE

Gao, Xiaotong; Shih, Wei-Heng; Shih, Wan Y.

2010-01-01

We have examined a piezoelectric unimorph cantilever (PUC) with unequal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths for vibration energy harvesting theoretically by extending the analysis of a PUC with equal piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric lengths. The theoretical approach was validated by experiments. A case study showed that for a fixed vibration frequency, the maximum open-circuit induced voltage which was important for charge storage for later use occurred with a PUC that had a nonpiezo...

Fatigue and retention properties of shape memory piezoelectric actuator with non-180° domain switching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadota, Y; Morita, T

2012-01-01

A shape memory piezoelectric actuator can maintain a piezoelectric displacement without an operating voltage. It has two stable strain states at zero voltage: a poled state and a depoled state. The driving principle of the shape memory piezoelectric actuator is based on reorientation of the non-180° domains in the ferroelectric materials. In this study, a unimorph shape memory piezoelectric actuator with a soft lead zirconate titanate was fabricated. The fatigue and retention properties of this shape memory piezoelectric actuator were investigated. The fatigue behavior of the actuator in the early stages is considered to be closely related to the domain stabilization process. Continuous cycle fatigue tests revealed that the shape memory piezoelectric actuator continues to operate even after 10 6 cycles. Retention measurements revealed that the depoled state of the actuator was more stable than the poled state. The drift in the actuator displacement over one year was estimated to be less than 10% of the initial shape memory displacement. (paper)

Torsion sensing based on patterned piezoelectric beams

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Youngsu; You, Hangil

2018-03-01

In this study, we investigated the sensing characteristics of piezoelectric beams under torsional loads. We used partially patterned piezoelectric beams to sense torsion. In particular, the piezoelectric patches are located symmetrically with respect to the line of the shear center of the beam. The patterned piezoelectric beam is modeled as a slender beam, and its electrical responses are obtained by piezoelectric electromechanical equations. To validate the modeling framework, experiments are performed using a setup that forces pure torsional deformation. Three different geometric configurations of the patterned piezoelectric layer are used for the experiments. The frequency and amplitude of the forced torsional load are systematically varied in order to study the behavior of the piezoelectric sensor. Experimental results demonstrate that two voltage outputs of the piezoelectric beam are approximately out of phase with identical amplitude. Moreover, the length of the piezoelectric layers has a significant influence on the sensing properties. Our theoretical predictions using the model support the experimental findings.

Properties of PZT-Based Piezoelectric Ceramics Between -150 and 250 C

Science.gov (United States)

Hooker, Matthew W.

1998-01-01

The properties of three PZT-based piezoelectric ceramics and one PLZT electrostrictive ceramic were measured as a function of temperature. In this work, the dielectric, ferroelectric polarization versus electric field, and piezoelectric properties of PZT-4, PZT-5A, PZT-5H, and PLZT-9/65/35 were measured over a temperature range of -150 to 250 C. In addition to these measurements, the relative thermal expansion of each composition was measured from 25 to 600 C and the modulus of rupture of each material was measured at room temperature. This report describes the experimental results and compares and contrasts the properties of these materials with respect to their applicability to intelligent aerospace systems.

Electromechanical response of (2–2) layered piezoelectric composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kar-Gupta, Ronit; Venkatesh, T A

2013-01-01

Analytical and finite element models are developed to systematically characterize the effects of phase volume fraction and the relative orientations of the poling directions in two phases on the effective elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric properties of layered piezoelectric composites. Four classes of layered piezoelectric composites are identified based on the relative orientation of the poling directions in the two piezoelectric phases. Upon verifying that the results of the finite model compare well with that of analytical models for select layered composite systems, the finite element model is extended to characterize the electromechanical response of all four classes of piezoelectric composites. It is generally observed that the electromechanical properties of the layered composite along a direction perpendicular to the layer interface is largely influenced by the properties of the ‘softer’ phase whereas the in-plane response is modulated more by the ‘rule-of-mixtures’ theory. It is also observed that variations in the poling directions of the constituents can significantly influence the symmetry of the composite with composites that belong to Classes II and III (where the poling directions of the two phases are orthogonal to each other) exhibiting a relatively lower degree of material symmetry while the composites that belong to Classes I and IV (where the poling directions of the two phases are parallel to each other) exhibit a higher order symmetry. Furthermore, the best combination of figures of merit, i.e., enhanced coupling constant and reduced acoustic impedance, in a direction parallel to the layer interface is exhibited by Class I and Class II types of composite (where the piezoelectrically stiffer phase is poled along the layer interface). (paper)

