Sample records for advanced piezoelectric materials

  1. Advances in Lead-Free Piezoelectric Materials for Sensors and Actuators

    PubMed Central

    Aksel, Elena; Jones, Jacob L.

    2010-01-01

    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). Due to 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. PMID:22294907

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

    PubMed Central

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

    2010-01-01

    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. PMID:28883375

  3. 1D Piezoelectric Material Based Nanogenerators: Methods, Materials and Property Optimization

    PubMed Central

    Li, Xing; Sun, Mei; Wei, Xianlong; Shan, Chongxin

    2018-01-01

    Due to the enhanced piezoelectric properties, excellent mechanical properties and tunable electric properties, one-dimensional (1D) piezoelectric materials have shown their promising applications in nanogenerators (NG), sensors, actuators, electronic devices etc. To present a clear view about 1D piezoelectric materials, this review mainly focuses on the characterization and optimization of the piezoelectric properties of 1D nanomaterials, including semiconducting nanowires (NWs) with wurtzite and/or zinc blend phases, perovskite NWs and 1D polymers. Specifically, the piezoelectric coefficients, performance of single NW-based NG and structure-dependent electromechanical properties of 1D nanostructured materials can be respectively investigated through piezoresponse force microscopy, atomic force microscopy and the in-situ scanning/transmission electron microcopy. Along with the introduction of the mechanism and piezoelectric properties of 1D semiconductor, perovskite materials and polymers, their performance improvement strategies are summarized from the view of microstructures, including size-effect, crystal structure, orientation and defects. Finally, the extension of 1D piezoelectric materials in field effect transistors and optoelectronic devices are simply introduced. PMID:29570639

  4. Piezoelectric materials as stimulatory biomedical materials and scaffolds for bone repair.

    PubMed

    Tandon, Biranche; Blaker, Jonny J; Cartmell, Sarah H

    2018-04-16

    The process of bone repair and regeneration requires multiple physiological cues including biochemical, electrical and mechanical - that act together to ensure functional recovery. Myriad materials have been explored as bioactive scaffolds to deliver these cues locally to the damage site, amongst these piezoelectric materials have demonstrated significant potential for tissue engineering and regeneration, especially for bone repair. Piezoelectric materials have been widely explored for power generation and harvesting, structural health monitoring, and use in biomedical devices. They have the ability to deform with physiological movements and consequently deliver electrical stimulation to cells or damaged tissue without the need of an external power source. Bone itself is piezoelectric and the charges/potentials it generates in response to mechanical activity are capable of enhancing bone growth. Piezoelectric materials are capable of stimulating the physiological electrical microenvironment, and can play a vital role to stimulate regeneration and repair. This review gives an overview of the association of piezoelectric effect with bone repair, and focuses on state-of-the-art piezoelectric materials (polymers, ceramics and their composites), the fabrication routes to produce piezoelectric scaffolds, and their application in bone repair. Important characteristics of these materials from the perspective of bone tissue engineering are highlighted. Promising upcoming strategies and new piezoelectric materials for this application are presented. Electrical stimulation/electrical microenvironment are known effect the process of bone regeneration by altering the cellular response and are crucial in maintaining tissue functionality. Piezoelectric materials, owing to their capability of generating charges/potentials in response to mechanical deformations, have displayed great potential for fabricating smart stimulatory scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. The growing

  5. Peculiar Piezoelectricity in Two-Dimensional Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sevik, Cem; Cakir, Deniz; Gulseren, Oguz; Peeters, Francois M.

    Recently, two dimensional materials with noncentrosymmetric structure have received significant interest due to their potential usage in piezoelectric applications. It has been reported by first principles calculations that relaxed-ion piezoelectric strain (d11) and stress (e11) coefficients of some transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) monolayers are comparable or even better than that of conventional bulk piezoelectric materials. Furthermore, e11 coefficient of MoS2 has been measured as 2.9 .10-10 C/m, which agrees well with the theoretical calculations. In order to deeply investigate this potential, we have performed first-principles calculations and systematically investigated the piezoelectric properties of various single layer structures: TMDCs, transition metal oxides, and hexagonal group II-VI compounds. The results clearly show that not only the Mo- and W-based TMDCs but also the other materials with Cr, Ti, Zr and Sn exhibit highly promising piezoelectric properties. Moreover, d11coefficient of some II-VI compounds have been predicted as quite larger than that of TMDCs and the bulk materials, α-quartz, w-GaN, and w-AlN which are widely used in applications.

  6. Computational and Experimental Insight Into Single-Molecule Piezoelectric Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marvin, Christopher Wayne

    Piezoelectric materials allow for the harvesting of ambient waste energy from the environment. Producing lightweight, highly responsive materials is a challenge for this type of material, requiring polymer, foam, or bio-inspired materials. In this dissertation, I explore the origin of the piezoelectric effect in single molecules through density functional theory (DFT), analyze the piezoresponse of bio-inspired peptidic materials through the use of atomic and piezoresponse force microscopy (AFM and PFM), and develop a novel class of materials combining flexible polyurethane foams and non-piezoelectric, polar dopants. For the DFT calculations, functional group, regiochemical, and heteroatom derivatives of [6]helicene were examined for their influence on the piezoelectric response. An aza[6]helicene derivative was found to have a piezoelectric response (108 pm/V) comparable to ceramics such as lead zirconium titanate (200+ pm/V). These computed materials have the possibility to compete with current field-leading piezomaterials such as lead zirconium titanate (PZT), zinc oxide (ZnO), and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) and its derivatives. The use of AFM/PFM allows for the demonstration of the piezoelectric effect of the selfassembled monolayer (SAM) peptidic systems. Through PFM, the influence that the helicity and sequence of the peptide has on the overall response of the molecule can be analyzed. Finally, development of a novel class of piezoelectrics, the foam-based materials, expands the current understanding of the qualities required for a piezoelectric material from ceramic and rigid materials to more flexible, organic materials. Through the exploration of these novel types of piezoelectric materials, new design rules and figures of merit have been developed.

  7. Applications of piezoelectric materials in oilfield services.

    PubMed

    Goujon, Nicolas; Hori, Hiroshi; Liang, Kenneth K; Sinha, Bikash K

    2012-09-01

    Piezoelectric materials are used in many applications in the oilfield services industry. Four illustrative examples are given in this paper: marine seismic survey, precision pressure measurement, sonic logging-while-drilling, and ultrasonic bore-hole imaging. In marine seismics, piezoelectric hydrophones are deployed on a massive scale in a relatively benign environment. Hence, unit cost and device reliability are major considerations. The remaining three applications take place downhole in a characteristically harsh environment with high temperature and high pressure among other factors. The number of piezoelectric devices involved is generally small but otherwise highly valued. The selection of piezoelectric materials is limited, and the devices have to be engineered to withstand the operating conditions. With the global demand for energy increasing in the foreseeable future, the search for hydrocarbon resources is reaching into deeper and hotter wells. There is, therefore, a continuing and pressing need for high-temperature and high-coupling piezoelectric materials.

  8. Energy harvesting from low frequency applications using piezoelectric materials

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Huidong; Tian, Chuan; Deng, Z. Daniel, E-mail: zhiqun.deng@pnnl.gov

    2014-12-15

    In an effort to eliminate the replacement of the batteries of electronic devices that are difficult or impractical to service once deployed, harvesting energy from mechanical vibrations or impacts using piezoelectric materials has been researched over the last several decades. However, a majority of these applications have very low input frequencies. This presents a challenge for the researchers to optimize the energy output of piezoelectric energy harvesters, due to the relatively high elastic moduli of piezoelectric materials used to date. This paper reviews the current state of research on piezoelectric energy harvesting devices for low frequency (0–100 Hz) applications and themore » methods that have been developed to improve the power outputs of the piezoelectric energy harvesters. Various key aspects that contribute to the overall performance of a piezoelectric energy harvester are discussed, including geometries of the piezoelectric element, types of piezoelectric material used, techniques employed to match the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric element to input frequency of the host structure, and electronic circuits specifically designed for energy harvesters.« less

  9. Piezoelectric Nanoparticle-Polymer Composite Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCall, William Ray

    Herein we demonstrate that efficient piezoelectric nanoparticle-polymer composite materials can be synthesized and fabricated into complex microstructures using sugar-templating methods or optical printing techniques. Stretchable foams with excellent tunable piezoelectric properties are created by incorporating sugar grains directly into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixtures containing barium titanate (BaTiO3 -- BTO) nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), followed by removal of the sugar after polymer curing. Porosities and elasticity are tuned by simply adjusting the sugar/polymer mass ratio and the electrical performance of the foams showed a direct relationship between porosity and the piezoelectric outputs. User defined 2D and 3D optically printed piezoelectric microstructures are also fabricated by incorporating BTO nanoparticles into photoliable polymer solutions such as polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and exposing to digital optical masks that can be dynamically altered. Mechanical-to-electrical conversion efficiency of the optically printed composite is enhanced by chemically altering the surface of the BTO nanoparticles with acrylate groups which form direct covalent linkages with the polymer matrix under light exposure. Both of these novel materials should find exciting uses in a variety of applications including energy scavenging platforms, nano- and microelectromechanical systems (NEMS/MEMS), sensors, and acoustic actuators.

  10. System and Method for Monitoring Piezoelectric Material Performance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Moses, Robert W. (Inventor); Fox, Christopher L. (Inventor); Fox, Melanie L. (Inventor); Chattin, Richard L. (Inventor); Shams, Qamar A. (Inventor); Fox, Robert L. (Inventor)

    2007-01-01

    A system and method are provided for monitoring performance capacity of a piezoelectric material that may form part of an actuator or sensor device. A switch is used to selectively electrically couple an inductor to the piezoelectric material to form an inductor-capacitor circuit. Resonance is induced in the inductor-capacitor circuit when the switch is operated to create the circuit. The resonance of the inductor-capacitor circuit is monitored with the frequency of the resonance being indicative of performance capacity of the device's piezoelectric material.

  11. Mechanical and Vibration Testing of Carbon Fiber Composite Material with Embedded Piezoelectric Sensors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Duffy, Kirsten P.; Lerch, Bradley A.; Wilmoth, Nathan G.; Kray, Nicholas; Gemeinhardt, Gregory

    2012-01-01

    Piezoelectric materials have been proposed as a means of decreasing turbomachinery blade vibration either through a passive damping scheme, or as part of an active vibration control system. For polymer matrix fiber composite (PMFC) blades, the piezoelectric elements could be embedded within the blade material, protecting the brittle piezoceramic material from the airflow and from debris. Before implementation of a piezoelectric element within a PMFC blade, the effect on PMFC mechanical properties needs to be understood. This study attempts to determine how the inclusion of a packaged piezoelectric patch affects the material properties of the PMFC. Composite specimens with embedded piezoelectric patches were tested in four-point bending, short beam shear, and flatwise tension configurations. Results show that the embedded piezoelectric material does decrease the strength of the composite material, especially in flatwise tension, attributable to failure at the interface or within the piezoelectric element itself. In addition, the sensing properties of the post-cured embedded piezoelectric materials were tested, and performed as expected. The piezoelectric materials include a non-flexible patch incorporating solid piezoceramic material, and two flexible patch types incorporating piezoelectric fibers. The piezoceramic material used in these patches was Navy Type-II PZT.

  12. Novel composite piezoelectric material for energy harvesting applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Janusas, Giedrius; Guobiene, Asta; Palevicius, Arvydas; Prosycevas, Igoris; Ponelyte, Sigita; Baltrusaitis, Valentinas; Sakalys, Rokas

    2015-04-01

    Past few decades were concentrated on researches related to effective energy harvesting applied in modern technologies, MEMS or MOEMS systems. There are many methods for harvesting energy as, for example, usage of electromagnetic devices, but most dramatic changes were noticed in the usage of piezoelectric materials in small scale devices. Major limitation faced was too small generated power by piezoelectric materials or high resonant frequencies of such smallscale harvesters. In this research, novel composite piezoelectric material was created by mixing PZT powder with 20% solution of polyvinyl butyral in benzyl alcohol. Obtained paste was screen printed on copper foil using 325 mesh stainless steel screen and dried for 30 min at 100 °C. Polyvinyl butyral ensures good adhesion and flexibility of a new material at the conditions that requires strong binding. Five types of a composite piezoelectric material with different concentrations of PZT (40%, 50%, 60%, 70% and 80 %) were produced. As the results showed, these harvesters were able to transform mechanical strain energy into electric potential and, v.v. In experimental setup, electromagnetic shaker was used to excite energy harvester that is fixed in the custom-built clamp, while generated electric potential were registered with USB oscilloscope PICO 3424. The designed devices generate up to 80 μV at 50 Hz excitation. This property can be applied to power microsystem devices or to use them in portable electronics and wireless sensors. However, the main advantage of the created composite piezoelectric material is possibility to apply it on any uniform or nonuniform vibrating surface and to transform low frequency vibrations into electricity.

  13. Elastomer degradation sensor using a piezoelectric material

    DOEpatents

    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.

  14. Modeling and Application of Piezoelectric Materials in Repair of Engineering Structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Nan

    The shear horizontal wave propagation and vibration of piezoelectric coupled structures under an open circuit electrical boundary condition are studied. Following the studies on the dynamic response of piezoelectric coupled structures, the repair of both crack/notch and delaminated structures using piezoelectric materials are conducted. The main contribution was the proposed the active structural repair design using piezoelectric materials for different structures. An accurate model for the piezoelectric effect on the shear wave propagation is first proposed to guide the application of piezoelectric materials as sensors and actuators in the repair of engineering structures. A vibration analysis of a circular steel substrate surface bonded by a piezoelectric layer with open circuit is presented. The mechanical models and solutions for the wave propagation and vibration analysis of piezoelectric coupled structures are established based on the Kirchhoff plate model and Maxwell equation. Following the studies of the dynamic response of piezoelectric coupled structures, a close-loop feedback control repair methodology is proposed for a vibrating delaminated beam structure by using piezoelectric patches. The electromechanical characteristic of the piezoelectric material is employed to induce a local shear force above the delamination area via an external actuation voltage, which is designed as a feedback of the deflection of a vibrating beam and a delaminated plate, to reduce the stress singularity around the delamination tips. Furthermore, an experimental realization of an effective repair of a notched cantilever beam structure subjected to a dynamic loading by use of piezoelectric patches is reported. A small piezoelectric patch used as a sensor is placed on the notch position to monitor the severity of the stress singularity around the notch area by measuring the charge output on the sensor, and a patch used as an actuator is located around the notch area to generate

  15. Energy harvesting from low frequency applications using piezoelectric materials

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Huidong; Tian, Chuan; Deng, Z. Daniel

    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.

  16. Understanding the quasi-static thermo-electro-mechanical response of piezoelectric materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ganley, Jeffrey Mark

    2007-12-01

    Piezoelectricity describes the behavior of a class of materials which exhibit a relationship between mechanical strain and electrical field. Piezoelectric materials can be crystals (e.g. quartz), ceramic (e.g. lead-zirconate-titanate---PZT---the primary focus of the present research), or polymers (e.g. polyvinylidine-fluoride - PVDF). Piezopolymers and piezoceramics offer a significant improvement in piezoelectric properties over naturally occurring piezoelectrics like quartz. In the last five years, research in piezoelectrics has begun to change focus from the more traditional sensor/actuator applications to utilizing piezoelectric materials in energy harvesting applications. The present research will explore the very low frequency response of piezoelectrics, including several energy harvesting applications, as well as the interactions between thermal, mechanical and electrical energy in a thermally driven piezoelectric energy generation system. In Chapter 1, the history of piezoelectric research and development is given, along with an overview of piezoelectricity for those readers who are not familiar with the topic. In Chapter 2, current investigations in piezoelectric energy harvesting research are summarized. The present research, namely understanding the quasi-static thermo-electro-mechanical response of piezoelectric materials is also summarized. In addition, two applications: thermal management in a satellite and energy harvesting from a vibrating highway bridge are detailed as motivators for the present research. Chapter 3 gives a summary of the relevant piezoelectric theory. In addition, electrical circuit theory and thermodynamic heat capacity/heat energy considerations required to complete the present research are given. Chapter 4 provides a summary of the experimental testing completed during the course of the present research. Significant testing, including determination of the PZT/Aluminum substrate sample time constants, thermal calibration testing

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

    PubMed

    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.

  18. Piezoelectricity in two dimensions: Graphene vs. molybdenum disulfide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  19. Piezoelectrically-induced trap-depth reduction model of elastico-mechanoluminescent materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandra, B. P.; Chandra, V. K.; Jha, Piyush

    2015-03-01

    Considering the detrapping of charge carriers due to reduction in trap-depth caused by piezoelectric field produced by applied pressure, an expression is derived for the detrapping rate of electrons. Then, an expression is obtained for the rate of generation of excited ions produced during capture of detrapped electrons by Eu3+ ions in persistent luminescent materials or by the energy released during electron-hole recombination in ZnS:Mn crystals. Finally, an expression is explored for the elastico-mechanoluminescence (EML) intensity, which is able to explain satisfactorily the characteristics of EML for the application of static pressure as well as for impact pressure. The total number of detrapped electrons and the total EML intensity are found to increase linearly with the electrostatic energy of the crystals in piezoelectric field. It is shown that the EML intensity should increase with the EML efficiency, number of crystallites (volume of sample), concentration of local piezoelectric regions in crystallites, piezoelectric constant of local piezoelectric regions, average length of the local piezoelectric regions, total number of electron traps, pressing rate, and applied pressure, and it should be higher for the materials having low value of threshold pressure and low value of trap-depth in unstressed condition. On the basis of the piezoelectrically-induced trap-depth reduction model of EML reported in the present investigation novel intense elastico mechanoluminescent materials having repetitive EML with undiminished intensity for successive loadings can be tailored which may find applications in sensing, imaging, lighting, colored displays, and other mechano-optical devices.

  20. Magnetic sensor for high temperature using a laminate composite of magnetostrictive material and piezoelectric material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ueno, Toshiyuki; Higuchi, Toshiro

    2005-05-01

    A high sensitive and heat-resistive magnetic sensor using a magnetostrictive/piezoelectric laminate composite is investigated. The sensing principle is based on the magnetostrictive- and piezoelectric effect, whereby a detected yoke displacement is transduced into a voltage on the piezoelectric materials. The sensor is intended to detect the displacement of a ferromagnetic object in a high temperature environment, where conventional magnetic sensors are not useful. Such applications include sensors in engine of automobile and machinery used in material processing. The sensor features combination of a laminate composite of magnetostrictive/piezoelectric materials with high Curie temperatures and an appropriate magnetic circuit to convert mechanical displacement to sensor voltages and suppress temperature fluctuation. This paper describes the sensing principle and shows experimental results using a composite of Terfenol-D and Lithium Niobate to assure high sensitivity of 50V/mm at bias gap of 0.1mm and a temperature operating range over 200 °C.

  1. Optimal Design of Piezoelectric Materials for Maximal Energy Harvesting

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-06-01

    Wright. . 22 Figure 3.1 Energy harvesting bimorph cantilever with distributed piezoelectric transducers (gray) bonded to a substrate ( white ). Adapted...certain materials, such as zinc blende, sodium chlorate, boracite, tourmaline, cane sugar, Rochelle salt, and quartz, mechanical stresses induce...cantilever with distributed piezoelectric transducers (gray) bonded to a substrate ( white ). Adapted from Dutoit, Wardle and Kim [16]. 25 The general equations

  2. Giant piezoelectric voltage coefficient in grain-oriented modified PbTiO 3 material

    DOE PAGES

    Yan, Yongke; Zhou, Jie E.; Maurya, Deepam; ...

    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% <001> 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 duemore » to grain orientation along the spontaneous polarization direction plays an important role in achieving large piezoelectric response in a domain motion-confined material. Finally, 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 ε 33 in [001]-textured PbTiO 3 ceramics where domain wall motions are absent.« less

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

    PubMed Central

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

    2016-01-01

    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 (Tc) are crucial towards providing desired performance for sensing, especially under harsh environmental conditions. Here, we report a grain-oriented (with 95% <001> texture) modified PbTiO3 ceramic that has a high Tc (364 °C) and an extremely large g33 (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 g33 originates from maximized piezoelectric strain coefficient d33 and minimized dielectric permittivity ɛ33 in [001]-textured PbTiO3 ceramics where domain wall motions are absent. PMID:27725634

  4. A database to enable discovery and design of piezoelectric materials

    PubMed Central

    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

  5. The Effect of Temperature Dependent Material Nonlinearities on the Response of Piezoelectric Composite Plates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Ho-Jun; Saravanos, Dimitris A.

    1997-01-01

    Previously developed analytical formulations for piezoelectric composite plates are extended to account for the nonlinear effects of temperature on material properties. The temperature dependence of the composite and piezoelectric properties are represented at the material level through the thermopiezoelectric constitutive equations. In addition to capturing thermal effects from temperature dependent material properties, this formulation also accounts for thermal effects arising from: (1) coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between the various composite and piezoelectric plies and (2) pyroelectric effects on the piezoelectric material. The constitutive equations are incorporated into a layerwise laminate theory to provide a unified representation of the coupled mechanical, electrical, and thermal behavior of smart structures. Corresponding finite element equations are derived and implemented for a bilinear plate element with the inherent capability to model both the active and sensory response of piezoelectric composite laminates. Numerical studies are conducted on a simply supported composite plate with attached piezoceramic patches under thermal gradients to investigate the nonlinear effects of material property temperature dependence on the displacements, sensory voltages, active voltages required to minimize thermal deflections, and the resultant stress states.

  6. Analysis of the axisymmetric indentation of a semi-infinite piezoelectric material: The evaluation of the contact stiffness and the effective piezoelectric constant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Fuqian

    2008-04-01

    A general solution of the axisymmetric indentation is obtained in the closed form for a semi-infinite, transverse isotropic piezoelectric material by a rigid-conducting indenter of arbitrary-axisymmetric profile. Explicit relationships are derived for dependences of the indentation depth and the indentation-induced charge on indentation force and applied electrical potential. Simple formulas are obtained for contact stiffness and effective piezoelectric constant, which can be used in indentation test and piezoresponse force microscopy to analyze the elastic and piezoelectric responses of piezoelectric materials. Depending on the direction of electric field (the potential difference), the electric field can either increase or suppress indentation deformation. The corresponding results are given for cylindrical, conical, and paraboloidal indenters.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    PubMed Central

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

    2016-01-01

    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. PMID:28787872

  11. Bismuth Sodium Titanate Based Materials for Piezoelectric Actuators

    PubMed Central

    Reichmann, Klaus; Feteira, Antonio; Li, Ming

    2015-01-01

    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. PMID:28793724

  12. Periodical Microstructures Based on Novel Piezoelectric Material for Biomedical Applications.

    PubMed

    Janusas, Giedrius; Ponelyte, Sigita; Brunius, Alfredas; Guobiene, Asta; Prosycevas, Igoris; Vilkauskas, Andrius; Palevicius, Arvydas

    2015-12-15

    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.

  13. Large field-induced strains in a lead-free piezoelectric material.

    PubMed

    Zhang, J X; Xiang, B; He, Q; Seidel, J; Zeches, R J; Yu, P; Yang, S Y; Wang, C H; Chu, Y-H; Martin, L W; Minor, A M; Ramesh, R

    2011-02-01

    Piezoelectric materials exhibit a mechanical response to electrical inputs, as well as an electrical response to mechanical inputs, which makes them useful in sensors and actuators. Lead-based piezoelectrics demonstrate a large mechanical response, but they also pose a health risk. The ferroelectric BiFeO(3) is an attractive alternative because it is lead-free, and because strain can stabilize BiFeO(3) phases with a structure that resembles a morphotropic phase boundary. Here we report a reversible electric-field-induced strain of over 5% in BiFeO(3) films, together with a characterization of the origins of this effect. In situ transmission electron microscopy coupled with nanoscale electrical and mechanical probing shows that large strains result from moving the boundaries between tetragonal- and rhombohedral-like phases, which changes the phase stability of the mixture. These results demonstrate the potential of BiFeO(3) as a substitute for lead-based materials in future piezoelectric applications.