Hybrid Piezoelectric/Fiber-Optic Sensor Sheets

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Mark; Qing, Xinlin

2004-01-01

Hybrid piezoelectric/fiber-optic (HyPFO) sensor sheets are undergoing development. They are intended for use in nondestructive evaluation and long-term monitoring of the integrity of diverse structures, including aerospace, aeronautical, automotive, and large stationary ones. It is anticipated that the further development and subsequent commercialization of the HyPFO sensor systems will lead to economic benefits in the form of increased safety, reduction of life-cycle costs through real-time structural monitoring, increased structural reliability, reduction of maintenance costs, and increased readiness for service. The concept of a HyPFO sensor sheet is a generalization of the concept of a SMART Layer(TradeMark), which is a patented device that comprises a thin dielectric film containing an embedded network of distributed piezoelectric actuator/sensors. Such a device can be mounted on the surface of a metallic structure or embedded inside a composite-material structure during fabrication of the structure. There is has been substantial interest in incorporating sensors other than piezoelectric ones into SMART Layer(TradeMark) networks: in particular, because of the popularity of the use of fiber-optic sensors for monitoring the "health" of structures in recent years, it was decided to incorporate fiber-optic sensors, giving rise to the concept of HyPFO devices.

A digital output piezoelectric accelerometer using a Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 thin film array electrically connected in series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, T; Okada, H; Maeda, R; Itoh, T; Masuda, T

2010-01-01

A digital output piezoelectric accelerometer is proposed to realize an ultra-low power consumption wireless sensor node. The accelerometer has patterned piezoelectric thin films (piezoelectric plates) electrically connected in series accompanied by CMOS switches at the end of some of the piezoelectric plates. The connected piezoelectric plates amplify the output voltage without the use of amplifiers. The CMOS switches turn on when the output voltage of the piezoelectric plates is higher than the CMOS threshold voltage. The piezoelectric accelerometer converts the acceleration into a number of on-state CMOS switches, which can be called the digital output. The proposed digital output piezoelectric accelerometer, using Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 (PZT) thin films as the piezoelectric material, was fabricated through a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microfabrication process. The output voltage was found to be amplified by the number of connected piezoelectric plates. The DC output voltage obtained by using an AC to DC conversion circuit is proportional to the number of connections. The results show the potential for realizing the proposed digital output piezoelectric accelerometer

Coupled polaritonic band gaps in the anisotropic piezoelectric superlattices

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Zheng-Hua; Jiang, Zheng-Sheng; Chen, Tao; Jiang, Chun-Zhi; Lei, Da-Jun; Huang, Jian-Quan; Qiu, Feng; Yao, Min; Huang, Xiao-Yi

2018-01-01

Anisotropic piezoelectric superlattices (APSs) with the periodic arrangement of polarized anisotropic piezoelectric domains in a certain direction are presented, in which the coupled polaritonic band gaps (CPBGs) can be obtained in the whole Brillouin Zone and the maximum relative bandwidth (band-gap sizes divided by their midgap frequencies) of 5.1% can be achieved. The general characteristics of the APSs are similar to those of the phononic crystals composed of two types of materials, with the main difference being the formation mechanism of the CPBGs, which originate from the couplings between lattice vibrations along two different directions and electromagnetic waves rather than from the periodical modulation of density and elastic constants. In addition, there are no lattice mismatches because the APSs are made of the same material. Thus, the APSs can also be extended to the construction of novel acousto-optic devices.

Uncovering nanoscale electromechanical heterogeneity in the subfibrillar structure of collagen fibrils responsible for the piezoelectricity of bone.

Science.gov (United States)

Minary-Jolandan, Majid; Yu, Min-Feng

2009-07-28

Understanding piezoelectricity, the linear electromechanical transduction, in bone and tendon and its potential role in mechanoelectric transduction leading to their growth and remodeling remains a challenging subject. With high-resolution piezoresponse force microscopy, we probed piezoelectric behavior in relevant biological samples at different scale levels: from the subfibrillar structures of single isolated collagen fibrils to bone. We revealed that, beyond the general understanding of collagen fibril being a piezoelectric material, there existed an intrinsic piezoelectric heterogeneity within a collagen fibril coinciding with the periodic variation of its gap and overlap regions. This piezoelectric heterogeneity persisted even for the collagen fibrils embedded in bone, bringing about new implications for its possible roles in structural formation and remodeling of bone.

A Piezoelectric Shear Stress Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Taeyang; Saini, Aditya; Kim, Jinwook; Gopalarathnam, Ashok; Zhu, Yong; Palmieri, Frank L.; Wohl, Christopher J.; Jiang, Xiaoning

2016-01-01

In this paper, a piezoelectric sensor with a floating element was developed for shear stress measurement. The piezoelectric sensor was designed to detect the pure shear stress suppressing effects of normal stress generated from the vortex lift-up by applying opposite poling vectors to the: piezoelectric elements. The sensor was first calibrated in the lab by applying shear forces and it showed high sensitivity to shear stress (=91.3 +/- 2.1 pC/Pa) due to the high piezoelectric coefficients of PMN-33%PT (d31=-1330 pC/N). The sensor also showed almost no sensitivity to normal stress (less than 1.2 pC/Pa) because of the electromechanical symmetry of the device. The usable frequency range of the sensor is 0-800 Hz. Keywords: Piezoelectric sensor, shear stress, floating element, electromechanical symmetry

Anomalous piezoelectric effects, found in the laboratory and reconstructed by numerical simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. P. Teisseyre

2002-06-01

Full Text Available Various rocks and minerals, which are not piezoelectric in the common sense, exhibit transient electric polarization in response to sudden changes in stress load. This anomalous piezoelectric effect differs from the regular, static piezoelectric response, in which electric charges appear as a result of crystal lattice deformation. The anomalous piezoelectricity is dynamic decaying in a few seconds or a few tens of seconds. However, in some materials different polarization properties are discovered. To explain certain aspects of the polarization signal increase and decay, some complicated mechanisms of electric charge generation and relaxation need to be assumed in their number ? concurrence of two or three relaxation processes. The hypothetical mechanisms are only mentioned, as the purpose of this work is to construct numerical models, behaving like the rocks investigated. Examples of experimental plots are shown together with the results of the numerical simulation of these experiments.

A New Piezoelectric Actuator Induces Bone Formation In Vivo: A Preliminary Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joana Reis

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This in vivo study presents the preliminary results of the use of a novel piezoelectric actuator for orthopedic application. The innovative use of the converse piezoelectric effect to mechanically stimulate bone was achieved with polyvinylidene fluoride actuators implanted in osteotomy cuts in sheep femur and tibia. The biological response around the osteotomies was assessed through histology and histomorphometry in nondecalcified sections and histochemistry and immunohistochemistry in decalcified sections, namely, through Masson's trichrome, and labeling of osteopontin, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. After one-month implantation, total bone area and new bone area were significantly higher around actuators when compared to static controls. Bone deposition rate was also significantly higher in the mechanically stimulated areas. In these areas, osteopontin increased expression was observed. The present in vivo study suggests that piezoelectric materials and the converse piezoelectric effect may be used to effectively stimulate bone growth.

Theoretical and simulation analysis of piezoelectric liquid resistance captor filled with pipeline

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Li; Zhigang, Yang; Junwu, Kan; Lisheng; Bo, Yan; Dan, Lu

2018-03-01

This paper designs a kind of Piezoelectric liquid resistance capture energy device, by using the superposition theory of the sheet deformation, the calculation model of the displacement curve of the circular piezoelectric vibrator and the power generation capacity under the concentrated load is established. The results show that the radius ratio, thickness ratio and Young’s modulus of the circular piezoelectric vibrator have greater influence on the power generation capacity. When the material of piezoelectric oscillator is determined, the best radius ratio and thickness ratio make the power generation capacity the largest. Excessive or small radius ratio and thickness ratio will reduce the generating capacity and even generate zero power. In addition, the electromechanical equivalent model is established. Equivalent analysis is made by changing the circuit impedance. The results are consistent with the theoretical simulation results, indicating that the established circuit model can truly reflect the characteristics of the theoretical model.