  14. Piezoelectric Polymers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Harrison, J. S.; Ounaies, Z.; Bushnell, Dennis M. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this review is to detail the current theoretical understanding of the origin of piezoelectric and ferroelectric phenomena in polymers; to present the state-of-the-art in piezoelectric polymers and emerging material systems that exhibit promising properties; and to discuss key characterization methods, fundamental modeling approaches, and applications of piezoelectric polymers. Piezoelectric polymers have been known to exist for more than forty years, but in recent years they have gained notoriety as a valuable class of smart materials.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  17. Integration of bulk piezoelectric materials into microsystems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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 <7mW power consumption. The close match between test data and simulation results suggests that the piezoelectric properties of bulk-PZT5A are mostly preserved without any necessity of repolarization. Three generations of resonant vibration energy harvesters are designed, simulated and fabricated to demonstrate the competitive performance of the new fabrication process over traditional piezoelectric deposition systems. An unpackaged PZT/Si unimorph harvester with 27mm3 active device volume produces up to 205microW at 1.5g/154Hz. The prototypes have achieved the highest figure-of-merits (normalized

  18. Identification of material constants for piezoelectric transformers by three-dimensional, finite-element method and a design-sensitivity method.

    PubMed

    Joo, Hyun-Woo; Lee, Chang-Hwan; Rho, Jong-Seok; Jung, Hyun-Kyo

    2003-08-01

    In this paper, an inversion scheme for piezoelectric constants of piezoelectric transformers is proposed. The impedance of piezoelectric transducers is calculated using a three-dimensional finite element method. The validity of this is confirmed experimentally. The effects of material coefficients on piezoelectric transformers are investigated numerically. Six material coefficient variables for piezoelectric transformers were selected, and a design sensitivity method was adopted as an inversion scheme. The validity of the proposed method was confirmed by step-up ratio calculations. The proposed method is applied to the analysis of a sample piezoelectric transformer, and its resonance characteristics are obtained by numerically combined equivalent circuit method.

  19. Piezoelectric step-motion actuator

    DOEpatents

    Mentesana,; Charles, P [Leawood, KS

    2006-10-10

    A step-motion actuator using piezoelectric material to launch a flight mass which, in turn, actuates a drive pawl to progressively engage and drive a toothed wheel or rod to accomplish stepped motion. Thus, the piezoelectric material converts electrical energy into kinetic energy of the mass, and the drive pawl and toothed wheel or rod convert the kinetic energy of the mass into the desired rotary or linear stepped motion. A compression frame may be secured about the piezoelectric element and adapted to pre-compress the piezoelectric material so as to reduce tensile loads thereon. A return spring may be used to return the mass to its resting position against the compression frame or piezoelectric material following launch. Alternative embodiment are possible, including an alternative first embodiment wherein two masses are launched in substantially different directions, and an alternative second embodiment wherein the mass is eliminated in favor of the piezoelectric material launching itself.

  20. Computational Modeling of Piezoelectric Foams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Challagulla, K. S.; Venkatesh, T. A.

    2013-02-01

    Piezoelectric materials, by virtue of their unique electromechanical characteristics, have been recognized for their potential utility in many applications as sensors and actuators. However, the sensing or actuating functionality of monolithic piezoelectric materials is generally limited. The composite approach to piezoelectric materials provides a unique opportunity to access a new design space with optimal mechanical and coupled characteristics. The properties of monolithic piezoelectric materials can be enhanced via the additive approach by adding two or more constituents to create several types of piezoelectric composites or via the subtractive approach by introducing controlled porosity in the matrix materials to create porous piezoelectric materials. Such porous piezoelectrics can be tailored to demonstrate improved signal-to-noise ratio, impedance matching, and sensitivity, and thus, they can be optimized for applications such as hydrophone devices. This article captures key results from the recent developments in the field of computational modeling of novel piezoelectric foam structures. It is demonstrated that the fundamental elastic, dielectric, and piezoelectric properties of piezoelectric foam are strongly dependent on the internal structure of the foams and the material volume fraction. The highest piezoelectric coupling constants and the highest acoustic impedance are obtained in the [3-3] interconnect-free piezoelectric foam structures, while the corresponding figures of merit for the [3-1] type long-porous structure are marginally higher. Among the [3-3] type foam structures, the sparsely-packed foam structures (with longer and thicker interconnects) display higher coupling constants and acoustic impedance as compared to closepacked foam structures (with shorter and thinner interconnects). The piezoelectric charge coefficients ( d h), the hydrostatic voltage coefficients ( g h), and the hydrostatic figures of merit ( d hgh) are observed to be

  1. New piezoelectric materials for SAW filters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  2. Virus-based piezoelectric energy generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Byung Yang; Zhang, Jinxing; Zueger, Chris; Chung, Woo-Jae; Yoo, So Young; Wang, Eddie; Meyer, Joel; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Lee, Seung-Wuk

    2012-06-01

    Piezoelectric materials can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, and piezoelectric devices made of a variety of inorganic materials and organic polymers have been demonstrated. However, synthesizing such materials often requires toxic starting compounds, harsh conditions and/or complex procedures. Previously, it was shown that hierarchically organized natural materials such as bones, collagen fibrils and peptide nanotubes can display piezoelectric properties. Here, we demonstrate that the piezoelectric and liquid-crystalline properties of M13 bacteriophage (phage) can be used to generate electrical energy. Using piezoresponse force microscopy, we characterize the structure-dependent piezoelectric properties of the phage at the molecular level. We then show that self-assembled thin films of phage can exhibit piezoelectric strengths of up to 7.8 pm V-1. We also demonstrate that it is possible to modulate the dipole strength of the phage, hence tuning the piezoelectric response, by genetically engineering the major coat proteins of the phage. Finally, we develop a phage-based piezoelectric generator that produces up to 6 nA of current and 400 mV of potential and use it to operate a liquid-crystal display. Because biotechnology techniques enable large-scale production of genetically modified phages, phage-based piezoelectric materials potentially offer a simple and environmentally friendly approach to piezoelectric energy generation.

  3. Virus-based piezoelectric energy generation.

    PubMed

    Lee, Byung Yang; Zhang, Jinxing; Zueger, Chris; Chung, Woo-Jae; Yoo, So Young; Wang, Eddie; Meyer, Joel; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy; Lee, Seung-Wuk

    2012-05-13

    Piezoelectric materials can convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, and piezoelectric devices made of a variety of inorganic materials and organic polymers have been demonstrated. However, synthesizing such materials often requires toxic starting compounds, harsh conditions and/or complex procedures. Previously, it was shown that hierarchically organized natural materials such as bones, collagen fibrils and peptide nanotubes can display piezoelectric properties. Here, we demonstrate that the piezoelectric and liquid-crystalline properties of M13 bacteriophage (phage) can be used to generate electrical energy. Using piezoresponse force microscopy, we characterize the structure-dependent piezoelectric properties of the phage at the molecular level. We then show that self-assembled thin films of phage can exhibit piezoelectric strengths of up to 7.8 pm V(-1). We also demonstrate that it is possible to modulate the dipole strength of the phage, hence tuning the piezoelectric response, by genetically engineering the major coat proteins of the phage. Finally, we develop a phage-based piezoelectric generator that produces up to 6 nA of current and 400 mV of potential and use it to operate a liquid-crystal display. Because biotechnology techniques enable large-scale production of genetically modified phages, phage-based piezoelectric materials potentially offer a simple and environmentally friendly approach to piezoelectric energy generation.

  4. Complex craniofacial advancement in paediatric patients: Piezoelectric and traditional technique evaluation.

    PubMed

    Spinelli, Giuseppe; Mannelli, Giuditta; Zhang, Yi Xin; Lazzeri, Davide; Spacca, Barbara; Genitori, Lorenzo; Raffaini, Mirco; Agostini, Tommaso

    2015-10-01

    The piezoelectric device allows bone cutting without damaging the surrounding soft tissues. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of this surgical instrument in paediatric craniofacial surgery in terms of safety and surgical outcomes. Thirteen consecutive paediatric patients underwent craniofacial Le Fort osteotomies type III and IV. The saw was used on the right side in seven patients and on the left side in six patients; the piezoelectric instrument was used on the right side in six patients and on the left side in seven patients. Intraoperative blood loss, surgical procedure length, incision precision, postoperative haematoma and swelling, and nerve impairment were evaluated to compare the outcomes of both procedures. A longer surgical procedure was observed in 28% of the patients when using the piezoelectric device (p = 0.032), with an intraoperative blood loss reduction of 18% (p = 0.156). Greater precision in bone cutting was reported, together with a reduction in the requirement to protect and incise adjacent soft tissues during piezoelectric osteotomies. There was a lower incidence of postoperative haematoma and swelling following piezo-osteotomy, and a significant reduction in postoperative nerve impairment (p = 0.002). The ultrasonic surgical device guaranteed a clean bone cut, preserving the integrity of the adjacent soft tissues beneath the bone. Although the time required for a piezoelectric osteotomy was longer, the total operation time remained approximately the same. In conclusion, the device's lack of power appears to be a minor problem compared with the advantages, and an ultrasonic device could be considered a valuable instrument for paediatric craniofacial advancement. Copyright © 2015 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Piezoelectric and Electrostrictive Materials for Transducer Applications.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-07-01

    Degrees Earned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 20 6.4.1 Graduate Thesis Project ................ 20 6.4.2 Undergraduate Thesis Projects...8217 ’ "-’_. -’., _ ,,,, . ’ , 6.4 Degrees Earned 6.4.1 Graduate Thesis Proiect 1. 3.R. Giniewicz, ’(Pb,Bi)(Ti,Fe)O3 /Polymer 0-3 Composite Materials for...Hydrophone Applications." U.S. Thesis (May, 1985). 6.4.2 Undertraduate Thesis Prolects Graduated May, 1985 1. D. Moffatt. PZT-PZN Piezoelectric Ceramics. 2

  6. Using iridium films to compensate for piezo-electric materials processing stresses in adjustable x-ray optics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ames, A.; Bruni, R.; Cotroneo, V.; Johnson-Wilke, R.; Kester, T.; Reid, P.; Romaine, S.; Tolier-McKinstry, S.; Wilke, R. H. T.

    2015-09-01

    Adjustable X-ray optics represent a potential enabling technology for simultaneously achieving large effective area and high angular resolution for future X-ray Astronomy missions. The adjustable optics employ a bimorph mirror composed of a thin (1.5 μm) film of piezoelectric material deposited on the back of a 0.4 mm thick conical mirror segment. The application of localized electric fields in the piezoelectric material, normal to the mirror surface, result in localized deformations in mirror shape. Thus, mirror fabrication and mounting induced figure errors can be corrected, without the need for a massive reaction structure. With this approach, though, film stresses in the piezoelectric layer, resulting from deposition, crystallization, and differences in coefficient of thermal expansion, can distort the mirror. The large relative thickness of the piezoelectric material compared to the glass means that even 100MPa stresses can result in significant distortions. We have examined compensating for the piezoelectric processing related distortions by the deposition of controlled stress chromium/iridium films on the front surface of the mirror. We describe our experiments with tuning the product of the chromium/iridium film stress and film thickness to balance that resulting from the piezoelectric layer. We also evaluated the repeatability of this deposition process, and the robustness of the iridium coating.

  7. High Temperature Piezoelectric Drill

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  11. High-Temperature Piezoelectric Sensing

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Xiaoning; Kim, Kyungrim; Zhang, Shujun; Johnson, Joseph; Salazar, Giovanni

    2014-01-01

    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. PMID:24361928

  12. Advances in Valveless Piezoelectric Pump with Cone-shaped Tubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Jian-Hui; Wang, Ying; Huang, Jun

    2017-07-01

    This paper reviews the development of valveless piezoelectric pump with cone-shaped tube chronologically, which have widely potential application in biomedicine and micro-electro-mechanical systems because of its novel principles and deduces the research direction in the future. Firstly, the history of valveless piezoelectric pumps with cone-shaped tubes is reviewed and these pumps are classified into the following types: single pump with solid structure or plane structure, and combined pump with parallel structure or series structure. Furthermore, the function of each type of cone-shaped tubes and pump structures are analyzed, and new directions of potential expansion of valveless piezoelectric pumps with cone-shaped tubes are summarized and deduced. The historical argument, which is provided by the literatures, that for a valveless piezoelectric pump with cone-shaped tubes, cone angle determines the flow resistance and the flow resistance determines the flow direction. The argument is discussed in the reviewed pumps one by one, and proved to be convincing. Finally, it is deduced that bionics is pivotal in the development of valveless piezoelectric pump with cone-shaped tubes from the perspective of evolution of biological structure. This paper summarizes the current valveless piezoelectric pumps with cone-shaped tubes and points out the future development, which may provide guidance for the research of piezoelectric actuators.

  13. Method of Fabricating a Piezoelectric Composite Apparatus

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilkie, W. Keats (Inventor); Bryant, Robert (Inventor); Fox, Robert L. (Inventor); Hellbaum, Richard F. (Inventor); High, James W. (Inventor); Jalink, Antony, Jr. (Inventor); Little, Bruce D. (Inventor); Mirick, Paul H. (Inventor)

    2003-01-01

    A method for fabricating a piezoelectric macro-fiber composite actuator comprises providing a piezoelectric material that has two sides and attaching one side upon an adhesive backing sheet. The method further comprises slicing the piezoelectric material to provide a plurality of piezoelectric fibers in juxtaposition. A conductive film is then adhesively bonded to the other side of the piezoelectric material, and the adhesive backing sheet is removed. The conductive film has first and second conductive patterns formed thereon which are electrically isolated from one another and in electrical contact with the piezoelectric material. The first and second conductive patterns of the conductive film each have a plurality of electrodes to form a pattern of interdigitated electrodes. A second film is then bonded to the other side of the piezoelectric material. The second film may have a pair of conductive patterns similar to the conductive patterns of the first film.

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

    PubMed

    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

  15. Tuning the piezoelectric and mechanical properties of the AlN system via alloying with YN and BN

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manna, Sukriti; Brennecka, Geoff L.; Stevanović, Vladan; Ciobanu, Cristian V.

    2017-09-01

    Recent advances in microelectromechanical systems often require multifunctional materials, which are designed so as to optimize more than one property. Using density functional theory calculations for alloyed nitride systems, we illustrate how co-alloying a piezoelectric material (AlN) with different nitrides helps tune both its piezoelectric and mechanical properties simultaneously. Wurtzite AlN-YN alloys display increased piezoelectric response with YN concentration, accompanied by mechanical softening along the crystallographic c direction. Both effects increase the electromechanical coupling coefficients relevant for transducers and actuators. Resonator applications, however, require superior stiffness, thus leading to the need to decouple the increased piezoelectric response from the softened lattice. We show that co-alloying of AlN with YN and BN results in improved elastic properties while retaining some of the piezoelectric enhancements from YN alloying. This finding may lead to new avenues for tuning the design properties of piezoelectrics through composition-property maps.

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  18. New classes of piezoelectrics, ferroelectrics, and antiferroelectrics by first-principles high-throughput materials design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bennett, Joseph

    2013-03-01

    Functional materials, such as piezoelectrics, ferroelectrics, and antiferroelectrics, exhibit large changes with applied fields and stresses. This behavior enables their incorporation into a wide variety of devices in technological fields such as energy conversion/storage and information processing/storage. Discovery of functional materials with improved performance or even new types of responses is thus not only a scientific challenge, but can have major impacts on society. In this talk I will review our efforts to uncover new families of functional materials using a combined crystallographic database/high-throughput first-principles approach. I will describe our work on the design and discovery of thousands of new functional materials, specifically the LiAlSi family as piezoelectrics, the LiGaGe family as ferroelectrics, and the MgSrSi family as antiferroelectrics.

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  2. Investigations of thickness-shear mode elastic constant and damping of shunted piezoelectric materials with a coupling resonator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hu, Ji-Ying; Li, Zhao-Hui; Sun, Yang; Li, Qi-Hu

    2016-12-01

    Shear-mode piezoelectric materials have been widely used to shunt the damping of vibrations where utilizing surface or interface shear stresses. The thick-shear mode (TSM) elastic constant and the mechanical loss factor can change correspondingly when piezoelectric materials are shunted to different electrical circuits. This phenomenon makes it possible to control the performance of a shear-mode piezoelectric damping system through designing the shunt circuit. However, due to the difficulties in directly measuring the TSM elastic constant and the mechanical loss factor of piezoelectric materials, the relationships between those parameters and the shunt circuits have rarely been investigated. In this paper, a coupling TSM electro-mechanical resonant system is proposed to indirectly measure the variations of the TSM elastic constant and the mechanical loss factor of piezoelectric materials. The main idea is to transform the variations of the TSM elastic constant and the mechanical loss factor into the changes of the easily observed resonant frequency and electrical quality factor of the coupling electro-mechanical resonator. Based on this model, the formular relationships are set up theoretically with Mason equivalent circuit method and they are validated with finite element (FE) analyses. Finally, a prototype of the coupling electro-mechanical resonator is fabricated with two shear-mode PZT5A plates to investigate the TSM elastic constants and the mechanical loss factors of different circuit-shunted cases of the piezoelectric plate. Both the resonant frequency shifts and the bandwidth changes observed in experiments are in good consistence with the theoretical and FE analyses under the same shunt conditions. The proposed coupling resonator and the obtained relationships are validated with but not limited to PZT5A. Project supported by the National Defense Foundation of China (Grant No. 9149A12050414JW02180).

  3. Giant piezoelectricity of monolayer group IV monochalcogenides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fei, Ruixiang; Li, Wenbin; Li, Ju; Yang, Li

    We predict enormous, anisotropic piezoelectric effects in intrinsic monolayer group IV monochalcogenides (MX, M =Sn or Ge, X =Se or S), including SnSe, SnS, GeSe, and GeS. Using first-principle simulations based on the modern theory of polarization, we find that their piezoelectric coefficients are about one to two orders of magnitude larger than those of other 2D materials, such as MoS2 and GaSe, and bulk quartz and AlN which are widely used in industry. This enhancement is a result of the unique ``puckered'' C2v symmetry and electronic structure of monolayer group IV monochalcogenides. Given the achieved experimental advances in the fabrication of monolayers, their flexible character, and ability to withstand enormous strain, these 2D structures with giant piezoelectric effects may be promising for a broad range of applications such as nano-sized sensors, piezotronics, and energy harvesting in portable electronic devices.

  4. Bone-Inspired Spatially Specific Piezoelectricity Induces Bone Regeneration

    PubMed Central

    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 K0.5Na0.5NbO3 (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. PMID:28900517

  5. Using Diffusion Bonding in Making Piezoelectric Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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

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

    PubMed

    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.

  7. Piezoelectric cantilever sensors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  8. Piezoelectric transformer structural modeling--a review.

    PubMed

    Yang, Jiashi

    2007-06-01

    A review on piezoelectric transformer structural modeling is presented. The operating principle and the basic behavior of piezoelectric transformers as governed by the linear theory of piezoelectricity are shown by a simple, theoretical analysis on a Rosen transformer based on extensional modes of a nonhomogeneous ceramic rod. Various transformers are classified according to their structural shapes, operating modes, and voltage transforming capability. Theoretical and numerical modeling results from the theory of piezoelectricity are reviewed. More advances modeling on thermal and nonlinear effects also are discussed. The article contains 167 references.

  9. Characterization of a Piezoelectric Buzzer Using a Michelson Interferometer

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    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…

  10. Frequency Rectification Applied to Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Improving Available Power of Piezoelectric Motors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuroda, Kazuaki; LCGT Collaboration

    Piezoelectric materials are just now, within the last decade, coming into their own as a commercial material. Capable of converting energy from the mechanical domain to the electrical domain; piezos are ideal sensors, vibration dampers, energy harvesters, and actuators. Frequency rectification, or the conversion of small, high frequency piezoelectric vibrations into useful low frequency actuation, is required to obtain widespread industrial use of piezoelectric devices. This work examines three manifestations of piezoelectric frequency rectification: energy harvesting, a hydraulic motor, and friction based commercial-off-the-shelf motors. An energy harvesting device is developed, manufactured, and tested in this work, resulting in the development of a high Energy Density (J/m 3), high Power Density (W/m3) energy harvester. The device is shown to have an Energy Density nearly twice that of a similar conventional energy harvesting device. The result of this work is the development of an energy harvesting system that generates more energy in a given volume of piezoelectric material, opening the possibility of miniaturization of energy harvesting devices. Also presented is an effort to integrate a high frequency, high flow rate micromachined valve array into a PiezoHydraulic Pump (PHP), enabling resonant operation of the PHP. Currently, the device is limited by the resonant frequency of the proprietary passive check valves. The PHP is fully characterized, and the microvalve array is tested to determine its resonant frequency in a fluid medium. The valve testing resulted in a resonant frequency of 6.9 kHz, slightly lower than the target operating frequency of 10 kHz. Finally, the results of an examination of frequency rectification as applied to COTS piezoelectric motors are presented. Currently, motors are almost universally characterized based upon their available mechanical power. A better comparison is one based upon the actual Energy Density of the piezoelectric

  11. Study on the electromechanical coupling coefficient of Rayleigh-type surface acoustic waves in semi-infinite piezoelectrics/non-piezoelectrics superlattices.

    PubMed

    Chen, Shi; Zhang, Yinhong; Lin, Shuyu; Fu, Zhiqiang

    2014-02-01

    The electromechanical coupling coefficient of Rayleigh-type surface acoustic waves in semi-infinite piezoelectrics/non-piezoelectrics superlattices is investigated by the transfer matrix method. Research results show the high electromechanical coupling coefficient can be obtained in these systems. The optimization design of it is also discussed fully. It is significantly influenced by electrical boundary conditions on interfaces, thickness ratios of piezoelectric and non-piezoelectric layers, and material parameters (such as velocities of pure longitudinal and transversal bulk waves in non-piezoelectric layers). In order to obtain higher electromechanical coupling coefficient, shorted interfaces, non-piezoelectric materials with large velocities of longitudinal and transversal bulk waves, and proper thickness ratios should be chosen. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Topology optimized design of functionally graded piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rubio, Wilfredo Montealegre; Buiochi, Flávio; Adamowski, Julio Cezar; Silva, Emílio C. N.

    2010-01-01

    This work presents a new approach to systematically design piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers based on Topology Optimization Method (TOM) and Functionally Graded Material (FGM) concepts. The main goal is to find the optimal material distribution of Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers, to achieve the following requirements: (i) the transducer must be designed to have a multi-modal or uni-modal frequency response, which defines the kind of generated acoustic wave, either short pulse or continuous wave, respectively; (ii) the transducer is required to oscillate in a thickness extensional mode or piston-like mode, aiming at acoustic wave generation applications. Two kinds of piezoelectric materials are mixed for producing the FGM transducer. Material type 1 represents a PZT-5A piezoelectric ceramic and material type 2 represents a PZT-5H piezoelectric ceramic. To illustrate the proposed method, two Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers are designed. The TOM has shown to be a useful tool for designing Functionally Graded Piezoelectric Ultrasonic Transducers with uni-modal or multi-modal dynamic behavior.

  13. Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Solutions

    PubMed Central

    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

  14. Testing piezoelectric sensors in a nuclear reactor environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reinhardt, Brian T.; Suprock, Andy; Tittmann, Bernhard

    2017-02-01

    Several Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) programs, such as the Fuel Cycle Research and Development (FCRD), Advanced Reactor Concepts (ARC), Light Water Reactor Sustainability, and Next Generation Nuclear Power Plants (NGNP), are investigating new fuels, materials, and inspection paradigms for advanced and existing reactors. A key objective of such programs is to understand the performance of these fuels and materials during irradiation. In DOE-NE's FCRD program, ultrasonic based technology was identified as a key approach that should be pursued to obtain the high-fidelity, high-accuracy data required to characterize the behavior and performance of new candidate fuels and structural materials during irradiation testing. The radiation, high temperatures, and pressure can limit the available tools and characterization methods. In this work piezoelectric transducers capable of making these measurements are developed. Specifically, three piezoelectric sensors (Bismuth Titanate, Aluminum Nitride, and Zinc Oxide) are tested in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research reactor to a fast neutron fluence of 8.65×1020 nf/cm2. It is demonstrated that Bismuth Titanate is capable of transduction up to 5 × 1020 nf/cm2, Zinc Oxide is capable of transduction up to at least 6.27 × 1020 nf/cm2, and Aluminum Nitride is capable of transduction up to at least 8.65 × 1020 nf/cm2.