Piezoelectric and optoelectronic properties of electrospinning hybrid PVDF and ZnO nanofibers

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Jian; Zhang, Qian; Lin, Kabin; Zhou, Lei; Ni, Zhonghua

2018-03-01

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a unique ferroelectric polymer with significant promise for energy harvesting, data storage, and sensing applications. ZnO is a wide direct band gap semiconductor (3.37 eV), commonly used as ultraviolet photodetectors, nanoelectronics, photonicsand piezoelectric generators. In this study, we produced high output piezoelectric energy harvesting materials using hybrid PVDF/ZnO nanofibers deposited via electrospinning. The strong electric fields and stretching forces during the electrospinning process helps to align dipoles in the nanofiber crystal such that the nonpolar α-phase (random orientation of dipoles) is transformed into polar β-phase in produced nanofibers. The effect of the additional ZnO nanowires on the nanofiber β-phase composition and output voltage are investigated. The maximum output voltage generated by a single hybrid PVDF and ZnO nanofiber (33 wt% ZnO nanowires) is over 300% of the voltage produced by a single nanofiber made of pure PVDF. The ZnO NWs served not only as a piezoelectric material, but also as a semiconducting material. The electrical conductivity of the hybrid PVDF/ZnO nanofibers increased by more than a factor of 4 when exposed under ultraviolet (UV) light.

A nanoscale piezoelectric transformer for low-voltage transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Sapan; Yablonovitch, Eli

2014-11-12

A novel piezoelectric voltage transformer for low-voltage transistors is proposed. Placing a piezoelectric transformer on the gate of a field-effect transistor results in the piezoelectric transformer field-effect transistor that can switch at significantly lower voltages than a conventional transistor. The piezoelectric transformer operates by using one piezoelectric to squeeze another piezoelectric to generate a higher output voltage than the input voltage. Multiple piezoelectrics can be used to squeeze a single piezoelectric layer to generate an even higher voltage amplification. Coupled electrical and mechanical modeling in COMSOL predicts a 12.5× voltage amplification for a six-layer piezoelectric transformer. This would lead to more than a 150× reduction in the power needed for communications.

Analysis of an x-ray mirror made from piezoelectric bimorph

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yao; Li, Ming; Tang, Shanzhi; Gao, Junxiang; Zhang, Weiwei; Zhu, Peiping

2017-07-01

Theoretical analysis of the mechanical behavior of an x-ray mirror made from piezoelectric bimorph is presented. A complete two-dimensional relationship between the radius of curvature of the mirror and the applied voltage is derived. The accuracy of this relationship is studied by comparing the figures calculated by the relationship and Finite Element Analysis. The influences of several critical parameters in the relationship on the radius of curvature are analyzed. It is found that piezoelectric coefficient d31 is the main material property parameter that dominates the radius of curvature, and that the optimal thickness of PZT plate corresponding to largest bending range is 2.5 times of that of faceplate. It is demonstrated that the relationship is helpful for us to complete the primary design of the x-ray mirror made from piezoelectric bimorph.

Structural Origins of Silk Piezoelectricity.

Science.gov (United States)

Yucel, Tuna; Cebe, Peggy; Kaplan, David L

2011-02-22

Uniaxially oriented, piezoelectric silk films were prepared by a two-step method that involved: (1) air drying aqueous, regenerated silk fibroin solutions into films, and (2) drawing the silk films to a desired draw ratio. The utility of two different drawing techniques, zone drawing and water immersion drawing were investigated for processing the silk for piezoelectric studies. Silk films zone drawn to a ratio of λ= 2.7 displayed relatively high dynamic shear piezoelectric coefficients of d(14) = -1.5 pC/N, corresponding to over two orders of magnitude increase in d(14) due to film drawing. A strong correlation was observed between the increase in the silk II, β-sheet content with increasing draw ratio measured by FTIR spectroscopy (C(β)∝ e(2.5) (λ)), the concomitant increasing degree of orientation of β-sheet crystals detected via WAXD (FWHM = 0.22° for λ= 2.7), and the improvement in silk piezoelectricity (d(14)∝ e(2.4) (λ)). Water immersion drawing led to a predominantly silk I structure with a low degree of orientation (FWHM = 75°) and a much weaker piezoelectric response compared to zone drawing. Similarly, increasing the β-sheet crystallinity without inducing crystal alignment, e.g. by methanol treatment, did not result in a significant enhancement of silk piezoelectricity. Overall, a combination of a high degree of silk II, β-sheet crystallinity and crystalline orientation are prerequisites for a strong piezoelectric effect in silk. Further understanding of the structural origins of silk piezoelectricity will provide important options for future biotechnological and biomedical applications of this protein.

Piezoelectric MEMS: Ferroelectric thin films for MEMS applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kanno, Isaku

2018-04-01

In recent years, piezoelectric microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have attracted attention as next-generation functional microdevices. Typical applications of piezoelectric MEMS are micropumps for inkjet heads or micro-gyrosensors, which are composed of piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films and have already been commercialized. In addition, piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs), which are regarded as one of the key devices for Internet of Things (IoT)-related technologies, are promising future applications of piezoelectric MEMS. Significant features of piezoelectric MEMS are their simple structure and high energy conversion efficiency between mechanical and electrical domains even on the microscale. The device performance strongly depends on the function of the piezoelectric thin films, especially on their transverse piezoelectric properties, indicating that the deposition of high-quality piezoelectric thin films is a crucial technology for piezoelectric MEMS. On the other hand, although the difficulty in measuring the precise piezoelectric coefficients of thin films is a serious obstacle in the research and development of piezoelectric thin films, a simple unimorph cantilever measurement method has been proposed to obtain precise values of the direct or converse transverse piezoelectric coefficient of thin films, and recently this method has become to be the standardized testing method. In this article, I will introduce fundamental technologies of piezoelectric thin films and related microdevices, especially focusing on the deposition of PZT thin films and evaluation methods for their transverse piezoelectric properties.

Performance of Integrated Fiber Optic, Piezoelectric, and Shape Memory Alloy Actuators/Sensors in Thermoset Composites

Science.gov (United States)

Trottier, C. Michael

1996-01-01

Recently, scientists and engineers have investigated the advantages of smart materials and structures by including actuators in material systems for controlling and altering the response of structural environments. Applications of these materials systems include vibration suppression/isolation, precision positioning, damage detection and tunable devices. Some of the embedded materials being investigated for accomplishing these tasks include piezoelectric ceramics, shape memory alloys, and fiber optics. These materials have some benefits and some shortcomings; each is being studied for use in active material design in the SPICES (Synthesis and Processing of Intelligent Cost Effective Structures) Consortium. The focus of this paper concerns the manufacturing aspects of smart structures by incorporating piezoelectric ceramics, shape memory alloys and fiber optics in a reinforced thermoset matrix via resin transfer molding (RTM).

Miniature Piezoelectric Macro-Mass Balance

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrit, Stewart; Trebi-Ollennu, Ashitey; Bonitz, Robert G.; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph

2010-01-01

Mass balances usually use a strain gauge that requires an impedance measurement and is susceptible to noise and thermal drift. A piezoelectric balance can be used to measure mass directly by monitoring the voltage developed across the piezoelectric balance, which is linear with weight or it can be used in resonance to produce a frequency change proportional to the mass change (see figure). The piezoelectric actuator/balance is swept in frequency through its fundamental resonance. If a small mass is added to the balance, the resonance frequency shifts down in proportion to the mass. By monitoring the frequency shift, the mass can be determined. This design allows for two independent measurements of mass. Additionally, more than one sample can be verified because this invention allows for each sample to be transported away from the measuring device upon completion of the measurement, if required. A piezoelectric actuator, or many piezoelectric actuators, was placed between the collection plate of the sampling system and the support structure. As the sample mass is added to the plate, the piezoelectrics are stressed, causing them to produce a voltage that is proportional to the mass and acceleration. In addition, a change in mass delta m produces a change in the resonance frequency with delta f proportional to delta m. In a microgravity environment, the spacecraft could be accelerated to produce a force on the piezoelectric actuator that would produce a voltage proportional to the mass and acceleration. Alternatively, the acceleration could be used to force the mass on the plate, and the inertial effects of the mass on the plate would produce a shift in the resonance frequency with the change in frequency related to the mass change. Three prototypes of the mass balance mechanism were developed. These macro-mass balances each consist of a solid base and an APA 60 Cedrat flextensional piezoelectric actuator supporting a measuring plate. A similar structure with 3 APA

Analytical, numerical, and experimental studies of viscoelastic effects on the performance of soft piezoelectric nanocomposites.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jing; Zhu, Zhiren; Fang, Lichen; Guo, Shu; Erturun, Ugur; Zhu, Zeyu; West, James E; Ghosh, Somnath; Kang, Sung Hoon