  15. Experiments to demonstrate piezoelectric and pyroelectric effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Erhart, Jiří

    2013-07-01

    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 change. The direct piezoelectric effect is demonstrated by the electric charge generated from the bending of the piezoelectric ceramic membrane or from the gas igniter. The converse piezoelectric effect is presented in the experiments by the deflection of the bending piezoelectric element (piezoelectric bimorph).

  16. High Temperature Piezoelectric Drill

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bao, Xiaoqi; Scott, James; Boudreau, Kate; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Badescu, Mircea; Shrout, Tom; Zhang, Shujun

    2009-01-01

    The current NASA Decadal mission planning effort has identified Venus as a significant scientific target for a surface in-situ sampling/analyzing mission. The Venus environment represents several extremes including high temperature (460 deg C), high pressure (9 MPa), and potentially corrosive (condensed sulfuric acid droplets that adhere to surfaces during entry) environments. This technology challenge requires new rock sampling tools for these extreme conditions. Piezoelectric materials can potentially operate over a wide temperature range. Single crystals, like LiNbO3, have a Curie temperature that is higher than 1000 deg C and the piezoelectric ceramics Bismuth Titanate higher than 600 deg C. A study of the feasibility of producing piezoelectric drills that can operate in the temperature range up to 500 deg C was conducted. The study includes the high temperature properties investigations of engineering materials and piezoelectric ceramics with different formulas and doping. The drilling performances of a prototype Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) using high temperate piezoelectric ceramics and single crystal were tested at temperature up to 500 deg C. The detailed results of our study and a discussion of the future work on performance improvements are presented in this paper.

  17. High Temperature, High Power Piezoelectric Composite Transducers

    PubMed Central

    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

  18. Orthotropic Piezoelectricity in 2D Nanocellulose

    PubMed Central

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

    2016-01-01

    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. PMID:27708364

  19. Piezoelectric Ceramics and Their Applications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Flinn, I.

    1975-01-01

    Describes the piezoelectric effect in ceramics and presents a quantitative representation of this effect. Explains the processes involved in the manufacture of piezoelectric ceramics, the materials used, and the situations in which they are applied. (GS)

  20. Performance of PIN-PMN-PT Single Crystal Piezoelectric versus PZT8 Piezoceramic Materials in Ultrasonic Transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    DeAngelis, D. A.; Schulze, G. W.

    The recent advancements in the manufacturing of single crystal PIN-PMN-PT piezoelectric materials now make them a cost-competitive alternative to PZT4 and PZT8 (Navy Types I and III) piezoceramic materials, which have been the workhorse of power ultrasonic applications (e.g., welding, cutting, sonar, etc.) for over 50 years. Although there are great benefits to the use of single crystal materials with respect to high output, as well as added actuating and sensing abilities, many transducer designers are still reluctant to explore these materials due to inadequate design guidelines for substituting the familiar PZT materials; for example, what are the implications of the higher capacitance, sensitivity to chipping/cracks, aging effects, frequency shifts, or how much preload can be used are all common questions. This research is a case study on the performance of identical ultrasonic transducer bodies, used for semiconductor wire bonding, assembled with either PZT8 or PIN-PMN-PT piezo material. The main purpose of the study is to establish rule-of-thumb design guidelines for direct substitution of single crystal materials in existing PZT8 transducer designs, along with a side-by-side performance comparison to highlight benefits. Several metrics are investigated such as impedance, frequency, displacement gain, quality factor and electromechanical coupling factor.

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

    DOEpatents

    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.

  2. Accurate determination of complex materials coefficients of piezoelectric resonators.

    PubMed

    Du, Xiao-Hong; Wang, Qing-Ming; Uchino, Kenji

    2003-03-01

    This paper presents a method of accurately determining the complex piezoelectric and elastic coefficients of piezoelectric ceramic resonators from the measurement of the normalized electric admittance, Y, which is electric admittance Y of piezoelectric resonator normalized by the angular frequency omega. The coefficients are derived from the measurements near three special frequency points that correspond to the maximum and the minimum normalized susceptance (B) and the maximum normalized conductance (G). The complex elastic coefficient is determined from the frequencies at these points, and the real and imaginary parts of the piezoelectric coefficient are related to the derivative of the susceptance with respect to the frequency and the asymmetry of the conductance, respectively, near the maximum conductance point. The measurements for some lead zirconate titanate (PZT) based ceramics are used as examples to demonstrate the calculation and experimental procedures and the comparisons with the standard methods.

  3. Temperature Compensated Piezoelectric Materials

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1982-09-01

    modeling of the dielectric, elas- tic, piezoelectric and thermoelectric properties of a simple proper ferroelec- tric. In the thermodynamic...COMPOSITIONS 61 5.1 Growth of Sro.sBao.sNbaOe Thin Films 61 5.2 Growth of SraKNbsOis Thin Films 63 6.0 STRUCTURAL.AND FERROELECTRIC PROPERTIES OF...Transitions 75 6.4 Ferroelectric Data 77 6.5 Concl usi ons 82 7.0 PHOTOREFRACTIVE PROPERTIES OF SBN SINGLE CRYSTALS 85 8.0 PUBLICATIONS AND

  4. Aggregate linear properties of ferroelectric ceramics and polycrystalline thin films: Calculation by the method of effective piezoelectric medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pertsev, N. A.; Zembilgotov, A. G.; Waser, R.

    1998-08-01

    The effective dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic constants of polycrystalline ferroelectric materials are calculated from single-crystal data by an advanced method of effective medium, which takes into account the piezoelectric interactions between grains in full measure. For bulk BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polarized ceramics, the dependences of material constants on the remanent polarization are reported. Dielectric and elastic constants are computed also for unpolarized c- and a-textured ferroelectric thin films deposited on cubic or amorphous substrates. It is found that the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polycrystalline thin films strongly depend on the type of crystal texture. The influence of two-dimensional clamping by the substrate on the dielectric and piezoelectric responses of polarized films is described quantitatively and shown to be especially important for the piezoelectric charge coefficient of BaTiO3 films.

  5. Acoustic wave transmission through piezoelectric structured materials.

    PubMed

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  8. Piezoelectric nanoparticle-polymer composite foams.

    PubMed

    McCall, William R; Kim, Kanguk; Heath, Cory; La Pierre, Gina; Sirbuly, Donald J

    2014-11-26

    Piezoelectric polymer composite foams are synthesized using different sugar-templating strategies. By incorporating sugar grains directly into polydimethylsiloxane mixtures containing barium titanate nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes, followed by removal of the sugar after polymer curing, highly compliant materials with excellent piezoelectric properties can be fabricated. Porosities and elasticity are tuned by simply adjusting the sugar/polymer mass ratio which gave an upper bound on the porosity of 73% and a lower bound on the elastic coefficient of 32 kPa. The electrical performance of the foams showed a direct relationship between porosity and the piezoelectric outputs, giving piezoelectric coefficient values of ∼112 pC/N and a power output of ∼18 mW/cm3 under a load of 10 N for the highest porosity samples. These novel materials should find exciting use in a variety of applications including energy scavenging platforms, biosensors, and acoustic actuators.

  9. Piezoelectric Power Requirements for Active Vibration Control

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brennan, Matthew C.; McGowan, Anna-Maria Rivas

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents a method for predicting the power consumption of piezoelectric actuators utilized for active vibration control. Analytical developments and experimental tests show that the maximum power required to control a structure using surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators is independent of the dynamics between the piezoelectric actuator and the host structure. The results demonstrate that for a perfectly-controlled system, the power consumption is a function of the quantity and type of piezoelectric actuators and the voltage and frequency of the control law output signal. Furthermore, as control effectiveness decreases, the power consumption of the piezoelectric actuators decreases. In addition, experimental results revealed a non-linear behavior in the material properties of piezoelectric actuators. The material non- linearity displayed a significant increase in capacitance with an increase in excitation voltage. Tests show that if the non-linearity of the capacitance was accounted for, a conservative estimate of the power can easily be determined.

  10. Low-Temperature Solution Processable Electrodes for Piezoelectric Sensors Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  11. Characterization of Hard Piezoelectric Lead-Free Ceramics

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Shujun; Lim, Jong Bong; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Shrout, Thomas R.

    2010-01-01

    K4CuNb8O23 doped K0.45Na0.55NbO3 (KNN-KCN) ferroelectric ceramics were found to exhibit asymmetrical polarization hysteresis loops, related to the development of an internal bias field. The internal bias field is believed to be the result of defect dipoles of acceptor ions and oxygen vacancies, which lead to piezoelectric “hardening” effect, by stabilizing and pinning of the domain wall motion. The dielectric loss for the hard lead-free piezoelectric ceramic was found to be 0.6%, with mechanical quality factors Q on the order of >1500. Furthermore, the piezoelectric properties were found to decrease and the coercive field increased, when compared with the undoped material, exhibiting a typical characteristic of “hard” behavior. The temperature usage range was limited by the polymorphic phase transition temperature, being 188°C. The full set of material constants was determined for the KNN-KCN materials. Compared with conventional hard PZT ceramics, the lead-free possessed lower dielectric and piezoelectric properties; however, comparable values of mechanical Q, dielectric loss, and coercive fields were obtained, making acceptor modified KNN based lead-free piezoelectric material promising for high-power applications, where lead-free materials are desirable. PMID:19686966

  12. Flexible Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from Mouse Click Motions

    PubMed Central

    Cha, Youngsu; Hong, Jin; Lee, Jaemin; Park, Jung-Min; Kim, Keehoon

    2016-01-01

    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. PMID:27399705

  13. Postbuckling Investigations of Piezoelectric Microdevices Considering Damage Effects

    PubMed Central

    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

  14. Novel genetically optimised high-displacement piezoelectric actuator with efficient use of active material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poikselkä, Katja; Leinonen, Mikko; Palosaari, Jaakko; Vallivaara, Ilari; Röning, Juha; Juuti, Jari

    2017-09-01

    This paper introduces a new type of piezoelectric actuator, Mikbal. The Mikbal was developed from a Cymbal by adding steel structures around the steel cap to increase displacement and reduce the amount of piezoelectric material used. Here the parameters of the steel cap of Mikbal and Cymbal actuators were optimised by using genetic algorithms in combination with Comsol Multiphysics FEM modelling software. The blocking force of the actuator was maximised for different values of displacement by optimising the height and the top diameter of the end cap profile so that their effect on displacement, blocking force and stresses could be analysed. The optimisation process was done for five Mikbal- and two Cymbal-type actuators with different diameters varying between 15 and 40 mm. A Mikbal with a Ø 25 mm piezoceramic disc and a Ø 40 mm steel end cap was produced and the performances of unclamped measured and modelled cases were found to correspond within 2.8% accuracy. With a piezoelectric disc of Ø 25 mm, the Mikbal created 72% greater displacement while blocking force was decreased 57% compared with a Cymbal with the same size disc. Even with a Ø 20 mm piezoelectric disc, the Mikbal was able to generate ∼10% higher displacement than a Ø 25 mm Cymbal. Thus, the introduced Mikbal structure presents a way to extend the displacement capabilities of a conventional Cymbal actuator for low-to-moderate force applications.

  15. Characterization, performance and optimization of PVDF as a piezoelectric film for advanced space mirror concepts.

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, Gary D.; Assink, Roger Alan; Dargaville, Tim Richard

    2005-11-01

    Piezoelectric polymers based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are of interest for large aperture space-based telescopes as adaptive or smart materials. Dimensional adjustments of adaptive polymer films depend on controlled charge deposition. Predicting their long-term performance requires a detailed understanding of the piezoelectric material features, expected to suffer due to space environmental degradation. Hence, the degradation and performance of PVDF and its copolymers under various stress environments expected in low Earth orbit has been reviewed and investigated. Various experiments were conducted to expose these polymers to elevated temperature, vacuum UV, {gamma}-radiation and atomic oxygen. The resulting degradative processes were evaluated. Themore » overall materials performance is governed by a combination of chemical and physical degradation processes. Molecular changes are primarily induced via radiative damage, and physical damage from temperature and atomic oxygen exposure is evident as depoling, loss of orientation and surface erosion. The effects of combined vacuum UV radiation and atomic oxygen resulted in expected surface erosion and pitting rates that determine the lifetime of thin films. Interestingly, the piezo responsiveness in the underlying bulk material remained largely unchanged. This study has delivered a comprehensive framework for material properties and degradation sensitivities with variations in individual polymer performances clearly apparent. The results provide guidance for material selection, qualification, optimization strategies, feedback for manufacturing and processing, or alternative materials. Further material qualification should be conducted via experiments under actual space conditions.« less

  16. Predictive modeling of composite material degradation using piezoelectric wafer sensors electromechanical impedance spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gresil, Matthieu; Yu, Lingyu; Sutton, Mike; Guo, Siming; Pollock, Patrick

    2012-04-01

    The advancement of composite materials in aircraft structures has led to on increased need for effective structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies that are able to detect and assess damage present in composites structures. The work presented in this paper is interested in understanding using self-sensing piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) to conduct electromechanical impedance spectroscopy (EMIS) in glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP) to perform structures health monitoring. PWAS are bonded to the composite material and the EMIS method is used to analyze the changes in the structural resonance and anti-resonance. As the damage progresses in the specimen, the impedance spectrum will change. In addition, multi-physics based finite element method (MP-FEM) is used to model the electromechanical behavior of a free PWAS and its interaction with the host structure on which it is bonded. The MPFEM permits the input and the output variables to be expressed directly in electric terms while the two way electromechanical conversion is done internally in the MP_FEM formulation. To reach the goal of using the EMIS approach to detect damage, several damages models are generated on laminated GFRP structures. The effects of the modeling are carefully studied through experimental validation. A good match has been observed for low and very high frequencies.

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

    PubMed Central

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

    2017-01-01

    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. PMID:28240268

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

    PubMed

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

    2017-02-27

    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 (BaTiO 3 ) composite materials were fabricated by slip casting, and their piezoelectric properties were obtained by polarization. The d 33 of HA/BaTiO 3 piezoelectric ceramics after polarization was 1.3 pC/N to 6.8 pC/N with BaTiO 3 content ranging from 80% to 100%. The in vitro biological properties of piezoelectric bioceramics with and without cycle loading were investigated. When HA/BaTiO 3 piezoelectric bioceramics were affected by cycle loading, the piezoelectric effect of BaTiO 3 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%BaTiO 3 piezoelectric ceramics.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  20. Piezoelectric Micro- and Nanostructured Fibers Fabricated from Thermoplastic Nanocomposites Using a Fiber Drawing Technique: Comparative Study and Potential Applications.

    PubMed

    Lu, Xin; Qu, Hang; Skorobogatiy, Maksim

    2017-02-28

    We report an all-polymer flexible piezoelectric fiber that uses both judiciously chosen geometry and advanced materials in order to enhance fiber piezoelectric response. The microstructured/nanostructured fiber features a soft hollow polycarbonate core surrounded by a spiral multilayer cladding consisting of alternating layers of piezoelectric nanocomposites (polyvinylidene enhanced with BaTiO 3 , PZT, or CNT) and conductive polymer (carbon-filled polyethylene). The conductive polymer layers serve as two electrodes, and they also form two spatially offset electric connectors on the fiber surface designed for the ease of connectorization. Kilometer-long piezoelectric fibers of sub-millimeter diameters are thermally drawn from a macroscopic preform. The fibers exhibit high output voltage of up to 6 V under moderate bending, and they show excellent mechanical and electrical durability in a cyclic bend-release test. The micron/nanosize multilayer structure enhances in-fiber poling efficiency due to the small distance between the conducting electrodes sandwiching the piezoelectric composite layers. Additionally, the spiral structure greatly increases the active area of the piezoelectric composite, thus promoting higher voltage generation and resulting in 10-100 higher power generation efficiency over the existing piezoelectric cables. Finally, we weave the fabricated piezoelectric fibers into technical textiles and demonstrate their potential applications in power generation when used as a sound detector, smart car seat upholstery, or wearable materials.

  1. Approaching Piezoelectric Response of Pb-Piezoelectrics in Hydrothermally Synthesized Bi0.5(Na1- xK x)0.5TiO3 Nanotubes.

    PubMed

    Ghasemian, Mohammad Bagher; Rawal, Aditya; Liu, Yun; Wang, Danyang

    2018-06-20

    A large piezoelectric coefficient of 76 pm/V along the diameter direction, approaching that of lead-based piezoelectrics, is observed in hydrothermally synthesized Pb-free Bi 0.5 (Na 0.8 K 0.2 ) 0.5 TiO 3 nanotubes. The 30-50 nm diameter nanotubes are formed through a scrolling and wrapping mechanism without the need of a surfactant or template. A molar ratio of KOH/NaOH = 0.5 for the mineralizers yields the Na/K ratio of ∼0.8:0.2, corresponding to an orthorhombic-tetragonal (O-T) phase boundary composition. X-ray diffraction patterns along with transmission electron microscopy analysis ascertain the coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal phases with (110) and (001) orientations along the nanotube length direction, respectively. 23 Na NMR spectroscopy confirms the higher degree of disorder in Bi 0.5 (Na 1- x K x ) 0.5 TiO 3 nanotubes with O-T phase coexistence. These findings present a significant advance toward the application of Pb-free piezoelectric materials.

  2. Giant increase in piezoelectric coefficient of AlN by Mg-Nb simultaneous addition and multiple chemical states of Nb

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Uehara, Masato; Shigemoto, Hokuto; Fujio, Yuki; Nagase, Toshimi; Aida, Yasuhiro; Umeda, Keiichi; Akiyama, Morito

    2017-09-01

    Aluminum nitride (AlN) is one of piezoelectric materials, which are eagerly anticipated for use in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) applications such as communication resonators, sensors, and energy harvesters. AlN is particularly excellent in generated voltage characteristics for the MEMS rather than oxide piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconium titanate Pb(Zr, Ti)O3. However, it is necessary to improve the piezoelectric properties of AlN in order to advance the performance of the MEMS. We dramatically increased the piezoelectric coefficient d33 of AlN films by simultaneously adding magnesium (Mg) and niobium (Nb). The d33 of Mg39.3Nb25.0Al35.7N is 22 pC/N, which is about four times that of AlN. The d33 is increased by Mg and Nb simultaneous addition, and is not increased by Mg or Nb single addition. Interestingly, the Nb has multiple chemical states, and which are influenced by the Mg concentration.

  3. Strain-tuning of the optical properties of semiconductor nanomaterials by integration onto piezoelectric actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martín-Sánchez, Javier; Trotta, Rinaldo; Mariscal, Antonio; Serna, Rosalía; Piredda, Giovanni; Stroj, Sandra; Edlinger, Johannes; Schimpf, Christian; Aberl, Johannes; Lettner, Thomas; Wildmann, Johannes; Huang, Huiying; Yuan, Xueyong; Ziss, Dorian; Stangl, Julian; Rastelli, Armando

    2018-01-01

    The tailoring of the physical properties of semiconductor nanomaterials by strain has been gaining increasing attention over the last years for a wide range of applications such as electronics, optoelectronics and photonics. The ability to introduce deliberate strain fields with controlled magnitude and in a reversible manner is essential for fundamental studies of novel materials and may lead to the realization of advanced multi-functional devices. A prominent approach consists in the integration of active nanomaterials, in thin epitaxial films or embedded within carrier nanomembranes, onto Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3-based piezoelectric actuators, which convert electrical signals into mechanical deformation (strain). In this review, we mainly focus on recent advances in strain-tunable properties of self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in semiconductor nanomembranes and photonic structures. Additionally, recent works on other nanomaterials like rare-earth and metal-ion doped thin films, graphene and MoS2 or WSe2 semiconductor two-dimensional materials are also reviewed. For the sake of completeness, a comprehensive comparison between different procedures employed throughout the literature to fabricate such hybrid piezoelectric-semiconductor devices is presented. It is shown that unprocessed piezoelectric substrates (monolithic actuators) allow to obtain a certain degree of control over the nanomaterials’ emission properties such as their emission energy, fine-structure-splitting in self-assembled InAs QDs and semiconductor 2D materials, upconversion phenomena in BaTiO3 thin films or piezotronic effects in ZnS:Mn films and InAs QDs. Very recently, a novel class of micro-machined piezoelectric actuators have been demonstrated for a full control of in-plane stress fields in nanomembranes, which enables producing energy-tunable sources of polarization-entangled photons in arbitrary QDs. Future research directions and prospects are discussed.

  4. Stretchable piezoelectric nanocomposite generator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2016-06-01

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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].

  6. Innovative Materials for Aircraft Morphing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Simpson, J. O.; Wise, S. A.; Bryant, R. G.; Cano, R. J.; Gates, T. S.; Hinkley, J. A.; Rogowski, R. S.; Whitley, K. S.

    1997-01-01

    Reported herein is an overview of the research being conducted within the Materials Division at NASA Langley Research Center on the development of smart material technologies for advanced airframe systems. The research is a part of the Aircraft Morphing Program which is a new six-year research program to develop smart components for self-adaptive airframe systems. The fundamental areas of materials research within the program are computational materials; advanced piezoelectric materials; advanced fiber optic sensing techniques; and fabrication of integrated composite structures. This paper presents a portion of the ongoing research in each of these areas of materials research.

  7. Polariton resonances in multilayered piezoelectric superlattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Piliposyan, D.

    2018-04-01

    Coupled electro-elastic SH waves propagating in a periodic piezoelectric finite-length superlattice with identical piezoelectric materials in a unit cell are considered in the framework of the full system of Maxwell’s electrodynamic equations. In the long wavelength region, coupling between electro-magnetic and elastic waves creates frequency band gaps. It is shown that for piezoelectric superlattice at acoustic frequencies, acousto-optic coupling gives rise to polariton behavior at wavelengths much larger than the length of the unit cell. The results of the paper may be useful in design of narrow band filters or multi-channel piezoelectric filters.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  9. Enhanced piezoelectricity and stretchability in energy harvesting devices fabricated from buckled PZT ribbons.

    PubMed

    Qi, Yi; Kim, Jihoon; Nguyen, Thanh D; Lisko, Bozhena; Purohit, Prashant K; McAlpine, Michael C

    2011-03-09

    The development of a method for integrating highly efficient energy conversion materials onto soft, biocompatible substrates could yield breakthroughs in implantable or wearable energy harvesting systems. Of particular interest are devices which can conform to irregular, curved surfaces, and operate in vital environments that may involve both flexing and stretching modes. Previous studies have shown significant advances in the integration of highly efficient piezoelectric nanocrystals on flexible and bendable substrates. Yet, such inorganic nanomaterials are mechanically incompatible with the extreme elasticity of elastomeric substrates. Here, we present a novel strategy for overcoming these limitations, by generating wavy piezoelectric ribbons on silicone rubber. Our results show that the amplitudes in the waves accommodate order-of-magnitude increases in maximum tensile strain without fracture. Further, local probing of the buckled ribbons reveals an enhancement in the piezoelectric effect of up to 70%, thus representing the highest reported piezoelectric response on a stretchable medium. These results allow for the integration of energy conversion devices which operate in stretching mode via reversible deformations in the wavy/buckled ribbons.

  10. Design Concepts, Fabrication and Advanced Characterization Methods of Innovative Piezoelectric Sensors Based on ZnO Nanowires.

    PubMed

    Araneo, Rodolfo; Rinaldi, Antonio; Notargiacomo, Andrea; Bini, Fabiano; Pea, Marialilia; Celozzi, Salvatore; Marinozzi, Franco; Lovat, Giampiero

    2014-12-08

    Micro- and nano-scale materials and systems based on zinc oxide are expected to explode in their applications in the electronics and photonics, including nano-arrays of addressable optoelectronic devices and sensors, due to their outstanding properties, including semiconductivity and the presence of a direct bandgap, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity and biocompatibility. Most applications are based on the cooperative and average response of a large number of ZnO micro/nanostructures. However, in order to assess the quality of the materials and their performance, it is fundamental to characterize and then accurately model the specific electrical and piezoelectric properties of single ZnO structures. In this paper, we report on focused ion beam machined high aspect ratio nanowires and their mechanical and electrical (by means of conductive atomic force microscopy) characterization. Then, we investigate the suitability of new power-law design concepts to accurately model the relevant electrical and mechanical size-effects, whose existence has been emphasized in recent reviews.

  11. Design Concepts, Fabrication and Advanced Characterization Methods of Innovative Piezoelectric Sensors Based on ZnO Nanowires

    PubMed Central

    Araneo, Rodolfo; Rinaldi, Antonio; Notargiacomo, Andrea; Bini, Fabiano; Pea, Marialilia; Celozzi, Salvatore; Marinozzi, Franco; Lovat, Giampiero

    2014-01-01

    Micro- and nano-scale materials and systems based on zinc oxide are expected to explode in their applications in the electronics and photonics, including nano-arrays of addressable optoelectronic devices and sensors, due to their outstanding properties, including semiconductivity and the presence of a direct bandgap, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity and biocompatibility. Most applications are based on the cooperative and average response of a large number of ZnO micro/nanostructures. However, in order to assess the quality of the materials and their performance, it is fundamental to characterize and then accurately model the specific electrical and piezoelectric properties of single ZnO structures. In this paper, we report on focused ion beam machined high aspect ratio nanowires and their mechanical and electrical (by means of conductive atomic force microscopy) characterization. Then, we investigate the suitability of new power-law design concepts to accurately model the relevant electrical and mechanical size-effects, whose existence has been emphasized in recent reviews. PMID:25494351

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  14. Energy harvesting from torsions of patterned piezoelectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cha, Youngsu; You, Hangil

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of energy harvesting from the torsions using a piezoelectric beam. The piezoelectric beam is partially patterned and is tested in an experimental setup to force pure torsional deformation. In particular, the beam consists of two identical piezoelectric parts attached on one side of a supporting substrate. We propose a model for the energy harvesting system through the equations for a slender composite beam with the physical properties and the electromechanical coupling equations of the piezoelectric material. The theoretical predictions are validated by the comparison with the experimental results.

  15. Piezoelectric properties of synthetic hydroxyapatite-based organic-inorganic hydrated materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rodriguez, Rogelio; Rangel, Domingo; Fonseca, Gerardo; Gonzalez, Maykel; Vargas, Susana

    Disks of synthetic hydroxyapatite agglutinated with a synthetic polymer and hydrated in a moisture fog, were prepared. A well-defined piezoelectric signal of these samples was obtained when a relative small compression stress of 35 MPa (corresponding a force of 450 daN) was applied; piezoelectric signals of up to 12 mV were obtained with this stress. Two different compression methods were followed to obtain the piezoelectric signal: (a) hold method, where the load was maintained constant once it reaches the maximum stress and (b) release method, where the load was removed rapidly when the stress reaches its maximum value. The samples were characterized using the techniques: X-ray Diffraction, Dielectric Relaxation Spectroscopy and mechanical test.

  16. Piezoelectric Templates - New Views on Biomineralization and Biomimetics.

    PubMed

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

    2016-05-23

    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.

  17. Piezoelectric Templates - New Views on Biomineralization and Biomimetics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2016-05-01

    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.

  18. Enhanced piezoelectric effect in Janus group-III chalcogenide monolayers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Yu; Zhou, Si; Bai, Yizhen; Zhao, Jijun

    2017-04-01

    Piezoelectricity is a unique material property that converts mechanical energy into electricity or vice versa. Starting from the group-III monochalcogenide monolayers, we design a series of derivative Janus structures for piezoelectric materials, including Ga2SSe, Ga2STe, Ga2SeTe, In2SSe, In2STe, In2SeTe, GaInS2, GaInSe2, and GaInTe2. Our first-principles calculations show that these Janus structures are thermodynamically and dynamically stable. They have a bandgap in the range of 0.89-2.03 eV, lower than those of the perfect monolayers, and Ga2STe, Ga2SeTe, In2STe, and In2SeTe monolayers are direct gap semiconductors. They possess piezoelectric coefficients up to 8.47 pm/V, over four times the maximum value obtained in perfect group-III monochalcogenide monolayers. Moreover, the broken mirror symmetry of these Janus structures induces out-of-plane dipolar polarization, yielding additional out-of-plane piezoelectric coefficients of 0.07-0.46 pm/V. The enhanced piezoelectric properties enable the development of these novel two-dimensional materials for piezoelectric sensors and nanogenerators.

  19. Green piezoelectric for autonomous smart textile

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lemaire, E.; Borsa, C. J.; Briand, D.

    2015-12-01

    In this work, the fabrication of Rochelle salt based piezoelectric textiles are shown. Structures composed of fibers and Rochelle salt are easily produced using green processes. Both manufacturing and the material itself are really efficient in terms of environmental impact, considering the fabrication processes and the material resources involved. Additionally Rochelle salt is biocompatible. In this green paradigm, active sensing or actuating textiles are developed. Thus processing method and piezoelectric properties have been studied: (1) pure crystals are used as acoustic actuator, (2) fabrication of the textile-based composite is detailed, (3) converse effective d33 is evaluated and compared to lead zirconate titanate ceramic. The utility of textile-based piezoelectric merits its use in a wide array of applications.

  20. Langasite as a piezoelectric material for near-field microscopy resonant cantilevers.

    PubMed

    Douchet, Gabrielle; Sthal, Fabrice; Leblois, Thérèse; Bigler, Emmanuel

    2010-11-01

    Quartz length-extension resonators have already been used to obtain atomically-resolved images by frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy. Other piezoelectric materials such as gallium orthophosphate (GaPO(4)), langatate (LGT), and langasite (LGS) could be appropriate for this application. In this paper, the advantages of langasite crystal are presented and the fabrication of similar microsensors in langasite temperature-compensated cuts by chemical etching is proved. A monolithic length extension resonator, with a tip at its end, is obtained which constitutes a real advantage in regard to the existing quartz devices.

  1. A review on energy harvesting approaches for renewable energies from ambient vibrations and acoustic waves using piezoelectricity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmed, Riaz; Mir, Fariha; Banerjee, Sourav

    2017-08-01

    The principal objective of this article is to categorically review and compare the state of the art vibration based energy harvesting approaches. To evaluate the contemporary methodologies with respect to their physics, average power output and operational frequencies, systematically divided and easy readable tables are presented followed by the description of the energy harvesting methods. Energy harvesting is the process of obtaining electrical energy from the surrounding vibratory mechanical systems through an energy conversion method using smart structures, like, piezoelectric, electrostatic materials. Recent advancements in low power electronic gadgets, micro electro mechanical systems, and wireless sensors have significantly increased local power demand. In order to circumvent the energy demand; to allow limitless power supply, and to avoid chemical waste from conventional batteries, low power local energy harvesters are proposed for harvesting energy from different ambient energy sources. Piezoelectric materials have received tremendous interest in energy harvesting technology due to its unique ability to capitalize the ambient vibrations to generate electric potential. Their crystalline configuration allows the material to convert mechanical strain energy into electrical potential, and vice versa. This article discusses the various approaches in vibration based energy scavenging where piezoelectric materials are employed as the energy conversion medium.

  2. Vibration analysis of a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor for detecting characteristic materials of volatility liquid

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gu, Yu; Li, Qiang; Xu, Bao-Jun; Zhao, Zhe

    2014-01-01

    We present a new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor that takes a quartz piezoelectric crystal as the basal material and a nanometer nonmetallic polymer thin film as the surface coating based on the principle of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The new sensor can be used to detect the characteristic materials of a volatile liquid. A mechanical model of the new sensor was built, whose structure was a thin circle plate composing of polytef/quartz piezoelectric/polytef. The mechanical model had a diameter of 8 mm and a thickness of 170 μm. The vibration state of the model was simulated by software ANSYS after the physical parameters and the boundary condition of the new sensor were set. According to the results of experiments, we set up a frequency range from 9.995850 MHz to 9.997225 MHz, 17 kinds of frequencies and modes of vibration were obtained within this range. We found a special frequency fsp of 9.996358 MHz. When the resonant frequency of the new sensor's mechanical model reached the special frequency, a special phenomenon occurred. In this case, the amplitude of the center point O on the mechanical model reached the maximum value. At the same time, the minimum absolute difference between the simulated frequency based on the ANSYS software and the experimental measured stable frequency was reached. The research showed that the design of the new polymer quartz piezoelectric crystal sensor perfectly conforms to the principle of QCM. A special frequency value fsp was found and subsequently became one of the most important parameters in the new sensor design.

  3. Piezoelectric films for high frequency ultrasonic transducers in biomedical applications

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Qifa; Lau, Sienting; Wu, Dawei; Shung, K. Kirk

    2011-01-01

    Piezoelectric films have recently attracted considerable attention in the development of various sensor and actuator devices such as nonvolatile memories, tunable microwave circuits and ultrasound transducers. In this paper, an overview of the state of art in piezoelectric films for high frequency transducer applications is presented. Firstly, the basic principles of piezoelectric materials and design considerations for ultrasound transducers will be introduced. Following the review, the current status of the piezoelectric films and recent progress in the development of high frequency ultrasonic transducers will be discussed. Then details for preparation and structure of the materials derived from piezoelectric thick film technologies will be described. Both chemical and physical methods are included in the discussion, namely, the sol–gel approach, aerosol technology and hydrothermal method. The electric and piezoelectric properties of the piezoelectric films, which are very important for transducer applications, such as permittivity and electromechanical coupling factor, are also addressed. Finally, the recent developments in the high frequency transducers and arrays with piezoelectric ZnO and PZT thick film using MEMS technology are presented. In addition, current problems and further direction of the piezoelectric films for very high frequency ultrasound application (up to GHz) are also discussed. PMID:21720451

  4. Piezoelectric films for high frequency ultrasonic transducers in biomedical applications.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Qifa; Lau, Sienting; Wu, Dawei; Shung, K Kirk

    2011-02-01

    Piezoelectric films have recently attracted considerable attention in the development of various sensor and actuator devices such as nonvolatile memories, tunable microwave circuits and ultrasound transducers. In this paper, an overview of the state of art in piezoelectric films for high frequency transducer applications is presented. Firstly, the basic principles of piezoelectric materials and design considerations for ultrasound transducers will be introduced. Following the review, the current status of the piezoelectric films and recent progress in the development of high frequency ultrasonic transducers will be discussed. Then details for preparation and structure of the materials derived from piezoelectric thick film technologies will be described. Both chemical and physical methods are included in the discussion, namely, the sol-gel approach, aerosol technology and hydrothermal method. The electric and piezoelectric properties of the piezoelectric films, which are very important for transducer applications, such as permittivity and electromechanical coupling factor, are also addressed. Finally, the recent developments in the high frequency transducers and arrays with piezoelectric ZnO and PZT thick film using MEMS technology are presented. In addition, current problems and further direction of the piezoelectric films for very high frequency ultrasound application (up to GHz) are also discussed.

  5. Piezoelectric Ignition of Nanocomposite Energetic Materials

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-01-01

    Sensitivity, Piezoelectric Crystals, Nanoparticles, Thermites Eric Collins, Michelle L Pantoya, Andreas Neuber, Michael Daniels, Daniel Prentice...use of PZT as an alternative ignition source. Key Words: Aluminum, Ignition, Combustion, Piezocrystal, Nanoparticles, Thermites ... thermites ,” Combustion and Flame, vol. 138, no. 4, pp. 373–383, Sep. 2004. [13] T. Bazyn, N. Glumac, H. Krier, T. S. Ward, M. Schoenitz, and E. L

  6. Modelling of cantilever based on piezoelectric energy harvester

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rahim, N. F.; Ong, N. R.; Aziz, M. H. A.; Alcain, J. B.; Haimi, W. M. W. N.; Sauli, Z.

    2017-09-01

    Recent technology allows devices to become smaller and with more functions. However, the battery size remained the same and for some devices, the battery must be larger in order to accommodate the greater power demands by the portable device. Piezoelectric energy harvester has been suggested as a substitute for the batteries in coming future. In this paper, a cantilever based piezoelectric energy harvester was modelled and simulated using COMSOL software. The analysis focused on the mechanical part of the harvesting system such as output power, output voltage and vibration frequency. Results of the simulations proved that flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters using nano-materials had remarkable strength under the large strain. However, although the large strain was induced on the flexible energy harvesters, the output power was still lower than the bulk and MEMS piezoelectric energy harvesters that operated at the resonance frequency. The off-resonance operation and very lower packing density of the active piezoelectric materials of the flexible energy harvesters resulted in a low output power.

  7. Enhanced Piezoelectric Response of AlN via CrN Alloying

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  8. Enhanced Piezoelectric Response of AlN via CrN Alloying

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Manna, Sukriti; Talley, Kevin R.; Gorai, Prashun

    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 structuremore » 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.« less

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  10. Active Piezoelectric Structures for Tip Clearance Management Assessed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    Managing blade tip clearance in turbomachinery stages is critical to developing advanced subsonic propulsion systems. Active casing structures with embedded piezoelectric actuators appear to be a promising solution. They can control static and dynamic tip clearance, compensate for uneven deflections, and accomplish electromechanical coupling at the material level. In addition, they have a compact design. To assess the feasibility of this concept and assist the development of these novel structures, the NASA Lewis Research Center developed in-house computational capabilities for composite structures with piezoelectric actuators and sensors, and subsequently used them to simulate candidate active casing structures. The simulations indicated the potential of active casings to modify the blade tip clearance enough to improve stage efficiency. They also provided valuable design information, such as preliminary actuator configurations (number and location) and the corresponding voltage patterns required to compensate for uneven casing deformations. An active ovalization of a casing with four discrete piezoceramic actuators attached on the outer surface is shown. The center figure shows the predicted radial displacements along the hoop direction that are induced when electrostatic voltage is applied at the piezoceramic actuators. This work, which has demonstrated the capabilities of in-house computational models to analyze and design active casing structures, is expected to contribute toward the development of advanced subsonic engines.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  12. Polarization Stability of Amorphous Piezoelectric Polyimides

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  13. Piezoelectric devices for generating low power

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chilibon, Irinela

    2016-12-01

    This paper reviews concepts and applications in low-power electronics and energy harvesting technologies. Various piezoelectric materials and devices for small power generators useful in renewable electricity are presented. The vibrating piezoelectric device differs from the typical electrical power source in that it has capacitive rather than inductive source impedance, and may be driven by mechanical vibrations of varying amplitude. In general, vibration energy could be converted into electrical energy using one of three techniques: electrostatic charge, magnetic fields and piezoelectric. A low power piezoelectric generator, having a PZT element was realised in order to supply small electronic elements, such as optoelectronic small devices, LEDs, electronic watches, small sensors, interferometry with lasers or Micro-electro-mechanical System (MEMS) array with multi-cantilevers.

  14. Progress in engineering high strain lead-free piezoelectric ceramics

    PubMed Central

    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

  15. Fabrication and calibration of a piezoelectric nanocomposite paint

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  16. Flexoelectricity and piezoelectricity in nanostructures and consequences for energy harvesting and storage

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Majdoub, Mohamed Sabri

    In response to mechanical stimuli, certain crystalline dielectrics (piezoelectrics) electrically polarize. Symmetry considerations restrict it to be non-zero only for dielectrics belonging to crystallographic point groups that admit non-centrosymmetry. A non-uniform strain field or the presence of strain gradients can, however, locally break inversion symmetry and induce polarization even in centrosymmetric crystals. This phenomenon is termed flexoelectrictiy. Recently, flexoelectricity has caught the attention of several researchers and indeed some have proposed tantalizing notions related to this phenomenon such as "piezoelectric materials without using piezoelectric materials," "renormalization of Curie temperature in ferroelectric thin films" and "electro-mechanical nano-indentation size-effect," among others. In this dissertation, we investigate (using theoretical and atomistic methods) the role of flexoelectricity in nanostructures that are already piezoelectric and the emergent consequences for electromechanical behavior, energy harvesting and storage. We show that flexoelectricity can result in a significant enhancement of the effective piezoelectric response of nanostructures, e.g., as much as 300% in tetragonal (piezoelectric) BaTiO3 nanobeams. In a certain optimum size range, piezoelectric nanostructures also exhibit enhanced energy harvesting. Energy storage is a major bottleneck in the emerging "energy crisis." Next generation advances in energy storage and nanoelectronics require capacitors fabricated at the nanoscale. High dielectric constant materials such as ferroelectrics are important candidates for those. Recent work has shown that, despite popular belief, electrostatic nanocapacitor arrays can be used for high energy storage density as well and not just high power density (i.e., paving the way for large scale application such as the automobile). Consider the following: the expected capacitance of a 2.7 nm SrTiO3 thin film is 1600 fFmicrom -2

  17. Experiments to Demonstrate Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Effects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    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…

  18. Piezoelectric coefficients of bulk 3R transition metal dichalcogenides

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Konabe, Satoru; Yamamoto, Takahiro

    2017-09-01

    The piezoelectric properties of bulk transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with a 3R structure were investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory combined with the Berry phase treatment. Values for the elastic constant Cijkl , the piezoelectric coefficient eijk , and the piezoelectric coefficient dijk are given for bulk 3R-TMDCs (MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2). The piezoelectric coefficients of bulk 3R-TMDCs are shown to be sufficiently large or comparable to those of conventional bulk piezoelectric materials such as α-quartz, wurtzite GaN, and wurtzite AlN.

  19. Means and method for nonuniform poling of piezoelectric transducers

    DOEpatents

    Hsu, David K.; Margetan, Frank J.; Hasselbusch, Michael D.; Wormley, Samuel J.; Hughes, Michael S.; Thompson, Donald O.

    1990-10-09

    An apparatus and method for nonuniform poling of piezoelectric transducers includes machining one or more indentation into an end of a piezoelectric rod and cutting the rod to present a thickened disk shape. Highly electrically conductive material is deposited on at least the indentations in the one end and on at least portions of the opposite face of the member. One or more electrodes are configured to matingly fit within the indentations on the one face of the disk, with a like number of electrodes being positionable on the opposite face of the material. Electrical power is then applied to the electrodes in desired amounts, polarity, and duration. The indentations vary the electrical field produced within the piezoelectric material to produce nonuniform poling in the material. The thick disk is then cut to remove the indentations and to present a thin, flat two sided disk for installation in a conventional piezoelectric transducer probe. The indentations are selected to produce poling in accordance with desired transducer response profiles such as Gaussian or Bessel functions.

  20. Means and method for nonuniform poling of piezoelectric transducers

    DOEpatents

    Hsu, D.K.; Margetan, F.J.; Hasselbusch, M.D.; Wormley, S.J.; Hughes, M.S.; Thompson, D.O.

    1990-10-09

    An apparatus and method are disclosed for nonuniform poling of piezoelectric transducers includes machining one or more indentation into an end of a piezoelectric rod and cutting the rod to present a thickened disk shape. Highly electrically conductive material is deposited on at least the indentations in the one end and on at least portions of the opposite face of the member. One or more electrodes are configured to matingly fit within the indentations on the one face of the disk, with a like number of electrodes being positionable on the opposite face of the material. Electrical power is then applied to the electrodes in desired amounts, polarity, and duration. The indentations vary the electrical field produced within the piezoelectric material to produce nonuniform poling in the material. The thick disk is then cut to remove the indentations and to present a thin, flat two sided disk for installation in a conventional piezoelectric transducer probe. The indentations are selected to produce poling in accordance with desired transducer response profiles such as Gaussian or Bessel functions. 14 figs.

  1. Spacecraft Jitter Attenuation Using Embedded Piezoelectric Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Belvin, W. Keith

    1995-01-01

    Remote sensing from spacecraft requires precise pointing of measurement devices in order to achieve adequate spatial resolution. Unfortunately, various spacecraft disturbances induce vibrational jitter in the remote sensing instruments. The NASA Langley Research Center has performed analysis, simulations, and ground tests to identify the more promising technologies for minimizing spacecraft pointing jitter. These studies have shown that the use of smart materials to reduce spacecraft jitter is an excellent match between a maturing technology and an operational need. This paper describes the use of embedding piezoelectric actuators for vibration control and payload isolation. In addition, recent advances in modeling, simulation, and testing of spacecraft pointing jitter are discussed.

  2. Paper actuators made with cellulose and hybrid materials.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jaehwan; Yun, Sungryul; Mahadeva, Suresha K; Yun, Kiju; Yang, Sang Yeol; Maniruzzaman, Mohammad

    2010-01-01

    Recently, cellulose has been re-discovered as a smart material that can be used as sensor and actuator materials, which is termed electro-active paper (EAPap). This paper reports recent advances in paper actuators made with cellulose and hybrid materials such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes, conducting polymers and ionic liquids. Two distinct actuator principles in EAPap actuators are demonstrated: piezoelectric effect and ion migration effect in cellulose. Piezoelectricity of cellulose EAPap is quite comparable with other piezoelectric polymers. But, it is biodegradable, biocompatible, mechanically strong and thermally stable. To enhance ion migration effect in the cellulose, polypyrrole conducting polymer and ionic liquids were nanocoated on the cellulose film. This hybrid cellulose EAPap nanocomposite exhibits durable bending actuation in an ambient humidity and temperature condition. Fabrication, characteristics and performance of the cellulose EAPap and its hybrid EAPap materials are illustrated. Also, its possibility for remotely microwave-driven paper actuator is demonstrated.

  3. Process and Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures with Embedded Fiber Optic Sensors and Piezoelectric Transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keulen, Casey James

    Advanced composite materials are becoming increasingly more valuable in a plethora of engineering applications due to properties such as tailorability, low specific strength and stiffness and resistance to fatigue and corrosion. Compared to more traditional metallic and ceramic materials, advanced composites such as carbon, aramid or glass reinforced plastic are relatively new and still require research to optimize their capabilities. Three areas that composites stand to benefit from improvement are processing, damage detection and life prediction. Fiber optic sensors and piezoelectric transducers show great potential for advances in these areas. This dissertation presents the research performed on improving the efficiency of advanced composite materials through the use of embedded fiber optic sensors and surface mounted piezoelectric transducers. Embedded fiber optic sensors are used to detect the presence of resin during the injection stage of resin transfer molding, monitor the degree of cure and predict the remaining useful life while in service. A sophisticated resin transfer molding apparatus was developed with the ability of embedding fiber optics into the composite and a glass viewing window so that resin flow sensors could be verified visually. A novel technique for embedding optical fiber into both 2- and 3-D structures was developed. A theoretical model to predict the remaining useful life was developed and a systematic test program was conducted to verify this model. A network of piezoelectric transducers was bonded to a composite panel in order to develop a structural health monitoring algorithm capable of detecting and locating damage in a composite structure. A network configuration was introduced that allows for a modular expansion of the system to accommodate larger structures and an algorithm based on damage progression history was developed to implement the network. The details and results of this research are contained in four manuscripts that

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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

  5. Energy harvesting performance of piezoelectric ceramic and polymer nanowires.

    PubMed

    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 (<1 kHz) typically characteristic of ambient vibrations. In this context, we introduce vibrational energy harvesting (VEH) coefficients ηS and ηT, 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

  6. LC Circuits for Diagnosing Embedded Piezoelectric Devices

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  7. Piezoelectricity of green carp scales

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, H. Y.; Yen, F.; Huang, C. W.; Mei, R. B.; Chen, L.

    2017-04-01

    Piezoelectricity takes part in multiple important functions and processes in biomaterials often vital to the survival of organisms. Here, we investigate the piezoelectric properties of fish scales of green carp by directly examining their morphology at nanometer levels. Two types of regions are found to comprise the scales, a smooth one and a rough one. The smooth region is comprised of a ridge and trough pattern and the rough region characterized by a flat base with an elevated mosaic of crescents. Piezoelectricity is found on the ridges and base regions of the scales. From clear distinctions between the composition of the inner and outer surfaces of the scales, we identify the piezoelectricity to originate from the presence of hydroxyapatite which only exists on the surface of the fish scales. Our findings reveal a different mechanism of how green carp are sensitive to their surroundings and should be helpful to studies related to the electromechanical properties of marine life and the development of bio-inspired materials.

  8. Shunted Piezoelectric Vibration Damping Analysis Including Centrifugal Loading Effects

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  9. Cantilevered probe detector with piezoelectric element

    DOEpatents

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

    2014-04-29

    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.

  10. Cantilevered probe detector with piezoelectric element

    DOEpatents

    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.