2017-09-28

Piezoelectric composite (p-NC) made of a polymeric matrix and piezoelectric nanoparticles with conductive additives is an attractive material for many applications. As the matrix of p-NC is made of viscoelastic materials, both elastic and viscous characteristics of the matrix are expected to contribute to the piezoelectric response of p-NC. However, there is limited understanding of how viscoelasticity influences the piezoelectric performance of p-NC. Here we combined analytical and numerical analyses with experimental studies to investigate effects of viscoelasticity on piezoelectric performance of p-NC. The viscoelastic properties of synthesized p-NCs were controlled by changing the ratio between monomer and cross-linker of the polymer matrix. We found good agreement between our analytical models and experimental results for both quasi-static and dynamic loadings. It is found that, under quasi-static loading conditions, the piezoelectric coefficients (d 33 ) of the specimen with the lowest Young's modulus (∼0.45 MPa at 5% strain) were ∼120 pC N -1 , while the one with the highest Young's modulus (∼1.3 MPa at 5% strain) were ∼62 pC N -1 . The results suggest that softer matrices enhance the energy harvesting performance because they can result in larger deformation for a given load. Moreover, from our theoretical analysis and experiments under dynamic loading conditions, we found the viscous modulus of a matrix is also important for piezoelectric performance. For instance, at 40 Hz and 50 Hz the storage moduli of the softest specimen were ∼0.625 MPa and ∼0.485 MPa, while the loss moduli were ∼0.108 MPa and ∼0.151 MPa, respectively. As piezocomposites with less viscous loss can transfer mechanical energy to piezoelectric particles more efficiently, the dynamic piezoelectric coefficient (d' 33 ) measured at 40 Hz (∼53 pC N -1 ) was larger than that at 50 Hz (∼47 pC N -1 ) though it has a larger storage modulus. As an application of our findings

Gust load alleviation wind tunnel tests of a large-aspect-ratio flexible wing with piezoelectric control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ying Bi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available An active control technique utilizing piezoelectric actuators to alleviate gust-response loads of a large-aspect-ratio flexible wing is investigated. Piezoelectric materials have been extensively used for active vibration control of engineering structures. In this paper, piezoelectric materials further attempt to suppress the vibration of the aeroelastic wing caused by gust. The motion equation of the flexible wing with piezoelectric patches is obtained by Hamilton’s principle with the modal approach, and then numerical gust responses are analyzed, based on which a gust load alleviation (GLA control system is proposed. The gust load alleviation system employs classic proportional-integral-derivative (PID controllers which treat piezoelectric patches as control actuators and acceleration as the feedback signal. By a numerical method, the control mechanism that piezoelectric actuators can be used to alleviate gust-response loads is also analyzed qualitatively. Furthermore, through low-speed wind tunnel tests, the effectiveness of the gust load alleviation active control technology is validated. The test results agree well with the numerical results. Test results show that at a certain frequency range, the control scheme can effectively alleviate the z and x wingtip accelerations and the root bending moment of the wing to a certain extent. The control system gives satisfying gust load alleviation efficacy with the reduction rate being generally over 20%.

JOINT RIGIDITY ASSESSMENT WITH PIEZOELECTRIC WAFERS AND ACOUSTIC WAVES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montoya, Angela C.; Maji, Arup K.

2010-01-01

There has been an interest in the development of rapid deployment satellites. In a modular satellite design, different panels of specific functions can be pre-manufactured. The satellite can then be assembled and tested just prior to deployment. Traditional vibration testing is time-consuming and expensive. An alternative test method to evaluate the connection between two plates will be proposed. The method investigated and described employs piezoelectric wafers to induce and sense lamb waves in two aluminum plates, which were joined by steel brackets to form an 'L-Style' joint. Lamb wave behavior and piezoelectric material properties will be discussed; the experimental setup and results will be presented. A set of 4 piezoelectric ceramic wafers were used alternately as source and sensor. The energy transmitted was shown to correlate with a mechanical assessment of the joint, demonstrating that this method of testing is a feasible and reliable way to inspect the rigidity of joints.