  11. Cantilevered probe detector with piezoelectric element

    DOEpatents

    Adams, Jesse D [Reno, NV; Sulchek, Todd A [Oakland, CA; Feigin, Stuart C [Reno, NV

    2012-07-10

    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.

  12. Cantilevered probe detector with piezoelectric element

    DOEpatents

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

    2010-04-06

    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.

  13. Piezoelectric Characteristics of Chiral Polymer Composite Films Obtained under Strong Magnetic Field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakiri, Takuo; Okuno, Masaki; Maki, Nobuyuki; Kanasaki, Masayoshi; Morimoto, Yu; Okamoto, Satoshi; Ishizuka, Masayuki; Fukuda, Kazuyuki; Takaki, Toshihiko; Tajitsu, Yoshiro

    2005-09-01

    It is difficult to obtain a drawn chiral polymer/inorganic material composite membrane with shear piezoelectricity by the conventional method because the chiral polymer/inorganic material composite membrane breaks during the drawing process by which shear piezoelectricity is realized. Using a strong magnetic field, we propose to manufacture a drawn composite membrane of poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA), a chiral polymer, and hydroxyapatite (Hap), an inoroganic material (PLLA/Hap composite membrane). The manufacturing method used here is effective for obtaining a drawn PLLA/Hap composite membrane with a large uniform area. Also, the shear piezoelectric constant of the drawn PLLA/Hap composite membrane is about 20 pC/N. This value is large for piezoelectric polymers.

  14. Fabrication of flexible piezoelectric PZT/fabric composite.

    PubMed

    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.

  15. Fabrication of Flexible Piezoelectric PZT/Fabric Composite

    PubMed Central

    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. PMID:24348194

  16. Advanced high performance horizontal piezoelectric hybrid synthetic jet actuator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Xu, Tian-Bing (Inventor); Jiang, Xiaoning (Inventor); Su, Ji (Inventor)

    2012-01-01

    The present invention comprises a high performance, horizontal, zero-net mass-flux, synthetic jet actuator for active control of viscous, separated flow on subsonic and supersonic vehicles. The present invention is a horizontal piezoelectric hybrid zero-net mass-flux actuator, in which all the walls of the chamber are electrically controlled synergistically to reduce or enlarge the volume of the synthetic jet actuator chamber in three dimensions simultaneously and to reduce or enlarge the diameter of orifice of the synthetic jet actuator simultaneously with the reduction or enlargement of the volume of the chamber. The present invention is capable of installation in the wing surface as well as embedding in the wetted surfaces of a supersonic inlet. The jet velocity and mass flow rate for the SJA-H will be several times higher than conventional piezoelectric actuators.

  17. Polarization and Piezoelectric Properties of a Nitrile Substituted Polyimide

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  18. Three-dimensional piezoelectric boundary elements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hill, Lisa Renee

    The strong coupling between mechanical and electrical fields in piezoelectric ceramics makes them appropriate for use as actuation devices; as a result, they are an important part of the emerging technologies of smart materials and structures. These piezoceramics are very brittle and susceptible to fracture, especially under the severe loading conditions which may occur in service. A significant portion of the applications under investigation involve dynamic loading conditions. Once a crack is initiated in the piezoelectric medium, the mechanical and electrical fields can act to drive the crack growth. Failure of the actuator can result from a catastrophic fracture event or from the cumulative effects of cyclic fatigue. The presence of these cracks, or other types of material defects, alter the mechanical and electrical fields inside the body. Specifically, concentrations of stress and electric field are present near a flaw and can lead to material yielding or localized depoling, which in turn can affect the sensor/actuator performance or cause failure. Understanding these effects is critical to the success of these smart structures. The complex coupling behavior and the anisotropy of the material makes the use of numerical methods necessary for all but the simplest problems. To this end, a three-dimensional boundary element method program is developed to evaluate the effect of flaws on these piezoelectric materials. The program is based on the linear governing equations of piezoelectricity and relies on a numerically evaluated Green's function for solution. The boundary element method was selected as the evaluation tool due to its ability to model the interior domain exactly. Thus, for piezoelectric materials the coupling between mechanical and electrical fields is not approximated inside the body. Holes in infinite and finite piezoceramics are investigated, with the localized stresses and electric fields clearly developed. The accuracy of the piezoelectric

  19. Piezoelectrically and triboelectrically hybridized self-powered sensor with applications to smart window and human motion detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fuh, Yiin-Kuen; Li, Shan-Chien; Chen, Chun-Yu

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, we demonstrate a hybrid generator, derived from the concurrent adoption of piezoelectric and triboelectric mechanisms in one press-and-release cycle, called a Hybridized Self-Powered sensor (HSPS). A new integration of print circuit board (PCB) technology-based piezoelectric generator (PG) concurrently adopted the direct-write, near-field electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nano/micro-fibers as piezoelectric source materials. On the other hand, triboelectric nanogenerators have the advantages of a high output performance with a simple structure which is also concurrently combined with the PG. The working mechanism of the HSPS includes the PCB-based substrate mounted with parallel aligned piezoelectric PVDF fibers in planar configuration which first bended and generated the electric potential via the effect of piezoelectricity. In what follows, the deformation of a cylindrical rolled-up piezoelectric structure is exercised, and finally, the triboelectric contact of Cu and PTFE layers is physically rubbed against each other with a separation to induce the triboelectric potential. This hybridized generator with a double domed shape design simultaneously combines piezoelectric output and triboelectric output and offers a built-in spacer with automatically spring back capability, which produces a peak output voltage of 100 V, a current of 4 μA, and a maximum power output of 450 nW. A self-powered smart window system was experimentally driven through finger-induced strain of HSPS, showing the optical properties with reversibly tunable transmittances. This research is a substantial advancement in the field of piezoelectric PVDF fibers integration toward the practical application of the whole self-powered system.

  20. A microwave piezoelectric transducer with a microstrip exciter system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grigor'ev, M. A.; Petrov, V. V.; Tolstikov, A. V.

    1990-12-01

    The paper considers a microwave electroacoustic bulk-wave transducer with a microstrip exciter system. The operation of the device is analyzed on the basis of the dependence of the dimensionless radiation resistance on the phase advance in the piezoelectric. The optimal wave resistance, the area of the piezoelectric element, the length of the short-circuited section, the SWR, and the conversion factor are determined.

  1. Resonance analysis of a high temperature piezoelectric disc for sensitivity characterization.

    PubMed

    Bilgunde, Prathamesh N; Bond, Leonard J

    2018-07-01

    Ultrasonic transducers for high temperature (200 °C+) applications are a key enabling technology for advanced nuclear power systems and in a range of chemical and petro-chemical industries. Design, fabrication and optimization of such transducers using piezoelectric materials remains a challenge. In this work, experimental data-based analysis is performed to investigate the fundamental causal factors for the resonance characteristics of a piezoelectric disc at elevated temperatures. The effect of all ten temperature-dependent piezoelectric constants (ε 33 , ε 11 , d 33 , d 31 , d 15 , s 11 , s 12 , s 13 , s 33 , s 44 ) is studied numerically on both the radial and thickness mode resonances of a piezoelectric disc. A sensitivity index is defined to quantify the effect of each of the temperature-dependent coefficients on the resonance modes of the modified lead zirconium titanate disc. The temperature dependence of s 33 showed highest sensitivity towards the thickness resonance mode followed by ε 33 , s 11 , s 13 , s 12 , d 31 , d 33 , s 44 , ε 11 , and d 15 in the decreasing order of the sensitivity index. For radial resonance modes, the temperature dependence of ε 33 showed highest sensitivity index followed by s 11 , s 12 and d 31 coefficient. This numerical study demonstrates that the magnitude of d 33 is not the sole factor that affects the resonance characteristics of the piezoelectric disc at high temperatures. It appears that there exists a complex interplay between various temperature dependent piezoelectric coefficients that causes reduction in the thickness mode resonance frequencies which is found to be agreement in with the experimental data at an elevated temperature. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Paper Actuators Made with Cellulose and Hybrid Materials

    PubMed Central

    Kim, Jaehwan; Yun, Sungryul; Mahadeva, Suresha K.; Yun, Kiju; Yang, Sang Yeol; Maniruzzaman, Mohammad

    2010-01-01

    Recently, cellulose has been re-discovered as a smart material that can be used as sensor and actuator materials, which is termed electro-active paper (EAPap). This paper reports recent advances in paper actuators made with cellulose and hybrid materials such as multi-walled carbon nanotubes, conducting polymers and ionic liquids. Two distinct actuator principles in EAPap actuators are demonstrated: piezoelectric effect and ion migration effect in cellulose. Piezoelectricity of cellulose EAPap is quite comparable with other piezoelectric polymers. But, it is biodegradable, biocompatible, mechanically strong and thermally stable. To enhance ion migration effect in the cellulose, polypyrrole conducting polymer and ionic liquids were nanocoated on the cellulose film. This hybrid cellulose EAPap nanocomposite exhibits durable bending actuation in an ambient humidity and temperature condition. Fabrication, characteristics and performance of the cellulose EAPap and its hybrid EAPap materials are illustrated. Also, its possibility for remotely microwave-driven paper actuator is demonstrated. PMID:22294882

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  4. Subatomic deformation driven by vertical piezoelectricity from CdS ultrathin films

    PubMed Central

    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

    2016-01-01

    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 (d33) 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. PMID:27419234

  5. Subatomic deformation driven by vertical piezoelectricity from CdS ultrathin films.

    PubMed

    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.

  6. Rectifying the output of vibrational piezoelectric energy harvester using quantum dots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Lijie

    2017-03-01

    Piezoelectric energy harvester scavenges mechanical vibrations and generates electricity. Researchers have strived to optimize the electromechanical structures and to design necessary external power management circuits, aiming to deliver high power and rectified outputs ready for serving as batteries. Complex deformation of the mechanical structure results in charges with opposite polarities appearing on same surface, leading to current loss in the attached metal electrode. External power management circuits such as rectifiers comprise diodes that consume power and have undesirable forward bias. To address the above issues, we devise a novel integrated piezoelectric energy harvesting device that is structured by stacking a layer of quantum dots (QDs) and a layer of piezoelectric material. We find that the QD can rectify electrical charges generated from the piezoelectric material because of its adaptable conductance to the electrochemical potentials of both sides of the QDs layer, so that electrical current causing energy loss on the same surface of the piezoelectric material can be minimized. The QDs layer has the potential to replace external rectification circuits providing a much more compact and less power-consumption solution.

  7. Advanced Ceramic Armor Materials

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1990-05-11

    materials, toughened alumina, fiber -reinforced glass matrix composites, and multilayer-gradient materials for ballistic testing. Fabrication and...material systems: Multilayer advanced armor materials consisting of a hard ceramic faceplate bonded to a graphite fiber -reinforced glass matrix...toughened alumina, and fiber - applied studies of advanced reinforced ceramic matrix glass and glass -ceramic composites for ballistic testing. technologies

  8. Piezoelectric ceramic implants: in vivo results.

    PubMed

    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.

  9. Analysis and Testing of Plates with Piezoelectric Sensors and Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bevan, Jeffrey S.

    1998-01-01

    Piezoelectric material inherently possesses coupling between electrostatics and structural dynamics. Utilizing linear piezoelectric theory results in an intrinsically coupled pair of piezoelectric constitutive equations. One equation describes the direct piezoelectric effect where strains produce an electric field and the other describes the converse effect where an applied electrical field produces strain. The purpose of this study is to compare finite element analysis and experiments of a thin plate with bonded piezoelectric material. Since an isotropic plate in combination with a thin piezoelectric layer constitutes a special case of a laminated composite, the classical laminated plate theory is used in the formulation to accommodated generic laminated composite panels with multiple bonded and embedded piezoelectric layers. Additionally, the von Karman large deflection plate theory is incorporated. The formulation results in laminate constitutive equations that are amiable to the inclusion of the piezoelectric constitutive equations yielding in a fully electro-mechanically coupled composite laminate. Using the finite element formulation, the governing differential equations of motion of a composite laminate with embedded piezoelectric layers are derived. The finite element model not only considers structural degrees of freedom (d.o.f.) but an additional electrical d.o.f. for each piezoelectric layer. Comparison between experiment and numerical prediction is performed by first treating the piezoelectric as a sensor and then again treating it as an actuator. To assess the piezoelectric layer as a sensor, various uniformly distributed pressure loads were simulated in the analysis and the corresponding generated voltages were calculated using both linear and nonlinear finite element analyses. Experiments were carried out by applying the same uniformly distributed loads and measuring the resulting generated voltages and corresponding maximum plate deflections. It is

  10. Design, Manufacturing and Characterization of Functionally Graded Flextensional Piezoelectric Actuators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2013-03-01

    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.

  11. Energy harvesting from mouse click of robot finger using piezoelectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cha, Youngsu; Hong, Jin; Lee, Jaemin; Park, Jung-Min; Kim, Keehoon

    2017-04-01

    In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of energy harvesting from the mouse click motion using a piezoelectric energy transducer. Specifically, we use a robotic finger to realize repeatable mouse click motion. The robotic finger wears a glove with a pocket for including the piezoelectric material as an energy transducer. We propose a model for the energy harvesting system through the inverse kinematic framework of parallel joints in the finger and the electromechanical coupling equations of the piezoelectric material. Experiments are performed to elucidate the effect of the load resistance and the mouse click motion on energy harvesting.

  12. Acceleration of osteogenesis by using barium titanate piezoelectric ceramic as an implant material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furuya, K.; Morita, Y.; Tanaka, K.; Katayama, T.; Nakamachi, E.

    2011-04-01

    As bone has piezoelectric properties, it is expected that activity of bone cells and bone formation can be accelerated by applying piezoelectric ceramics to implants. Since lead ions, included in ordinary piezoelectric ceramics, are harmful, a barium titanate (BTO) ceramic, which is a lead-free piezoelectric ceramic, was used in this study. The purpose of this study was to investigate piezoelectric effects of surface charge of BTO on cell differentiation under dynamic loading in vitro. Rat bone marrow cells seeded on surfaces of BTO ceramics were cultured in culture medium supplemented with dexamethasone, β-glycerophosphate and ascorbic acid while a dynamic load was applied to the BTO ceramics. After 10 days of cultivation, the cell layer and synthesized matrix on the BTO surfaces were scraped off, and then DNA content, alkaline phosphtase (ALP) activity and calcium content were measured, to evaluate osteogenic differentiation. ALP activity on the charged BTO surface was slightly higher than that on the non-charged BTO surface. The amount of calcium on the charged BTO surface was also higher than that on the non-charged BTO surface. These results showed that the electric charged BTO surface accelerated osteogenesis.

  13. Full Piezoelectric Multilayer-Stacked Hybrid Actuation/Transduction Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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

  14. Giant piezoelectricity of monolayer group IV monochalcogenides: SnSe, SnS, GeSe, and GeS

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fei, Ruixiang; Li, Wenbin; Li, Ju; Yang, Li

    2015-10-01

    We predict enormous, anisotropic piezoelectric effects in intrinsic monolayer group IV monochalcogenides (MX, M=Sn or Ge, X=Se or S), including SnSe, SnS, GeSe, and GeS. Using first-principle simulations based on the modern theory of polarization, we find that their piezoelectric coefficients are about one to two orders of magnitude larger than those of other 2D materials, such as MoS2 and GaSe, and bulk quartz and AlN which are widely used in industry. This enhancement is a result of the unique "puckered" C2v symmetry and electronic structure of monolayer group IV monochalcogenides. Given the achieved experimental advances in the fabrication of monolayers, their flexible character, and ability to withstand enormous strain, these 2D structures with giant piezoelectric effects may be promising for a broad range of applications such as nano-sized sensors, piezotronics, and energy harvesting in portable electronic devices.

  15. Advances in dental materials.

    PubMed

    Fleming, Garry J P

    2014-05-01

    The dental market is replete with new resorative materials marketed on the basis of novel technological advances in materials chemistry, bonding capability or reduced operator time and/or technique sensitivity. This paper aims to consider advances in current materials, with an emphasis on their role in supporting contemporary clinical practice.

  16. Piezoelectric particle accelerator

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kemp, Mark A.; Jongewaard, Erik N.; Haase, Andrew A.

    2017-08-29

    A particle accelerator is provided that includes a piezoelectric accelerator element, where the piezoelectric accelerator element includes a hollow cylindrical shape, and an input transducer, where the input transducer is disposed to provide an input signal to the piezoelectric accelerator element, where the input signal induces a mechanical excitation of the piezoelectric accelerator element, where the mechanical excitation is capable of generating a piezoelectric electric field proximal to an axis of the cylindrical shape, where the piezoelectric accelerator is configured to accelerate a charged particle longitudinally along the axis of the cylindrical shape according to the piezoelectric electric field.

  17. Temperature compensated piezoelectric materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Neurgaonkar, R. R.; Cross, L. E.

    1982-01-01

    From the electrostriction measurements on SBN crystals, it was found that the fourth order electrostrictive coupling terms are not adequate to fully describe the paraelectric phase above Curie temperature, and hence six rank coupling terms are needed; the electrostrictive coupling terms do not change markedly with cation substitution. Results of SAW measurements on the SBN:60 crystal showed that this composition possesses temperature-compensated orientations and it is similar to other best-known bronze composition PKN. Efforts are being made to establish acoustical losses correctly for this composition and based on this information, necessary changes in crystal composition will be made. The liquid phase epitaxial growth work has been shown to be successful not only for the Sr.5Ba.5Nb206, but other important bronze composition Sr2KNb5015 (hetero-epitaxial growth) onto the various orientations of the SBN crystal. Efforts are under way to establish their piezoelectric and acoustical properties.

  18. Ultrasonic resonant piezoelectric actuator with intrinsic torque measurement.

    PubMed

    Pott, Peter P; Matich, Sebastian; Schlaak, Helmut F

    2012-11-01

    Piezoelectric ultrasonic actuators are widely used in small-scale actuation systems, in which a closed-loop position control is usually utilized. To save an additional torque sensor, the intrinsic measurement capabilities of the piezoelectric material can be employed. To prove feasibility, a motor setup with clearly separated actuation for the friction and driving forces is chosen. The motor concept is based on resonant ultrasonic vibrations. To assess the effects of the direct piezoelectric effect, a capacitance bridge-type circuit has been selected. Signal processing is done by a measurement card with an integrated field-programmable gate array. The motor is used to drive a winch, and different torques are applied by means of weights to be lifted. Assessing the bridge voltage, a good proportionality to the applied torque of 1.47 mV/mN·m is shown. A hysteresis of 1% has been determined. The chosen motor concept is useful for intrinsic torque measurement. However, it provides drawbacks in terms of limited mechanical performance, wear, and thermal losses because of the soft piezoelectric material. Future work will comprise the application of the method to commercially available piezoelectric actuators as well as the implementation of the measurement circuit in an embedded system.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  2. Improvement of Piezoelectricity in Piezoelectric Paper Made With Cellulose

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-11-25

    Cellulose microfibril has ordered crystalline regions and disordered regions. b. EAPap is made from cellulose paper on which gold electrodes are...Final Report: AOARD-084035 Improvement of Piezoelectricity in Piezoelectric Paper made with Cellulose •Prof. Jaehwan Kim Center for EAPap...webpage: www.EAPap.com ABSTRACT This report deals with the improvement of piezoelectricity in the piezoelectric paper made with cellulose

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  4. The effect of crystal structure on the electromechanical properties of piezoelectric Nylon-11 nanowires.

    PubMed

    Choi, Yeon Sik; Kim, Sung Kyun; Williams, Findlay; Calahorra, Yonatan; Elliott, James A; Kar-Narayan, Sohini

    2018-06-19

    Crystal structure is crucial in determining the properties of piezoelectric polymers, particularly at the nanoscale where precise control of the crystalline phase is possible. Here, we investigate the electromechanical properties of three distinct crystalline phases of Nylon-11 nanowires using advanced scanning probe microscopy techniques. Stiff α-phase nanowires exhibited a low piezoelectric response, while relatively soft δ'-phase nanowires displayed an enhanced piezoelectric response.

  5. Radiation tolerance of piezoelectric bulk single-crystal aluminum nitride

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    David A. Parks; Bernhard R. Tittmann

    2014-07-01

    For practical use in harsh radiation environments, we pose selection criteria for piezoelectric materials for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and material characterization. Using these criteria, piezoelectric aluminum nitride is shown to be an excellent candidate. The results of tests on an aluminumnitride-based transducer operating in a nuclear reactor are also presented. We demonstrate the tolerance of single-crystal piezoelectric aluminum nitride after fast and thermal neutron fluences of 1.85 × 1018 neutron/cm2 and 5.8 × 1018 neutron/cm2, respectively, and a gamma dose of 26.8 MGy. The radiation hardness of AlN is most evident from the unaltered piezoelectric coefficient d33, which measured 5.5more » pC/N after a fast and thermal neutron exposure in a nuclear reactor core for over 120 MWh, in agreement with the published literature value. The results offer potential for improving reactor safety and furthering the understanding of radiation effects on materials by enabling structural health monitoring and NDE in spite of the high levels of radiation and high temperatures, which are known to destroy typical commercial ultrasonic transducers.« less

  6. Human-computer interface glove using flexible piezoelectric sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Li, Fei; Zhang, Shujun; Yang, Tiannan

    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 propertiesmore » 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.« less

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

    DOE PAGES

    Li, Fei; Zhang, Shujun; Yang, Tiannan; ...

    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 propertiesmore » 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.« less

  10. A piezoelectric brace for passive suppression of structural vibration and energy harvesting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Chuang-Sheng Walter; Lai, Yong-An; Kim, Jin-Yeon

    2017-08-01

    Power outage after an earthquake would cause an additional chaos to the existing aftermath, greatly aggravating the situation if the outage lasts for an extended period. This research aims at developing an innovative piezoelectric brace, which provides both passive energy-dissipating and energy-harvesting capabilities—a passive suppression of structural vibrations and conversion of vibration energy into reusable electricity. The piezoelectric brace has compression modules that exert compressive loads on the piezoelectric material regardless if the brace is in compression or in tension. The compression module consists of a piezoelectric stack and rubber pads. The rubber pads are used to limit the maximum strain in the piezoelectric material below the allowable operational strain. The electro-mechanical equations of motion are derived for a 1-story and a 3-story frame model with the piezoelectric braces. To evaluate the structural behavior and the energy harvesting performance, numerical simulations are executed for the two model buildings (in downtown Los Angeles) that are equipped with the piezoelectric braces. The effects of design parameters including the geometry of the piezoelectric stack and rubber pads and the electric resistance in the electro-mechanical conversion circuit on the performance are investigated. The numerical results indicate that the piezoelectric braces passively dissipate energy through inclined oval-shaped hysteretic loops. The harvested energy is up to approximately 40% of the input energy. The structural displacements are significantly reduced, as compared to the original frames without the piezoelectric braces. Finally, a design procedure for a frame with the proposed passive piezoelectric braces is also presented.

  11. Piezoelectric valve

    DOEpatents

    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.

  12. Power enhancement of piezoelectric transformers by adding heat transfer equipment.

    PubMed

    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.

  13. Cylindrical Piezoelectric Fiber Composite Actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  14. Modeling and analysis on ring-type piezoelectric transformers.

    PubMed

    Ho, Shine-Tzong

    2007-11-01

    This paper presents an electromechanical model for a ring-type piezoelectric transformer (PT). To establish this model, vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric ring with free boundary conditions are analyzed in advance. Based on the vibration analysis of the piezoelectric ring, the operating frequency and vibration mode of the PT are chosen. Then, electromechanical equations of motion for the PT are derived based on Hamilton's principle, which can be used to simulate the coupled electromechanical system for the transformer. Such as voltage stepup ratio, input impedance, output impedance, input power, output power, and efficiency are calculated by the equations. The optimal load resistance and the maximum efficiency for the PT will be presented in this paper. Experiments also were conducted to verify the theoretical analysis, and a good agreement was obtained.

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

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Kaspar, Tiffany C.; Hong, Seungbum; Bowden, Mark E.

    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-raymore » 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.« less

  16. Ultrahigh piezoelectricity in ferroelectric ceramics by design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  17. Ultrahigh piezoelectricity in ferroelectric ceramics by design.

    PubMed

    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

    2018-04-01

    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(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PMN-PT), as rare-earth dopants tend to change the local structure of Pb-based perovskite ferroelectrics. We achieve ultrahigh piezoelectric coefficients d 33 of up to 1,500 pC N -1 and dielectric permittivity ε 33 /ε 0 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.

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

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Shupeng; Zhang, Zhihui, E-mail: zhzh@jlu.edu.cn; Ren, Luquan

    2014-06-15

    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 principlemore » 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.« less

  19. Analytical and experimental investigation of flutter suppression by piezoelectric actuation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heeg, Jennifer

    1993-01-01

    The objective of this research was to analytically and experimentally study the capabilities of piezoelectric plate actuators for suppressing flutter. Piezoelectric materials are characterized by their ability to produce voltage when subjected to a mechanical strain. The converse piezoelectric effect can be utilized to actuate a structure by applying a voltage. For this investigation, a two-degree-of-freedom wind tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. The model consisted of a rigid wing and a flexible mount system that permitted a translational and a rotational degree of freedom. The model was designed such that flutter was encountered within the testing envelope of the wind tunnel. Actuators made of piezoelectric material were affixed to leaf springs of the mount system. Command signals, applied to the piezoelectric actuators, exerted control over the damping and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed by using finite element methods, laminated plate theory, and aeroelastic analysis tools. Plant characteristics were determined from this model and verified by open loop experimental tests. A flutter suppression control law was designed and implemented on a digital control computer. Closed loop flutter testing was conducted. The experimental results represent the first time that adaptive materials have been used to actively suppress flutter. They demonstrate that small, carefully placed actuating plates can be used effectively to control aeroelastic response.

  20. High-response piezoelectricity modeled quantitatively near a phase boundary

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Newns, Dennis M.; Kuroda, Marcelo A.; Cipcigan, Flaviu S.; Crain, Jason; Martyna, Glenn J.

    2017-01-01

    Interconversion of mechanical and electrical energy via the piezoelectric effect is fundamental to a wide range of technologies. The discovery in the 1990s of giant piezoelectric responses in certain materials has therefore opened new application spaces, but the origin of these properties remains a challenge to our understanding. A key role is played by the presence of a structural instability in these materials at compositions near the "morphotropic phase boundary" (MPB) where the crystal structure changes abruptly and the electromechanical responses are maximal. Here we formulate a simple, unified theoretical description which accounts for extreme piezoelectric response, its observation at compositions near the MPB, accompanied by ultrahigh dielectric constant and mechanical compliances with rather large anisotropies. The resulting model, based upon a Landau free energy expression, is capable of treating the important domain engineered materials and is found to be predictive while maintaining simplicity. It therefore offers a general and powerful means of accounting for the full set of signature characteristics in these functional materials including volume conserving sum rules and strong substrate clamping effects.

  1. Design and Performance of a Metal-Shielded Piezoelectric Sensor.

    PubMed

    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.

  2. A classical mechanics model for the interpretation of piezoelectric property data

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bell, Andrew J., E-mail: a.j.bell@leeds.ac.uk

    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 expressionmore » 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.« less

  3. Cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites for sensor applications in civil engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dong, Biqin

    The objectives of this thesis are to develop and apply a new smart composite for the sensing and actuation application of civil engineering. Piezoelectric ceramic powder is incorporated into cement-based composite to achieve the sensing and actuation capability. The research investigates microstructure, polarization and aging, material properties and performance of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites both theoretically and experimentally. A hydrogen bonding is found at the interface of piezoelectric ceramic powder and cement phase by IR (Infrared Ray), XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) and SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy). It largely affects the material properties of composites. A simple first order model is introduced to explain the poling mechanism of composites and the dependency of polarization is discussed using electromechanical coupling coefficient kt. The mechanisms acting on the aging effect is explored in detail. Dielectrical, piezoelectric and mechanical properties of the cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites are studied by experiment and theoretical calculation based on modified cube model (n=1) with chemical bonding . A complex circuit model is proposed to explain the unique feature of impedance spectra and the instinct of high-loss of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composite. The sensing ability of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composite has been evaluated by using step wave, sine wave, and random wave. It shows that the output of the composite can reflects the nature and characteristics of mechanical input. The work in this thesis opens a new direction for the current actuation/sensing technology in civil engineering. The materials and techniques, developed in this work, have a great potential in application of health monitoring of buildings and infrastructures.

  4. Structural control by the use of piezoelectric active members

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  5. Static aeroelastic behavior of an adaptive laminated piezoelectric composite wing

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  6. Advanced Techniques for Ultrasonic Imaging in the Presence of Material and Geometrical Complexity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brath, Alexander Joseph

    The complexity of modern engineering systems is increasing in several ways: advances in materials science are leading to the design of materials which are optimized for material strength, conductivity, temperature resistance etc., leading to complex material microstructure; the combination of additive manufacturing and shape optimization algorithms are leading to components with incredibly intricate geometrical complexity; and engineering systems are being designed to operate at larger scales in ever harsher environments. As a result, at the same time that there is an increasing need for reliable and accurate defect detection and monitoring capabilities, many of the currently available non-destructive evaluation techniques are rendered ineffective by this increasing material and geometrical complexity. This thesis addresses the challenges posed by inspection and monitoring problems in complex engineering systems with a three-part approach. In order to address material complexities, a model of wavefront propagation in anisotropic materials is developed, along with efficient numerical techniques to solve for the wavefront propagation in inhomogeneous, anisotropic material. Since material and geometrical complexities significantly affect the ability of ultrasonic energy to penetrate into the specimen, measurement configurations are tailored to specific applications which utilize arrays of either piezoelectric (PZT) or electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT). These measurement configurations include novel array architectures as well as the exploration of ice as an acoustic coupling medium. Imaging algorithms which were previously developed for isotropic materials with simple geometry are adapted to utilize the more powerful wavefront propagation model and novel measurement configurations.

  7. Vibration reduction of a woven composite fan blade by piezoelectric shunted devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thierry, Olivier; De Smet, Olivier; Deü, Jean-François

    2016-09-01

    This study concerns the vibration reduction in the low frequency range of a composite fan blade of a turbojet engine with piezoelectric devices. The interest is to increase lifespan and avoid flutter phenomena by reducing the vibration amplitude. The solution considered in the work consists in using piezoelectric elements connected to a passive electric circuit usually called shunt. The use of woven composite materials for fan blades enables to plan on embedding piezoelectric materials, for instance in the form of patches inserted between the composite and the coating material. The work presented during this conference will illustrate the feasibility of a piezoelectric shunted device integrated in an industrial application that doesn't require electrical supply. For such a structure, it is shown that a purely passive resonant shunt can significantly reduce the level of vibration of the second bending mode and that a good correlation between experiments and simulations validates the best fitting finite element model.

  8. Piezoelectric polymer multilayer on flexible substrate for energy harvesting.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Lei; Oh, Sharon Roslyn; Wong, Ting Chong; Tan, Chin Yaw; Yao, Kui

    2013-09-01

    A piezoelectric polymer multilayer structure formed on a flexible substrate is investigated for mechanical energy harvesting under bending mode. Analytical and numerical models are developed to clarify the effect of material parameters critical to the energy harvesting performance of the bending multilayer structure. It is shown that the maximum power is proportional to the square of the piezoelectric stress coefficient and the inverse of dielectric permittivity of the piezoelectric polymer. It is further found that a piezoelectric multilayer with thinner electrodes can generate more electric energy in bending mode. The effect of improved impedance matching in the multilayer polymer on energy output is remarkable. Comparisons between piezoelectric ceramic multilayers and polymer multilayers on flexible substrate are discussed. The fabrication of a P(VDF-TrFE) multilayer structure with a thin Al electrode layer is experimentally demonstrated by a scalable dip-coating process on a flexible aluminum substrate. The results indicate that it is feasible to produce a piezoelectric polymer multilayer structure on flexible substrate for harvesting mechanical energy applicable for many low-power electronics.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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

  10. Vibration Analysis of Composite Laminate Plate Excited by Piezoelectric Actuators

    PubMed Central

    Her, Shiuh-Chuan; Lin, Chi-Sheng

    2013-01-01

    Piezoelectric materials can be used as actuators for the active vibration control of smart structural systems. In this work, piezoelectric patches are surface bonded to a composite laminate plate and used as vibration actuators. A static analysis based on the piezoelectricity and elasticity is conducted to evaluate the loads induced by the piezoelectric actuators to the host structure. The loads are then employed to develop the vibration response of a simply supported laminate rectangular plate excited by piezoelectric patches subjected to time harmonic voltages. An analytical solution of the vibration response of a simply supported laminate rectangular plate under time harmonic electrical loading is obtained and compared with finite element results to validate the present approach. The effects of location and exciting frequency of piezoelectric actuators on the vibration response of the laminate plate are investigated through a parametric study. Numerical results show that modes can be selectively excited, leading to structural vibration control. PMID:23529121

  11. Ferroelectric Domain Structure and Local Piezoelectric Properties of Lead-Free (Ka0.5Na0.5)NbO3 and BiFeO3-Based Piezoelectric Ceramics

    PubMed Central

    Alikin, Denis; Turygin, Anton; Kholkin, Andrei; Shur, Vladimir

    2017-01-01

    Recent advances in the development of novel methods for the local characterization of ferroelectric domains open up new opportunities not only to image, but also to control and to create desired domain configurations (domain engineering). The morphotropic and polymorphic phase boundaries that are frequently used to increase the electromechanical and dielectric performance of ferroelectric ceramics have a tremendous effect on the domain structure, which can serve as a signature of complex polarization states and link local and macroscopic piezoelectric and dielectric responses. This is especially important for the study of lead-free ferroelectric ceramics, which is currently replacing traditional lead-containing materials, and great efforts are devoted to increasing their performance to match that of lead zirconate titanate (PZT). In this work, we provide a short overview of the recent progress in the imaging of domain structure in two major families of ceramic lead-free systems based on BiFeO3 (BFO) and (Ka0.5Na0.5)NbO3 (KNN). This can be used as a guideline for the understanding of domain processes in lead-free piezoelectric ceramics and provide further insight into the mechanisms of structure–property relationship in these technologically important material families. PMID:28772408

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

    PubMed

    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.

  13. Piezoelectric Nanostructures for Mechanical Energy Harvesting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ardila, G.; Hinchet, R.; Montès, L.; Mouis, M.

    2013-05-01

    We present the most studied piezoelectric materials at the nanoscale and discuss their vertical integration into harvesting devices. Finite element method (FEM) simulations are used to obtain optimization guidelines rules of a specific design.

  14. Distributed structural control using multilayered piezoelectric actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cudney, Harley H.; Inman, Daniel J.; Oshman, Yaakov

    1990-01-01

    A method of segmenting piezoelectric sensors and actuators is proposed which can preclude the currently experienced cancelation of sensor signals, or the reduction of actuator effectiveness, due to the integration of the property undergoing measurement or control. The segmentation method is demonstrated by a model developed for beam structures, to which multiple layers of piezoelectric materials are attached. A numerical study is undertaken of increasing active and passive damping of a beam using the segmented sensors and actuators over unsegmented sensors and actuators.

  15. Use of piezoelectric multicomponent force measuring devices in fluid mechanics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  16. Control of piezoelectricity in amino acids by supramolecular packing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  17. Control of piezoelectricity in amino acids by supramolecular packing.

    PubMed

    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.

  18. Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of hydroxyapatite-BaTiO3 composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bowen, C. R.; Gittings, J.; Turner, I. G.; Baxter, F.; Chaudhuri, J. B.

    2006-09-01

    This letter describes the relationships between the composition and the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of hydroxyapatite-barium titanate composites for polarized bone substitutes. The ac conductivity and permittivity were characterized from 0.1Hzto1MHz, along with measurements of the d33 piezoelectric charge coefficient. The addition of BaTiO3 led to an increase in permittivity and ac conductivity of the material. The increase in both properties was attributed to the presence of the high permittivity ferroelectric phase. The d33 and g33 coefficients decreased rapidly as hydroxyapatite was introduced into BaTiO3 material. Composites below 80% by volume of BaTiO3 exhibited no net piezoelectric effect.

  19. An analytical and experimental investigation of flutter suppression via piezoelectric actuation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heeg, Jennifer

    1992-01-01

    The objective of this research was to analytically and experimentally study the capabilities of adaptive material plate actuators for suppressing flutter. Piezoelectrics are materials which are characterized by their ability to produce voltage when subjected to a mechanical strain. The converse piezoelectric effect can be utilized to actuate a structure by applying a voltage. For this investigation, a two degree of freedom wind-tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. The model consisted of a rigid wing and a flexible mount system which permitted translational and rotational degrees of freedom. Actuators, made of piezoelectric material were affixed to leaf springs on the mount system. Command signals, applied to the piezoelectric actuators, exerted control over the closed-loop damping and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed using finite element and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed using finite element methods, laminated plate theory, and aeroelastic analysis tools. A flutter suppression control law was designed, implemented on a digital control computer, and tested to conditions 20 percent above the passive flutter speed of the model. The experimental results represent the first time that adaptive materials have been used to actively suppress flutter. It demonstrates that small, carefully-placed actuating plates can be used effectively to control aeroelastic response.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  1. Using Piezoelectric Devices to Transmit Power through Walls

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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

  2. Piezoelectric Behaviour of Sputtered Aluminium Nitride Thin Film for High Frequency Ultrasonic Sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herzog, T.; Walter, S.; Bartzsch, H.; Gittner, M.; Gloess, D.; Heuer, H.

    2011-06-01

    Many new materials and processes require non destructive evaluation in higher resolutions by phased array ultrasonic techniques in a frequency range up to 250 MHz. This paper presents aluminium nitride, a promising material for the use as a piezoelectric sensor material in the considered frequency range, which contains the potential for high frequency phased array application in the future. This work represents the fundamental development of piezoelectric aluminium nitride films with a thickness of up to 10 μm. We have investigated and optimized the deposition process of the aluminium nitride thin film layers regarding their piezoelectric behavior. Therefore a specific test setup and a measuring station were created to determine the piezoelectric charge constant (d33) and the electro acoustic behavior of the sensor. Single element transducers were deposited on silicon substrates with aluminium electrodes for top and bottom, using different parameters for the magnetron sputter process, like pressure and bias voltage. Afterwards acoustical measurements up to 500 MHz in pulse echo mode have been carried out and the electrical and electromechanical properties were qualified. In two different parameter sets for the sputtering process excellent piezoelectric charge constant of about 8.0 pC/N maximum were obtained.

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  4. Quantitative modeling of coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior of piezoelectric actuators bonded to an elastic medium for structural health monitoring: a review.

    PubMed

    Huang, Guoliang; Song, Fei; Wang, Xiaodong

    2010-01-01

    Elastic waves, especially guided waves, generated by a piezoelectric actuator/sensor network, have shown great potential for on-line health monitoring of advanced aerospace, nuclear, and automotive structures in recent decades. Piezoelectric materials can function as both actuators and sensors in these applications due to wide bandwidth, quick response and low costs. One of the most fundamental issues surrounding the effective use of piezoelectric actuators is the quantitative evaluation of the resulting elastic wave propagation by considering the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior between the actuator and the host medium. Accurate characterization of the local interfacial stress distribution between the actuator and the host medium is the key issue for the problem. This paper presents a review of the development of analytical, numerical and hybrid approaches for modeling of the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior. The resulting elastic wave propagation for structural health monitoring is also summarized.

  5. Quantitative Modeling of Coupled Piezo-Elastodynamic Behavior of Piezoelectric Actuators Bonded to an Elastic Medium for Structural Health Monitoring: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Guoliang; Song, Fei; Wang, Xiaodong

    2010-01-01

    Elastic waves, especially guided waves, generated by a piezoelectric actuator/sensor network, have shown great potential for on-line health monitoring of advanced aerospace, nuclear, and automotive structures in recent decades. Piezoelectric materials can function as both actuators and sensors in these applications due to wide bandwidth, quick response and low costs. One of the most fundamental issues surrounding the effective use of piezoelectric actuators is the quantitative evaluation of the resulting elastic wave propagation by considering the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior between the actuator and the host medium. Accurate characterization of the local interfacial stress distribution between the actuator and the host medium is the key issue for the problem. This paper presents a review of the development of analytical, numerical and hybrid approaches for modeling of the coupled piezo-elastodynamic behavior. The resulting elastic wave propagation for structural health monitoring is also summarized. PMID:22319319

  6. Piezoelectric characterization of Sc0.26Al0.74N layers on Si (001) substrates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sinusía Lozano, M.; Pérez-Campos, A.; Reusch, M.; Kirste, L.; Fuchs, Th; Žukauskaitė, A.; Chen, Z.; Iriarte, G. F.

    2018-03-01

    Scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) films have been synthesized by pulsed-DC reactive magnetron sputtering. The degree of c-axis orientation as well as piezoelectric characteristics of the Sc0.26Al0.74N thin films grown on Si (001) at various discharge powers and processing pressures values have been investigated. According to x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, the texture of the as-grown Sc0.26Al0.74N thin films becomes more prominent in the [0001]-direction at the highest target power (700 W) and at the lowest processing pressure (4 mTorr). The piezoelectric response, as determined by measuring the d33 piezoelectric constant, shows a maximum value of -12 pC/N also at 4 mTorr and 700 W, confirming a direct correlation between the d33 piezoelectric constant and the degree of orientation in the [0001]-direction. The atomic concentration of Sc and Al in the synthesized ScAlN thin film, determined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), reveals a Sc concentration lower than in the ScAl alloy target. The piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) shows homogeneous polarity distribution with no inversion domains. The piezoelectric layers have been used to fabricate and measure surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators on a Sc0.26Al0.74N/Si (001) bilayer system with resonance frequency of 1.4 GHz and coupling coefficient of 0.567. Such characteristic in the frequency response reveals the potential of these materials for advanced SAW devices in applications such as next generation (5 G) wireless communication systems.

  7. Laser-machined piezoelectric cantilevers for mechanical energy harvesting.

    PubMed

    Kim, HyunUk; Bedekar, Vishwas; Islam, Rashed Adnan; Lee, Woo-Ho; Leo, Don; Priya, Shashank

    2008-09-01

    In this study, we report results on a piezoelectric- material-based mechanical energy-harvesting device that was fabricated by combining laser machining with microelectronics packaging technology. It was found that the laser-machining process did not have significant effect on the electrical properties of piezoelectric material. The fabricated device was tested in the low-frequency regime of 50 to 1000 Hz at constant force of 8 g (where g = 9.8 m/s(2)). The device was found to generate continuous power of 1.13 microW at 870 Hz across a 288.5 kOmega load with a power density of 301.3 microW/cm(3).

  8. Design and Performance of a Metal-Shielded Piezoelectric Sensor

    PubMed Central

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

    2017-01-01

    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. PMID:28587224

  9. Constitutive Modeling of Piezoelectric Polymer Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Odegard, Gregory M.; Gates, Tom (Technical Monitor)

    2003-01-01

    A new modeling approach is proposed for predicting the bulk electromechanical properties of piezoelectric composites. The proposed model offers the same level of convenience as the well-known Mori-Tanaka method. In addition, it is shown to yield predicted properties that are, in most cases, more accurate or equally as accurate as the Mori-Tanaka scheme. In particular, the proposed method is used to determine the electromechanical properties of four piezoelectric polymer composite materials as a function of inclusion volume fraction. The predicted properties are compared to those calculated using the Mori-Tanaka and finite element methods.

  10. Tubular fluoropolymer arrays with high piezoelectric response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  13. Piezoelectric Bimorphs' Characteristics as In-Socket Sensors for Transfemoral Amputees

    PubMed Central

    El-Sayed, Amr M.; Hamzaid, Nur Azah; Osman, Noor Azuan Abu

    2014-01-01

    Alternative sensory systems for the development of prosthetic knees are being increasingly highlighted nowadays, due to the rapid advancements in the field of lower limb prosthetics. This study presents the use of piezoelectric bimorphs as in-socket sensors for transfemoral amputees. An Instron machine was used in the calibration procedure and the corresponding output data were further analyzed to determine the static and dynamic characteristics of the piezoelectric bimorph. The piezoelectric bimorph showed appropriate static operating range, repeatability, hysteresis, and frequency response for application in lower prosthesis, with a force range of 0–100 N. To further validate this finding, an experiment was conducted with a single transfemoral amputee subject to measure the stump/socket pressure using the piezoelectric bimorph embedded inside the socket. The results showed that a maximum interface pressure of about 27 kPa occurred at the anterior proximal site compared to the anterior distal and posterior sites, consistent with values published in other studies. This paper highlighted the capacity of piezoelectric bimorphs to perform as in-socket sensors for transfemoral amputees. However, further experiments are recommended to be conducted with different amputees with different socket types. PMID:25513823

  14. Design of optimized piezoelectric HDD-sliders

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nakasone, Paulo H.; Yoo, Jeonghoon; Silva, Emilio C. N.

    2010-04-01

    As storage data density in hard-disk drives (HDDs) increases for constant or miniaturizing sizes, precision positioning of HDD heads becomes a more relevant issue to ensure enormous amounts of data to be properly written and read. Since the traditional single-stage voice coil motor (VCM) cannot satisfy the positioning requirement of high-density tracks per inch (TPI) HDDs, dual-stage servo systems have been proposed to overcome this matter, by using VCMs to coarsely move the HDD head while piezoelectric actuators provides fine and fast positioning. Thus, the aim of this work is to apply topology optimization method (TOM) to design novel piezoelectric HDD heads, by finding optimal placement of base-plate and piezoelectric material to high precision positioning HDD heads. Topology optimization method is a structural optimization technique that combines the finite element method (FEM) with optimization algorithms. The laminated finite element employs the MITC (mixed interpolation of tensorial components) formulation to provide accurate and reliable results. The topology optimization uses a rational approximation of material properties to vary the material properties between 'void' and 'filled' portions. The design problem consists in generating optimal structures that provide maximal displacements, appropriate structural stiffness and resonance phenomena avoidance. The requirements are achieved by applying formulations to maximize displacements, minimize structural compliance and maximize resonance frequencies. This paper presents the implementation of the algorithms and show results to confirm the feasibility of this approach.

  15. Micromechanical Prediction of the Effective Coefficients of Thermo-Piezoelectric Multiphase Composites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aboudi, Jacob

    1998-01-01

    The micromechanical generalized method of cells model is employed for the prediction of the effective elastic, piezoelectric, dielectric, pyroelectric and thermal-expansion constants of multiphase composites with embedded piezoelectric materials. The predicted effective constants are compared with other micromechanical methods available in the literature and good agreements are obtained.

  16. A piezoelectric transformer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  18. Hydrogen species motion in piezoelectrics: A quasi-elastic neutron scattering study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alvine, K. J.; Tyagi, M.; Brown, C. M.; Udovic, T. J.; Jenkins, T.; Pitman, S. G.

    2012-03-01

    Hydrogen is known to damage or degrade piezoelectric materials, at low pressure for ferroelectric random access memory applications, and at high pressure for hydrogen-powered vehicle applications. The piezoelectric degradation is in part governed by the motion of hydrogen species within the piezoelectric materials. We present here quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) measurements of the local hydrogen species motion within lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and barium titanate (BTO) on samples charged by exposure to high-pressure gaseous hydrogen (≈17 MPa). Neutron vibrational spectroscopy (NVS) studies of the hydrogen-enhanced vibrational modes are presented as well. Results are discussed in the context of theoretically predicted interstitial hydrogen lattice sites and compared to comparable bulk diffusion studies of hydrogen diffusion in lead zirconate titanate.

  19. Planar Rotary Piezoelectric Motor Using Ultrasonic Horns

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Badescu, Mircea; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Geiyer, Daniel; Ostlund, Patrick N.; Allen, Phillip

    2011-01-01

    A motor involves a simple design that can be embedded into a plate structure by incorporating ultrasonic horn actuators into the plate. The piezoelectric material that is integrated into the horns is pre-stressed with flexures. Piezoelectric actuators are attractive for their ability to generate precision high strokes, torques, and forces while operating under relatively harsh conditions (temperatures at single-digit K to as high as 1,273 K). Electromagnetic motors (EM) typically have high rotational speed and low torque. In order to produce a useful torque, these motors are geared down to reduce the speed and increase the torque. This gearing adds mass and reduces the efficiency of the EM. Piezoelectric motors can be designed with high torques and lower speeds directly without the need for gears. Designs were developed for producing rotary motion based on the Barth concept of an ultrasonic horn driving a rotor. This idea was extended to a linear motor design by having the horns drive a slider. The unique feature of these motors is that they can be designed in a monolithic planar structure. The design is a unidirectional motor, which is driven by eight horn actuators, that rotates in the clockwise direction. There are two sets of flexures. The flexures around the piezoelectric material are pre-stress flexures and they pre-load the piezoelectric disks to maintain their being operated under compression when electric field is applied. The other set of flexures is a mounting flexure that attaches to the horn at the nodal point and can be designed to generate a normal force between the horn tip and the rotor so that to first order it operates independently and compensates for the wear between the horn and the rotor.