Elastic properties of spherically anisotropic piezoelectric composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

En-Bo, Wei; Guo-Qing, Gu; Ying-Ming, Poon

2010-01-01

Effective elastic properties of spherically anisotropic piezoelectric composites, whose spherically anisotropic piezoelectric inclusions are embedded in an infinite non-piezoelectric matrix, are theoretically investigated. Analytical solutions for the elastic displacements and the electric potentials under a uniform external strain are derived exactly. Taking into account of the coupling effects of elasticity, permittivity and piezoelectricity, the formula is derived for estimating the effective elastic properties based on the average field theory in the dilute limit. An elastic response mechanism is revealed, in which the effective elastic properties increase as inclusion piezoelectric properties increase and inclusion dielectric properties decrease. Moreover, a piezoelectric response mechanism, of which the effective piezoelectric response vanishes due to the symmetry of spherically anisotropic composite, is also disclosed. (condensed matter: structure, thermal and mechanical properties)

Piezoelectric touch-sensitive flexible hybrid energy harvesting nanoarchitectures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Dukhyun; Kim, Eok Su; Kim, Tae Sang; Lee, Sang Yoon; Choi, Jae-Young; Kim, Jong Min; Lee, Keun Young; Lee, Kang Hyuck; Kim, Sang-Woo

2010-01-01

In this work, we report a flexible hybrid nanoarchitecture that can be utilized as both an energy harvester and a touch sensor on a single platform without any cross-talk problems. Based on the electron transport and piezoelectric properties of a zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructured thin film, a hybrid cell was designed and the total thickness was below 500 nm on a plastic substrate. Piezoelectric touch signals were demonstrated under independent and simultaneous operations with respect to photo-induced charges. Different levels of piezoelectric output signals from different magnitudes of touching pressures suggest new user-interface functions from our hybrid cell. From a signal controller, the decoupled performance of a hybrid cell as an energy harvester and a touch sensor was confirmed. Our hybrid approach does not require additional assembly processes for such multiplex systems of an energy harvester and a touch sensor since we utilize the coupled material properties of ZnO and output signal processing. Furthermore, the hybrid cell can provide a multi-type energy harvester by both solar and mechanical touching energies.

Electrostrain in excess of 1% in polycrystalline piezoelectrics

Science.gov (United States)

Narayan, Bastola; Malhotra, Jaskaran Singh; Pandey, Rishikesh; Yaddanapudi, Krishna; Nukala, Pavan; Dkhil, Brahim; Senyshyn, Anatoliy; Ranjan, Rajeev

2018-05-01

Piezoelectric actuators transform electrical energy into mechanical energy, and because of their compactness, quick response time and accurate displacement, they are sought after in many applications. Polycrystalline piezoelectric ceramics are technologically more appealing than single crystals due to their simpler and less expensive processing, but have yet to display electrostrain values that exceed 1%. Here we report a material design strategy wherein the efficient switching of ferroelectric-ferroelastic domains by an electric field is exploited to achieve a high electrostrain value of 1.3% in a pseudo-ternary ferroelectric alloy system, BiFeO3-PbTiO3-LaFeO3. Detailed structural investigations reveal that this electrostrain is associated with a combination of several factors: a large spontaneous lattice strain of the piezoelectric phase, domain miniaturization, a low-symmetry ferroelectric phase and a very large reverse switching of the non-180° domains. This insight for the design of a new class of polycrystalline piezoceramics with high electrostrains may be useful to develop alternatives to costly single-crystal actuators.

The giant piezoelectric effect: electric field induced monoclinic phase or piezoelectric distortion of the rhombohedral parent?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisi, E H; Piltz, R O; Forrester, J S; Howard, C J

2003-01-01

Lead zinc niobate-lead titanate (PZN-PT) single crystals show very large piezoelectric strains for electric fields applied along the unit cell edges e.g. [001] R . It has been widely reported that this effect is caused by an electric field induced phase transition from rhombohedral (R3m) to monoclinic (Cm or Pm) symmetry in an essentially continuous manner. Group theoretical analysis using the computer program ISOTROPY indicates phase transitions between R3m and Cm (or Pm) must be discontinuous under Landau theory. An analysis of the symmetry of a strained unit cell in R3m and a simple expansion of the piezoelectric strain equation indicate that the piezoelectric distortion due to an electric field along a cell edge in rhombohedral perovskite-based ferroelectrics is intrinsically monoclinic (Cm), even for infinitesimal electric fields. PZN-PT crystals have up to nine times the elastic compliance of other piezoelectric perovskites and it might be expected that the piezoelectric strains are also very large. A field induced phase transition is therefore indistinguishable from the piezoelectric distortion and is neither sufficient nor necessary to understand the large piezoelectric response of PZN-PT