  20. A Resonant Damping Study Using Piezoelectric Materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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%.

  1. Advanced materials for energy storage.

    PubMed

    Liu, Chang; Li, Feng; Ma, Lai-Peng; Cheng, Hui-Ming

    2010-02-23

    Popularization of portable electronics and electric vehicles worldwide stimulates the development of energy storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors, toward higher power density and energy density, which significantly depends upon the advancement of new materials used in these devices. Moreover, energy storage materials play a key role in efficient, clean, and versatile use of energy, and are crucial for the exploitation of renewable energy. Therefore, energy storage materials cover a wide range of materials and have been receiving intensive attention from research and development to industrialization. In this Review, firstly a general introduction is given to several typical energy storage systems, including thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic, hydrogen, and electrochemical energy storage. Then the current status of high-performance hydrogen storage materials for on-board applications and electrochemical energy storage materials for lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors is introduced in detail. The strategies for developing these advanced energy storage materials, including nanostructuring, nano-/microcombination, hybridization, pore-structure control, configuration design, surface modification, and composition optimization, are discussed. Finally, the future trends and prospects in the development of advanced energy storage materials are highlighted.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  3. Adaptive Highly Flexible Multifunctional Wings for Active and Passive Control and Energy Harvesting with Piezoelectric Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tsushima, Natsuki

    The purpose of this dissertation is to develop an analytical framework to analyze highly flexible multifunctional wings with integral active and passive control and energy harvesting using piezoelectric transduction. Such multifunctional wings can be designed to enhance aircraft flight performance, especially to support long-endurance flights and to be adaptive to various flight conditions. This work also demonstrates the feasibility of the concept of piezoelectric multifunctional wings for the concurrent active control and energy harvesting to improve the aeroelastic performance of high-altitude long-endurance unmanned air vehicles. Functions of flutter suppression, gust alleviation, energy generation, and energy storage are realized for the performance improvement. The multifunctional wings utilize active and passive piezoelectric effects for the efficient adaptive control and energy harvesting. An energy storage with thin-film lithium-ion battery cells is designed for harvested energy accumulation. Piezoelectric effects are included in a strain-based geometrically nonlinear beam formulation for the numerical studies. The resulting structural dynamic equations are coupled with a finite-state unsteady aerodynamic formulation, allowing for piezoelectric energy harvesting and active actuation with the nonlinear aeroelastic system. This development helps to provide an integral electro-aeroelastic solution of concurrent active piezoelectric control and energy harvesting for wing vibrations, with the consideration of the geometrical nonlinear effects of slender multifunctional wings. A multifunctional structure for active actuation is designed by introducing anisotropic piezoelectric laminates. Linear quadratic regulator and linear quadratic Gaussian controllers are implemented for the active control of wing vibrations including post-flutter limit-cycle oscillations and gust perturbation. An adaptive control algorithm for gust perturbation is then developed. In this

  4. A temperature compensation methodology for piezoelectric based sensor devices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Dong F.; Lou, Xueqiao; Bao, Aijian; Yang, Xu; Zhao, Ji

    2017-08-01

    A temperature compensation methodology comprising a negative temperature coefficient thermistor with the temperature characteristics of a piezoelectric material is proposed to improve the measurement accuracy of piezoelectric sensing based devices. The piezoelectric disk is characterized by using a disk-shaped structure and is also used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed compensation method. The measured output voltage shows a nearly linear relationship with respect to the applied pressure by introducing the proposed temperature compensation method in a temperature range of 25-65 °C. As a result, the maximum measurement accuracy is observed to be improved by 40%, and the higher the temperature, the more effective the method. The effective temperature range of the proposed method is theoretically analyzed by introducing the constant coefficient of the thermistor (B), the resistance of initial temperature (R0), and the paralleled resistance (Rx). The proposed methodology can not only eliminate the influence of piezoelectric temperature dependent characteristics on the sensing accuracy but also decrease the power consumption of piezoelectric sensing based devices by the simplified sensing structure.

  5. Active control of nano dimers response using piezoelectric effect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mekkawy, Ahmed A.; Ali, Tamer A.; Badawi, Ashraf H.

    2016-09-01

    Nano devices can be used as building blocks for Internet of Nano-Things network devices, such as sensors/actuators, transceivers, and routers. Although nano particles response can be engineered to fit in different regimes, for such a nano particle to be used as an active nano device, its properties should be dynamically controlled. This controllability is a challenge, and there are many proposed techniques to tune nanoparticle response on the spot through a sort of control signal, wither that signal is optical (for all-optical systems) or electronic (for opto-electronic systems). This will allow the use of nano particles as nano-switches or as dynamic sensors that can pick different frequencies depending on surrounding conditions or depending on a smart decisions. In this work, we propose a piezoelectric substrate as an active control mediator to control plasmonic gaps in nano dimers. This method allows for integrating nano devices with regular electronics while communicating control signals to nano devices through applying electric signals to a piezoelectric material, in order to control the gaps between nano particles in a nano cluster. We do a full numerical study to the system, analyzing the piezoelectric control resolution (minimum gap change step) and its effect on a nanodimer response as a nanoantenna. This analysis considers the dielectric functions of materials within the visible frequencies range. The effects of different parameters, such as the piezoelectric geometrical structure and materials, on the gap control resolution and the operating frequency are studied.

  6. Electromechanical coupling and temperature-dependent polarization reversal in piezoelectric ceramics.

    PubMed

    Weaver, Paul M; Cain, Markys G; Correia, Tatiana M; Stewart, Mark

    2011-09-01

    Electrostriction plays a central role in describing the electromechanical properties of ferroelectric materials, including widely used piezoelectric ceramics. The piezoelectric properties are closely related to the underlying electrostriction. Small-field piezoelectric properties can be described as electrostriction offset by the remanent polarization which characterizes the ferroelectric state. Indeed, even large-field piezoelectric effects are accurately accounted for by quadratic electrostriction. However, the electromechanical properties deviate from this simple electrostrictive description at electric fields near the coercive field. This is particularly important for actuator applications, for which very high electromechanical coupling can be obtained in this region. This paper presents the results of an experimental study of electromechanical coupling in piezoelectric ceramics at electric field strengths close to the coercive field, and the effects of temperature on electromechanical processes during polarization reversal. The roles of intrinsic ferroelectric strain coupling and extrinsic domain processes and their temperature dependence in determining the electromechanical response are discussed.

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

    PubMed Central

    Yan, Zhi; Zaman, Mostafa; Jiang, Liying

    2011-01-01

    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. PMID:28824130

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

    PubMed

    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.

  9. Characterization of Full Set Material Constants and Their Temperature Dependence for Piezoelectric Materials Using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy

    PubMed Central

    Tang, Liguo; Cao, Wenwu

    2016-01-01

    During the operation of high power electromechanical devices, a temperature rise is unavoidable due to mechanical and electrical losses, causing the degradation of device performance. In order to evaluate such degradations using computer simulations, full matrix material properties at elevated temperatures are needed as inputs. It is extremely difficult to measure such data for ferroelectric materials due to their strong anisotropic nature and property variation among samples of different geometries. Because the degree of depolarization is boundary condition dependent, data obtained by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) impedance resonance technique, which requires several samples with drastically different geometries, usually lack self-consistency. The resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) technique allows the full set material constants to be measured using only one sample, which can eliminate errors caused by sample to sample variation. A detailed RUS procedure is demonstrated here using a lead zirconate titanate (PZT-4) piezoceramic sample. In the example, the complete set of material constants was measured from room temperature to 120 °C. Measured free dielectric constants and  were compared with calculated ones based on the measured full set data, and piezoelectric constants d15 and d33 were also calculated using different formulas. Excellent agreement was found in the entire range of temperatures, which confirmed the self-consistency of the data set obtained by the RUS. PMID:27168336

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  11. Parametric Shape Optimization of Lens-Focused Piezoelectric Ultrasound Transducers.

    PubMed

    Thomas, Gilles P L; Chapelon, Jean-Yves; Bera, Jean-Christophe; Lafon, Cyril

    2018-05-01

    Focused transducers composed of flat piezoelectric ceramic coupled with an acoustic lens present an economical alternative to curved piezoelectric ceramics and are already in use in a variety of fields. Using a displacement/pressure (u/p) mixed finite element formulation combined with parametric level-set functions to implicitly define the boundaries between the materials and the fluid-structure interface, a method to optimize the shape of acoustic lens made of either one or multiple materials is presented. From that method, two 400 kHz focused transducers using acoustic lens were designed and built with different rapid prototyping methods, one of them made with a combination of two materials, and experimental measurements of the pressure field around the focal point are in good agreement with the presented model.

  12. Creation and Optimization of Novel Solar Cell Power via Bimaterial Piezoelectric MEMS Device

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-12-01

    piezoelectric mechanical vibration energy harvesters ,” Integrated Ferroelectrics, vol. 71, pp. 121–160, 2005. [32] Y. C. Shu, I. C. Lien, “Efficiency of...energy conversion for a piezoelectric power harvesting system.” Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, vol. 16, pp. 2429–2438, 2006. [33] C. D...maximum efficiency for piezoelectric vibrations occurs at the natural, or resonant, frequency for the referenced material. If the alternative

  13. Piezoelectric drive circuit

    DOEpatents

    Treu, Jr., Charles A.

    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.

  14. Piezoelectric drive circuit

    DOEpatents

    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.

  15. Using piezo-electric material to simulate a vibration environment

    DOEpatents

    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.

  16. Manufacturing of prestressed piezoelectric unimorphs using a postfired biasing layer.

    PubMed

    Juuti, Jari A; Jantunen, Heli; Moilanen, Veli-Pekka; Leppävuori, Seppo

    2006-05-01

    A novel manufacturing method for prestressed piezoelectric unimorphs is introduced and the actuator properties are examined. Prestressed PZT 5A and PZT 5H unimorphs with piezo material thickness of 250 microm and 375 microm were manufactured by using sintering and thermal shrinkage of the prestressing material. The process was carried out by screen printing a layer of AgPd paste on one side of the sintered bulk ceramic. As an alternative method, dielectric low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) tape was used as the prestressing material. Different configurations were tested to obtain high displacements and to make a comparison between materials. After firing, the samples were poled, and the displacement versus load characteristics of the resulting actuators were investigated. A maximum displacement of 118 microm was obtained from a 250 microm thick, prestressed PZT 5H actuator with a diameter of 25 mm, in which LTCC tape was used as the prestressing layer. Similarly, the PZT 5H material provided a maximum displacement of 63 microm with a screen-printed AgPd prestressing layer. The manufacturing method described offers a novel approach for the production of a wide range of integrated active structures on, for instance, an LTCC circuit board. This is especially important because piezoelectric bulk materials with high piezoelectric coefficients can be used to produce high displacements.

  17. Passively Shunted Piezoelectric Damping of Centrifugally-Loaded Plates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

    2009-01-01

    Researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center have been investigating shunted piezoelectric circuits as potential damping treatments for turbomachinery rotor blades. This effort seeks to determine the effects of centrifugal loading on passively-shunted piezoelectric - damped plates. Passive shunt circuit parameters are optimized for the plate's third bending mode. Tests are performed both non-spinning and in the Dynamic Spin Facility to verify the analysis, and to determine the effectiveness of the damping under centrifugal loading. Results show that a resistive shunt circuit will reduce resonant vibration for this configuration. However, a tuned shunt circuit will be required to achieve the desired damping level. The analysis and testing address several issues with passive shunt circuit implementation in a rotating system, including piezoelectric material integrity under centrifugal loading, shunt circuit implementation, and tip mode damping.

  18. Thermal protection for a self-sensing piezoelectric control system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Simmers, Garnett E., Jr.; Sodano, Henry A.; Park, Gyuhae; Inman, Daniel J.

    2007-12-01

    Piezoelectric materials exhibit high electromechanical coupling that allows them to both generate an electrical signal when strained and, conversely, to produce a strain under an applied electric field. This coupling has led to the use of these materials for a variety of sensing and actuation purposes. One unique application of these materials is their use as self-sensing actuators where both the sensing and actuation functions are performed by a single patch of material. Since the actuation and sensing voltages both exist simultaneously in the piezoelectric material, a specially designed electric circuit, referred to as a bridge circuit, is required to realize the concept. Configuration of the material in this manner is advantageous for control systems due to the enhanced stability associated when collocated control is applied. While certain advantages result from this type of system, precise equilibrium of the bridge circuit is required to achieve stability. This equilibrium is easy to achieve in theory, but difficult in practice due to the thermal dependence of the piezoelectric material's dielectric constant. This study will investigate a novel method of accounting for these changes through the use of thermal switches to passively adjust the bridge circuit and maintain a balanced state. The proposed concept will be theoretically modeled and simulated in a vibration control application to identify the thermal range for stability with and without the array of switches. It will be shown that, through the use of nine thermal switches, the stable operating range can be increased by 95 °C while maintaining vibration control performance.

  19. On the Measurement of the Electrical Power Produced by Melt Spun Piezoelectric Textile Fibres

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matsouka, Dimitroula; Vassiliadis, Savvas; Prekas, Kleanthis; Bayramol, Derman Vatansever; Soin, Navneet; Siores, Elias

    2016-10-01

    Piezoelectric, melt spun, textile fibres as multifunctional materials appeared recently, and they are under thorough investigation and testing in order to define their performance and behaviour. Although piezoelectricity was first reported in 1880 and the piezoelectric behaviour of organic polymers materials has been known since 1969, the fibrous form of the piezoelectric materials under consideration opens new technological horizons; however, it introduces novel restrictions and further complex parameters are involved in their study. The major issue of the current research work is the study of the actual capacity of the piezoelectric fibres, i.e. the electric power produced following mechanical stimulation of the individual fibre. The measurements were made possible after the development of the necessary specific equipment. The test results enabled the ranking of the various types of the piezoelectric fibres according to the respective power generation. The main difference in this research approach is the measurement of the power generated by the fibres. Measurement of the power generated by an electrical power source (in the case of energy harvesting applications which is the prime interest of this research project) is an important characteristic as the requirements of various applications are expressed in units of power. Stating the voltage produced during mechanical deformation of the fibres is not enough (cf. voltage produced due to electrostatic phenomena on textiles where the voltage is in the range is the several kV, but the power is not enough to power a light-emitting diode).

  20. Piezoelectric domains in the AlGaN hexagonal microrods: Effect of crystal orientations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sivadasan, A. K., E-mail: sivankondazhy@gmail.com, E-mail: gm@igcar.gov.in, E-mail: dhara@igcar.gov.in; Dhara, Sandip, E-mail: sivankondazhy@gmail.com, E-mail: gm@igcar.gov.in, E-mail: dhara@igcar.gov.in; Mangamma, G., E-mail: sivankondazhy@gmail.com, E-mail: gm@igcar.gov.in, E-mail: dhara@igcar.gov.in

    2016-05-07

    Presently, the piezoelectric materials are finding tremendous applications in the micro-mechanical actuators, sensors, and self-powered devices. In this context, the studies pertaining to piezoelectric properties of materials in the different size ranges are very important for the scientific community. The III-nitrides are exceptionally important, not only for optoelectronic but also for their piezoelectric applications. In the present study, we synthesized AlGaN via self-catalytic vapor-solid mechanism by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition technique on AlN base layer over intrinsic Si(100) substrate. The growth process is substantiated using X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Raman and photoluminescence studies reveal the formationmore » of AlGaN microrods in the wurtzite phase and ensure the high optical quality of the crystalline material. The single crystalline, direct wide band gap and hexagonally shaped AlGaN microrods are studied for understanding the behavior of the crystallites under the application of constant external electric field using the piezoresponse force microscopy. The present study is mainly focused on understanding the behavior of induced polarization for the determination of piezoelectric coefficient of AlGaN microrod along the c-axis and imaging of piezoelectric domains in the sample originating because of the angular inclination of AlGaN microrods with respect to its AlN base layers.« less

  1. Low-Frequency and Broadband Vibration Energy Harvesting Using Base-Mounted Piezoelectric Transducers.

    PubMed

    Koven, Robert; Mills, Matthew; Gale, Richard; Aksak, Burak

    2017-11-01

    Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters often consist of a cantilevered beam composed of a support layer and one or two piezoelectric layers with a tip mass. While this configuration is advantageous for maximizing electromechanical coupling, the mechanical properties of the piezoelectric material can place limitations on harvester size and resonant frequency. Here, we present numerical and experimental results from a new type of piezoelectric energy harvester in which the mechanical properties and the resonant frequency of the cantilever beam resonator are effectively decoupled from the piezoelectric component. Referred to as a base-mounted piezoelectric (BMP) harvester in this paper, this new design features a piezoelectric transducer mounted beneath the base of the cantilevered beam resonator. The flexibility in the material choice for the cantilever beam resonator means that the resonant frequency and the beam dimensions are essentially free parameters. A prototype made with a 1.6 mm mm mm polyurethane beam, a PZT-5H piezoelectric transducer, and an 8.36-g tip mass is shown to produce an average power of 8.75 and at 45 Hz across a 13.0- load under harmonic base excitations of constant peak acceleration at 0.25 and 1.0-g, respectively. We also show an increase in full-width half-maximum bandwidth approximately from 1.5 to 5.6 Hz using an array of four individual BMP harvesters of similar dimensions with peak power generation of at 37.6 Hz across a 1.934- load at 0.25-g peak base excitation. Finite elements-based numerical simulations are shown to be in reasonable agreement with experimental results, indicating that the harvester behaves like a damped mass-spring system as proposed in this paper. Fabricated using casting and laser machining techniques, this harvester shows potential as a low-cost option for powering small, low-power wireless sensor nodes and other low-power devices.

  2. Shock-loading response of advanced materials

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gray, G.T. III

    1993-08-01

    Advanced materials, such as composites (metal, ceramic, or polymer-matrix), intermetallics, foams (metallic or polymeric-based), laminated materials, and nanostructured materials are receiving increasing attention because their properties can be custom tailored specific applications. The high-rate/impact response of advanced materials is relevant to a broad range of service environments such as the crashworthiness of civilian/military vehicles, foreign-object-damage in aerospace, and light-weight armor. Increased utilization of these material classes under dynamic loading conditions requires an understanding of the relationship between high-rate/shock-wave response as a function of microstructure if we are to develop models to predict material behavior. In this paper the issues relevantmore » to defect generation, storage, and the underlying physical basis needed in predictive models for several advanced materials will be reviewed.« less

  3. Giant piezoelectric size effects in zinc oxide and gallium nitride nanowires. A first principles investigation.

    PubMed

    Agrawal, Ravi; Espinosa, Horacio D

    2011-02-09

    Nanowires made of materials with noncentrosymmetric crystal structure are under investigation for their piezoelectric properties and suitability as building blocks for next-generation self-powered nanodevices. In this work, we investigate the size dependence of piezoelectric coefficients in nanowires of two such materials - zinc oxide and gallium nitride. Nanowires, oriented along their polar axis, ranging from 0.6 to 2.4 nm in diameter were modeled quantum mechanically. A giant piezoelectric size effect is identified for both GaN and ZnO nanowires. However, GaN exhibits a larger and more extended size dependence than ZnO. The observed size effect is discussed in the context of charge redistribution near the free surfaces leading to changes in local polarization. The study reveals that local changes in polarization and reduction of unit cell volume with respect to bulk values lead to the observed size effect. These results have strong implication in the field of energy harvesting, as piezoelectric voltage output scales with the piezoelectric coefficient.

  4. Hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Xu, Tian-Bing (Inventor); Jiang, Xiaoning (Inventor); Su, Ji (Inventor); Rehrig, Paul W. (Inventor); Hackenberger, Wesley S. (Inventor)

    2008-01-01

    A hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system includes: (a) first and second symmetric, pre-curved piezoelectric elements mounted separately on a frame so that their concave major surfaces are positioned opposite to each other; and (b) a linear piezoelectric element mounted separately on the frame and positioned between the pre-curved piezoelectric elements. The pre-curved piezoelectric elements and the linear piezoelectric element are spaced from one another and communicate with energy harvesting circuitry having contact points on the frame. The hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system has a higher electromechanical energy conversion efficiency than any known piezoelectric transducer.

  5. Multiscale Modeling of Advanced Materials for Damage Prediction and Structural Health Monitoring

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-05-01

    Viscoplasticity Model ................................................. 71 4.1. PZT (APC 850) Orthotropic Properties...surface-mounted lead zirconate titanate ( PZT ) transducer using a coupled FEM-normal mode expansion method. Other researchers have also utilized the...orthotropic material properties of the PZT piezoelectric actuators and sensors are presented in Table 4.1. A 5 cycle cosine tone burst signal, seen in

  6. Active Piezoelectric Vibration Control of Subscale Composite Fan Blades

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

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

    PubMed Central

    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 nonpiezoelectric-to-piezoelectric length ratio greater than unity, whereas the maximum power when the PUC was connected to a resistor for immediate power consumption occurred at a unity nonpiezoelectric-to-piezoelectric length ratio. PMID:21200444

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

    PubMed

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

    2010-12-06

    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 nonpiezoelectric-to-piezoelectric length ratio greater than unity, whereas the maximum power when the PUC was connected to a resistor for immediate power consumption occurred at a unity nonpiezoelectric-to-piezoelectric length ratio.

  9. Deflection of cross-ply composite laminates induced by piezoelectric actuators.

    PubMed

    Her, Shiuh-Chuan; Lin, Chi-Sheng

    2010-01-01

    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.

  10. Implementation of a piezoelectric energy harvester in railway health monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jingcheng; Jang, Shinae; Tang, Jiong

    2014-03-01

    With development of wireless sensor technology, wireless sensor network has shown a great potential for railway health monitoring. However, how to supply continuous power to the wireless sensor nodes is one of the critical issues in long-term full-scale deployment of the wireless smart sensors. Some energy harvesting methodologies have been available including solar, vibration, wind, etc; among them, vibration-based energy harvester using piezoelectric material showed the potential for converting ambient vibration energy to electric energy in railway health monitoring even for underground subway systems. However, the piezoelectric energy harvester has two major problems including that it could only generate small amount of energy, and that it should match the exact narrow band natural frequency with the excitation frequency. To overcome these problems, a wide band piezoelectric energy harvester, which could generate more power on various frequencies regions, has been designed and validated with experimental test. Then it was applied to a full-scale field test using actual railway train. The power generation of the wide band piezoelectric array has been compared to a narrow-band, resonant-based, piezoelectric energy harvester.

  11. Effects of mechanical deformation on energy conversion efficiency of piezoelectric nanogenerators.

    PubMed

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

    2015-07-10

    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.

  12. Design optimization of PVDF-based piezoelectric energy harvesters.

    PubMed

    Song, Jundong; Zhao, Guanxing; Li, Bo; Wang, Jin

    2017-09-01

    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 mm 3 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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  15. Multidirection Piezoelectricity in Mono- and Multilayered Hexagonal α-In2Se3.

    PubMed

    Xue, Fei; Zhang, Junwei; Hu, Weijin; Hsu, Wei-Ting; Han, Ali; Leung, Siu-Fung; Huang, Jing-Kai; Wan, Yi; Liu, Shuhai; Zhang, Junli; He, Jr-Hau; Chang, Wen-Hao; Wang, Zhong Lin; Zhang, Xixiang; Li, Lain-Jong

    2018-05-22

    Piezoelectric materials have been widely used for sensors, actuators, electronics, and energy conversion. Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin semiconductors, such as monolayer h-BN and MoS 2 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-In 2 Se 3 . Here, we experimentally report the coexistence of out-of-plane and in-plane piezoelectricity in monolayer to bulk α-In 2 Se 3 , attributed to their noncentrosymmetry originating from the hexagonal stacking. Specifically, the corresponding d 33 piezoelectric coefficient of α-In 2 Se 3 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-In 2 Se 3 -based flexible piezoelectric nanogenerator as an energy-harvesting cell and electronic skin. The out-of-plane and in-plane piezoelectricity in α-In 2 Se 3 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.