Subperiosteal preparation using a new piezoelectric device: a histological examination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stoetzer, Marcus

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Subperiosteal preparation using a periosteal elevator leads to disturbances of local immunohistochemistry and periosteal histology due to a microtrauma. Usually soft-tissue damage can be considerably reduced by using piezoelectric technology. For this reason, the effects of a novel piezoelectric device on immunohistochemistry and periosteal histology were examined and compared to conventional preparation of the periosteum using a periosteal elevator.Material and methods: Lewis rats were randomly assigned to one of five groups (n=50. Subperiosteal preparation was performed using either a piezoelectric device or a periosteal elevator. Immunohistochemical and histological analyses were performed immediately after preparation as well as three and eight days postoperatively. A statistical analysis of the histological colouring was performed offline using analysis of variance (ANOVA on ranks (p<0.05. Results: At all times, immunohistochemical and histological analysis demonstrated a significantly more homogenous tissue structure in the group of rats that underwent piezosurgery than in the group of rats that underwent treatment with a periosteal elevator.Conclusion: The use of a piezoelectric device for subperiosteal preparation is associated with more harmonious immunohistochemical and histological results for the periosteum than the use of a conventional periosteal elevator. As a result, piezoelectric devices can be expected to have a positive effect primarily on soft tissue, in particular of the periosteal as well as on surrounding tissues.

AlN piezoelectric films for sensing and actuation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tran, A.T.

2014-01-01

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) is explored as a thin film material for piezoelectric MEMS applications. A pulse DC reactive sputtering technique is used to deposit the AlN thin films and process parameters are optimized to obtain good crystallinity and high c-axis orientation films. A CMOS compatible

The significance of temperature dependence on the piezoelectric energy harvesting by using a phononic crystal

Science.gov (United States)

Aly, Arafa H.; Nagaty, Ahmed; Khalifa, Zaki; Mehaney, Ahmed

2018-05-01

In this study, an acoustic energy harvester based on a two-dimensional phononic crystal has been constructed. The present structure consists of silicon cylinders in the air background with a polyvinylidene fluoride cylinder as a defect to confine the acoustic energy. The presented energy harvester depends on the piezoelectric effect (using the piezoelectric material polyvinylidene fluoride) that converts the confined acoustic energy to electric energy. The maximum output voltage obtained equals 170 mV. Moreover, the results revealed that the output voltage can be increased with increasing temperature. In addition, the effects of the load resistance and the geometry of the piezoelectric material on the output voltage have been studied theoretically. Based on these results, all previous studies about energy harvesting in phononic structures must take temperature effects into account.

Piezoelectric Response Evaluation of ZnO Thin Film Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng Da-Long

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The most important parameter of piezoelectric materials is piezoelectric coefficient (d33. In this study, the piezoelectric ZnO thin films were deposited on the SiNx/Si substrate. The 4 inches substrate is diced into 8 cm× 8 cm piece. During the deposition process, a zinc target (99.999 wt% of 2 inches diameter was used. The vertical distance between the target and the substrate holder was fixed at 5 cm. The piezoelectric response of zinc oxide (ZnO thin films were obtained by using a direct measurement system. The system adopts a mini impact tip to generate an impulsive force and read out the piezoelectric signals immediately. Experimentally, a servo motor is used to produce a fixed quantity of force, for giving an impact against to the piezoelectric film. The ZnO thin films were deposited using the reactive radio frequency (RF magnetron sputtering method. The electric charges should be generated because of the material’s extrusion. This phenomenon was investigated through the oscilloscope by one shot trigger. It was apparent that all ZnO films exhibit piezoelectric responses evaluated by our measurement system, however, its exhibit a significant discrepancy. The piezoelectric responses of ZnO thin film at various deposition positions were measured and the crystal structures of the sputtering pressure were also discussed. The crystalline characteristics of ZnO thin films are investigated through the XRD and SEM. The results show the ZnO thin film exhibits good crystalline pattern and surface morphology with controlled sputtering condition. The ZnO thin films sputtered using 2 inches target present various piezoelectric responses. With the exactly related position, a best piezoelectric response of ZnO thin film can be achieved.

Piezoelectric Transformer Characterization and Application of Electronic Ballast