  16. A model-updating procedure to stimulate piezoelectric transducers accurately.

    PubMed

    Piranda, B; Ballandras, S; Steichen, W; Hecart, B

    2001-09-01

    The use of numerical calculations based on finite element methods (FEM) has yielded significant improvements in the simulation and design of piezoelectric transducers piezoelectric transducer utilized in acoustic imaging. However, the ultimate precision of such models is directly controlled by the accuracy of material characterization. The present work is dedicated to the development of a model-updating technique adapted to the problem of piezoelectric transducer. The updating process is applied using the experimental admittance of a given structure for which a finite element analysis is performed. The mathematical developments are reported and then applied to update the entries of a FEM of a two-layer structure (a PbZrTi-PZT-ridge glued on a backing) for which measurements were available. The efficiency of the proposed approach is demonstrated, yielding the definition of a new set of constants well adapted to predict the structure response accurately. Improvement of the proposed approach, consisting of the updating of material coefficients not only on the admittance but also on the impedance data, is finally discussed.

  17. Advanced Materials in Support of EERE Needs to Advance Clean Energy Technologies Program Implementation

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liby, Alan L; Rogers, Hiram

    The goal of this activity was to carry out program implementation and technical projects in support of the ARRA-funded Advanced Materials in Support of EERE Needs to Advance Clean Energy Technologies Program of the DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) (formerly the Industrial Technologies Program (ITP)). The work was organized into eight projects in four materials areas: strategic materials, structural materials, energy storage and production materials, and advanced/field/transient processing. Strategic materials included work on titanium, magnesium and carbon fiber. Structural materials included work on alumina forming austentic (AFA) and CF8C-Plus steels. The advanced batteries and production materials projects included work onmore » advanced batteries and photovoltaic devices. Advanced/field/transient processing included work on magnetic field processing. Details of the work in the eight projects are available in the project final reports which have been previously submitted.« less

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  19. Advanced Aerospace Materials by Design

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Srivastava, Deepak; Djomehri, Jahed; Wei, Chen-Yu

    2004-01-01

    The advances in the emerging field of nanophase thermal and structural composite materials; materials with embedded sensors and actuators for morphing structures; light-weight composite materials for energy and power storage; and large surface area materials for in-situ resource generation and waste recycling, are expected to :revolutionize the capabilities of virtually every system comprising of future robotic and :human moon and mars exploration missions. A high-performance multiscale simulation platform, including the computational capabilities and resources of Columbia - the new supercomputer, is being developed to discover, validate, and prototype next generation (of such advanced materials. This exhibit will describe the porting and scaling of multiscale 'physics based core computer simulation codes for discovering and designing carbon nanotube-polymer composite materials for light-weight load bearing structural and 'thermal protection applications.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  1. Topology optimization of embedded piezoelectric actuators considering control spillover effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gonçalves, Juliano F.; De Leon, Daniel M.; Perondi, Eduardo A.

    2017-02-01

    This article addresses the problem of active structural vibration control by means of embedded piezoelectric actuators. The topology optimization method using the solid isotropic material with penalization (SIMP) approach is employed in this work to find the optimum design of actuators taken into account the control spillover effects. A coupled finite element model of the structure is derived assuming a two-phase material and this structural model is written into the state-space representation. The proposed optimization formulation aims to determine the distribution of piezoelectric material which maximizes the controllability for a given vibration mode. The undesirable effects of the feedback control on the residual modes are limited by including a spillover constraint term containing the residual controllability Gramian eigenvalues. The optimization of the shape and placement of the conventionally embedded piezoelectric actuators are performed using a Sequential Linear Programming (SLP) algorithm. Numerical examples are presented considering the control of the bending vibration modes for a cantilever and a fixed beam. A Linear-Quadratic Regulator (LQR) is synthesized for each case of controlled structure in order to compare the influence of the additional constraint.

  2. Monitoring of bone healing by piezoelectric-EMI method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  3. Design of a piezoelectric inchworm actuator and compliant end effector for minimally invasive surgery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Canfield, Shawn; Edinger, Ben; Frecker, Mary I.; Koopmann, Gary H.

    1999-06-01

    Recent advances in robotics, tele-robotics, smart material actuators, and mechatronics raise new possibilities for innovative developments in millimeter-scale robotics capable of manipulating objects only fractions of a millimeter in size. These advances can have a wide range of applications in the biomedical community. A potential application of this technology is in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The focus of this paper is the development of a single degree of freedom prototype to demonstrate the viability of smart materials, force feedback and compliant mechanisms for minimally invasive surgery. The prototype is a compliant gripper that is 7-mm by 17-mm, made from a single piece of titanium that is designed to function as a needle driver for small scale suturing. A custom designed piezoelectric `inchworm' actuator drives the gripper. The integrated system is computer controlled providing a user interface device capable of force feedback. The design methodology described draws from recent advances in three emerging fields in engineering: design of innovative tools for MIS, design of compliant mechanisms, and design of smart materials and actuators. The focus of this paper is on the design of a millimeter-scale inchworm actuator for use with a compliant end effector in MIS.

  4. Resonant efficiency improvement design of piezoelectric biosensor for bacteria gravimetric sensing.

    PubMed

    Tsai, Jang-Zern; Chen, Ching-Jung; Shie, Dung-Ting; Liu, Jen-Tsai

    2014-01-01

    The piezoelectric biosensor have been widely used in ultra-small mass detection of biomolecular, based on PZT piezoelectric material can create a variety of compositions geometrically; it could widely develop a high-frequency resonator and measure the change of the slightest mass while improve the limited detection simultaneously. Therefore, the piezoelectric biosensor of this study was fabricated by a spin-coating method and backside etching process for improving the characteristic of piezoelectric biosensor. The result exhibited that the 250 μm × 250 μm working size has the most favorable piezoelectric characteristic. The tunability was approximately 38.56 % and it showed that reducing the substrate thickness could obtain a clear resonance signal in a range of 60 to 380 MHz. In theory calculated for gravimetric sensing, it could achieve 0.1 ng sensing sensitivity. In gravimetric sensing, the sensing range was between 50,000~100,000 CFU/ml. Sensing range was lower in clinical urinary tract infection (100,000 CFU/ml), thus demonstrating its usefulness for preventive medicine. It can understand the piezoelectric sensor of this study has potential application in the future for biomedical gravimetric sensing.

  5. Static deflection control of flexible beams by piezo-electric actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baz, A. M.

    1986-01-01

    This study deals with the utilization of piezo-electric actuators in controlling the static deformation of flexible beams. An optimum design procedure is presented to enable the selection of the optimal location, thickness and excitation voltage of the piezo-electric actuators in a way that would minimize the deflection of the beam to which these actuators are bonded. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the application of the developed optimization procedure in minimizing the structural deformation of beams of different materials when subjected to different loading and end conditions using ceramic or polymeric piezo-electric actuators. The results obtained emphasize the importance of the devised rational procedure in designing beam-actuator systems with minimal elastic distortions.

  6. Advanced energy materials (Preface)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Titus, Elby; Ventura, João; Araújo, João Pedro; Campos Gil, João

    2017-12-01

    Advances in material science make it possible to fabricate the building blocks of an entirely new generation of hierarchical energy materials. Recent developments were focused on functionality and areas connecting macroscopic to atomic and nanoscale properties, where surfaces, defects, interfaces and metastable state of the materials played crucial roles. The idea is to combine both, the top-down and bottom-up approach as well as shape future materials with a blend of both the paradigms.

  7. Finite Element Analysis of Morphing Piezoelectric Structures Studied

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Ho-Jun

    2002-01-01

    The development of morphing aerospace structures that optimize their shape offers the potential to significantly improve the performance of existing airplanes. These morphing vehicles will operate with new capabilities to reduce noise, damp vibrations, manipulate flow, and monitor damage. Piezoelectric materials represent one of the popular materials currently being investigated for applications in morphing structures.

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

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Dongyu, Xu; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208; Xin, Cheng

    2014-12-28

    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 ofmore » 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.« less

  9. Video Fact Sheets: Everyday Advanced Materials

    ScienceCinema

    None

    2018-06-21

    What are Advanced Materials? Ames Laboratory is behind some of the best advanced materials out there. Some of those include: Lead-Free Solder, Photonic Band-Gap Crystals, Terfenol-D, Aluminum-Calcium Power Cable and Nano Particles. Some of these are in products we use every day.

  10. Video Fact Sheets: Everyday Advanced Materials

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    2015-10-06

    What are Advanced Materials? Ames Laboratory is behind some of the best advanced materials out there. Some of those include: Lead-Free Solder, Photonic Band-Gap Crystals, Terfenol-D, Aluminum-Calcium Power Cable and Nano Particles. Some of these are in products we use every day.

  11. Piezoelectric and Electrostrictive Materials for Transducers Applications. Volume 4

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-01-31

    Micromotors ." IEEE. 109-113 (1991). 41. Anita M. Flynn. Lee S. Tavrow. Stephen F. Bart. Rodney A. Brooks. Daniel J. Ehrlich. K. R. Udayakumar and L. Eric...Cross. "Piezoelectric Micromotors for Microrobots." J. Microelectromechanical Systems 1 (1) 47-50 (1992). 4 APPENDIX 35 A STUDY OF YI Ba2 Cti30 7.y...to produce miniature pumps. valves. microsensors and micromotors . This paper reports on the fabrication of thin films that are capable of producing

  12. Environmental profile evaluations of piezoelectric polymers using life cycle assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  13. Piezoelectricity and rotostriction through polar and non-polar coupled instabilities in bismuth-based piezoceramics

    PubMed Central

    Acosta, Matias; Schmitt, Ljubomira A.; Cazorla, Claudio; Studer, Andrew; Zintler, Alexander; Glaum, Julia; Kleebe, Hans-Joachim; Donner, Wolfgang; Hoffman, Mark; Rödel, Jürgen; Hinterstein, Manuel

    2016-01-01

    Coupling of order parameters provides a means to tune functionality in advanced materials including multiferroics, superconductors, and ionic conductors. We demonstrate that the response of a frustrated ferroelectric state leads to coupling between order parameters under electric field depending on grain orientation. The strain of grains oriented along a specific crystallographic direction, 〈h00〉, is caused by converse piezoelectricity originating from a ferrodistortive tetragonal phase. For 〈hhh〉 oriented grains, the strain results from converse piezoelectricity and rotostriction, as indicated by an antiferrodistortive instability that promotes octahedral tilting in a rhombohedral phase. Both strain mechanisms combined lead to a colossal local strain of (2.4 ± 0.1) % and indicate coupling between oxygen octahedral tilting and polarization, here termed “rotopolarization”. These findings were confirmed with electromechanical experiments, in situ neutron diffraction, and in situ transmission electron microscopy in 0.75Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3-0.25SrTiO3. This work demonstrates that polar and non-polar instabilities can cooperate to provide colossal functional responses. PMID:27364037

  14. Quantitative evaluation method for nonlinear characteristics of piezoelectric transducers under high stress with complex nonlinear elastic constant

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Miyake, Susumu; Kasashima, Takashi; Yamazaki, Masato; Okimura, Yasuyuki; Nagata, Hajime; Hosaka, Hiroshi; Morita, Takeshi

    2018-07-01

    The high power properties of piezoelectric transducers were evaluated considering a complex nonlinear elastic constant. The piezoelectric LCR equivalent circuit with nonlinear circuit parameters was utilized to measure them. The deformed admittance curve of piezoelectric transducers was measured under a high stress and the complex nonlinear elastic constant was calculated by curve fitting. Transducers with various piezoelectric materials, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, (K,Na)NbO3, and Ba(Zr,Ti)O3–(Ba,Ca)TiO3, were investigated by the proposed method. The measured complex nonlinear elastic constant strongly depends on the linear elastic and piezoelectric constants. This relationship indicates that piezoelectric high power properties can be controlled by modifying the linear elastic and piezoelectric constants.

  15. Low-temperature Spin Spray Deposited Ferrite/piezoelectric Thin Film Magnetoelectric Heterostructures with Strong Magnetoelectric Coupling

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-01-08

    more energy efficient, lightweight, compact, and less noisy. Studies on ME heterostructures are mostly based on complex oxide piezoelectric ceramic or...except for a recent demonstration of a spin spray deposited ZnO films [17, 18]. ZnO is a typical piezoelectric material , which makes it a good...erties which makes it applicable in a wide variety of electron, optoelectronic, spintronics and nanodevices [17, 18]. The piezoelectric properties of

  16. Point force and point electric charge applied to the boundary of three-dimensional anisotropic piezoelectric solid

    DOE PAGES

    Borovikov, V. A.; Kalinin, S. V.; Khavin, Yu.; ...

    2015-08-19

    We derive the Green's functions for a three-dimensional semi-infinite fully anisotropic piezoelectric material using the plane wave theory method. The solution gives the complete set of electromechanical fields due to an arbitrarily oriented point force and a point electric charge applied to the boundary of the half-space. Moreover, the solution constitutes generalization of Boussinesq's and Cerruti's problems of elastic isotropy for the anisotropic piezoelectric materials. On the example of piezoceramics PZT-6B, the present results are compared with the previously obtained solution for the special case of transversely isotropic piezoelectric solid subjected to the same boundary condition.

  17. Optimum vibration control of flexible beams by piezo-electric actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baz, A.; Poh, S.; Studer, P.

    1988-01-01

    The utilization of piezoelectric actuators in controlling the structural vibrations of flexible beams is examined. A Modified Independent Modal Space Control (MIMSC) method is devised to enable the selection of the optimal location, control gains and excitation voltage of the piezoelectric actuators in a way that would minimize the amplitudes of vibrations of beams to which these actuators are bonded, as well as the input control energy necessary to suppress these vibrations. The developed method accounts for the effects that the piezoelectric actuators have on changing the elastic and inertial properties of the flexible beams. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the application of the developed MIMSC method in minimizing the structural vibrations of beams of different materials when subjected to different loading and end conditions using ceramic or polymeric piezoelectric actuators. The obtained results emphasize the importance of the devised method in designing more realistic active control systems for flexible beams, in particular, and large flexible structures in general.

  18. Optimum vibration control of flexible beams by piezo-electric actuators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Baz, A.; Poh, S.

    1987-01-01

    The utilization of piezoelectric actuators in controlling the structural vibrations of flexible beams is examined. A Modified Independent Modal Space Control (MIMSC) method is devised to enable the selection of the optimal location, control gains and excitation voltage of the piezoelectric actuators in a way that would minimize the amplitudes of vibrations of beams to which these actuators are bonded, as well as the input control energy necessary to suppress these vibrations. The developed method accounts for the effects that the piezoelectric actuators have on changing the elastic and inertial properties of the flexible beams. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the application of the developed MIMSC method in minimizing the structural vibrations of beams of different materials when subjected to different loading and end conditions using ceramic or polymeric piezoelectric actuators. The obtained results emphasize the importance of the devised method in designing more realistic active control systems for flexible beams, in particular, and large flexible structures in general.

  19. High-Temperature Piezoelectric Ceramic Developed

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Sayir, Ali; Farmer, Serene C.; Dynys, Frederick W.

    2005-01-01

    Active combustion control of spatial and temporal variations in the local fuel-to-air ratio is of considerable interest for suppressing combustion instabilities in lean gas turbine combustors and, thereby, achieving lower NOx levels. The actuator for fuel modulation in gas turbine combustors must meet several requirements: (1) bandwidth capability of 1000 Hz, (2) operating temperature compatible with the fuel temperature, which is in the vicinity of 400 F, (3) stroke of approximately 4 mils (100 m), and (4) force of 300 lb-force. Piezoelectric actuators offer the fastest response time (microsecond time constants) and can generate forces in excess of 2000 lb-force. The state-of-the-art piezoceramic material in industry today is Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, called PZT. This class of piezoelectric ceramic is currently used in diesel fuel injectors and in the development of high-response fuel modulation valves. PZT materials are generally limited to operating temperatures of 250 F, which is 150 F lower than the desired operating temperature for gas turbine combustor fuel-modulation injection valves. Thus, there is a clear need to increase the operating temperature range of piezoceramic devices for active combustion control in gas turbine engines.

  20. Notes on Piezoelectricity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Redondo, Antonio

    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

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vashishth, Anil K.; Gupta, Vishakha

    2012-12-01

    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.

  2. PZT/PLZT - elastomer composites with improved piezoelectric voltage coefficient

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  5. Research on a bimorph piezoelectric deformable mirror for adaptive optics in optical telescope.

    PubMed

    Wang, Hairen

    2017-04-03

    We have proposed a discrete-layout bimorph piezoelectric deformable mirror (DBPDM) and developed its realistic electromechanical model. Compared with the conventional piezoelectric deformable mirror (CPDM) and the bimorph piezoelectric deformable mirror (BPDM), the DBPDM has both a larger stroke and a higher resonance frequency by integrating the strengths of the CPDM and the BPDM. To verify the advancement, a 21-elements DBPDM is studied in this paper. The results have suggested that the stroke of the DBPDM is larger than 10 microns and its resonance frequency is 53.3 kHz. Furthermore, numerical simulation is conducted on the deformation of the mirror using the realistic electromechanical model, and the dependence of the influence function upon the size of the radius of push pad is analyzed.

  6. Piezoelectric energy harvester under parquet floor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  7. Advanced Electrical Materials and Component Development

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Schwarze, Gene E.

    2003-01-01

    The primary means to develop advanced electrical components is to develop new and improved materials for magnetic components (transformers, inductors, etc.), capacitors, and semiconductor switches and diodes. This paper will give a description and status of the internal and external research sponsored by NASA Glenn Research Center on soft magnetic materials, dielectric materials and capacitors, and high quality silicon carbide (SiC) atomically smooth substrates. The rationale for and the benefits of developing advanced electrical materials and components for the PMAD subsystem and also for the total power system will be briefly discussed.

  8. Theory-Guided Synthesis of a Metastable Lead-Free Piezoelectric Polymorph

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Garten, Lauren M; Ndione, Paul F; Beaton, Daniel A

    Many technologically critical materials are metastable under ambient conditions, yet the understanding of how to rationally design and guide the synthesis of these materials is limited. This work presents an integrated approach that targets a metastable lead-free piezoelectric polymorph of SrHfO3. First-principles calculations predict that the previous experimentally unrealized, metastable P4mm phase of SrHfO3 should exhibit a direct piezoelectric response (d33) of 36.9 pC N-1 (compared to d33 = 0 for the ground state). Combining computationally optimized substrate selection and synthesis conditions lead to the epitaxial stabilization of the polar P4mm phase of SrHfO3 on SrTiO3. The films are structurallymore » consistent with the theory predictions. A ferroelectric-induced large signal effective converse piezoelectric response of 5.2 pm V-1 for a 35 nm film is observed, indicating the ability to predict and target multifunctionality. This illustrates a coupled theory-experimental approach to the discovery and realization of new multifunctional polymorphs.« less

  9. PZT Thin Film Piezoelectric Traveling Wave Motor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  10. Piezoelectric Resonator with Two Layers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stephanou, Philip J. (Inventor); Black, Justin P. (Inventor)

    2013-01-01

    A piezoelectric resonator device includes: a top electrode layer with a patterned structure, a top piezoelectric layer adjacent to the top layer, a middle metal layer adjacent to the top piezoelectric layer opposite the top layer, a bottom piezoelectric layer adjacent to the middle layer opposite the top piezoelectric layer, and a bottom electrode layer with a patterned structure and adjacent to the bottom piezoelectric layer opposite the middle layer. The top layer includes a first plurality of electrodes inter-digitated with a second plurality of electrodes. A first one of the electrodes in the top layer and a first one of the electrodes in the bottom layer are coupled to a first contact, and a second one of the electrodes in the top layer and a second one of the electrodes in the bottom layer are coupled to a second contact.

  11. Receiving sensitivity and transmitting voltage response of a fluid loaded spherical piezoelectric transducer with an elastic coating.

    PubMed

    George, Jineesh; Ebenezer, D D; Bhattacharyya, S K

    2010-10-01

    A method is presented to determine the response of a spherical acoustic transducer that consists of a fluid-filled piezoelectric sphere with an elastic coating embedded in infinite fluid to electrical and plane-wave acoustic excitations. The exact spherically symmetric, linear, differential, governing equations are used for the interior and exterior fluids, and elastic and piezoelectric materials. Under acoustic excitation and open circuit boundary condition, the equation governing the piezoelectric sphere is homogeneous and the solution is expressed in terms of Bessel functions. Under electrical excitation, the equation governing the piezoelectric sphere is inhomogeneous and the complementary solution is expressed in terms of Bessel functions and the particular integral is expressed in terms of a power series. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the effect of dimensions of the piezoelectric sphere, fluid loading, elastic coating and internal material losses on the open-circuit receiving sensitivity and transmitting voltage response of the transducer.

  12. Concomitant sensing and actuation for piezoelectric microrobots

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jayaram, Kaushik; Jafferis, Noah T.; Doshi, Neel; Goldberg, Ben; Wood, Robert J.

    2018-06-01

    Sensor fabrication for microrobots is challenging due to their small size and low mass. As a potential solution, we present a technique for estimating the velocity of piezoelectric bending bimorph actuators, a popular choice for driving such microscale devices, that requires simple electronics and no additional mechanical components. Our approach relies on the insight that motion of the actuators causes varying strains on the surface on the piezoelectric material, which via the direct piezoelectric effect, results in a current proportional to the actuator velocity. We propose that the actuator be electrically approximated as a parallel combination of a frequency and voltage dependent resistor and capacitor, and a velocity proportional current source. We develop an experimental procedure to measure these quantities, and are able to experimentally determine the actuator tip velocity to within 10% accuracy over a range of voltages (25–200 V) and frequencies (1–2000 Hz, well beyond actuator resonance). We successfully apply this sensing methodology to two microrobots, the RoboBee and the Harvard Ambulatory MicroRobot (HAMR), to estimate the wing and limb motion respectively. We further use sensor feedback to close the loop on HAMR’s leg phase and obtain desired leg trajectories near transmission resonance. The proposed sensor methodology is generic and can be applied to piezoelectric actuators of different geometries and configurations for uses in microrobotic applications.

  13. Design Requirements for Amorphous Piezoelectric Polymers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ounaies, Z.; Young, J. A.; Harrison, J. S.

    1999-01-01

    An overview of the piezoelectric activity in amorphous piezoelectric polymers is presented. The criteria required to render a polymer piezoelectric are discussed. Although piezoelectricity is a coupling between mechanical and electrical properties, most research has concentrated on the electrical properties of potentially piezoelectric polymers. In this work, we present comparative mechanical data as a function of temperature and offer a summary of polarization and electromechanical properties for each of the polymers considered.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  15. Freeze cast porous barium titanate for enhanced piezoelectric energy harvesting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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

  16. High Performance Piezoelectric Thin Films for Shape Control in Large Inflatable Structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neurgaonkar, R. R.; Nelson, J. G.

    1999-01-01

    The objective of this research and development program was to develop PbZr(1-x)Ti(x)O3 (PZT) and Pb(1-x)Ba(x)Nb2O6 (PBN) materials with large piezoelectric response which are suitable for shape control in large inflatable structures. Two approaches were to be considered: (1) direct deposition of PZT and PBN films on flexible plastic or thin metal foil substrates, and (2) deposition on Si followed by fabrication of hybrid structures on mylar or kapton. Testing in shape control concepts was carried out at JPL and based on their results, the required modifications were made in the final film compositions and deposition techniques. The program objective was to identify and then optimize piezoelectric materials for NASA shape control applications. This involved the bulk piezoelectric and photovoltaic responses and the compatibility of the thin films with appropriate substrate structures. Within the PZT system, Rockwell has achieved the highest reported piezoelectric coefficient (d(sub 33) greater than 100 pC/N) of any ceramic composition. We used this experience in piezoelectric technology to establish compositions that can effectively address the issues of this program. The performance of piezoelectric thin films depends directly on d(sub ij) and Epsilon. The challenge was to find PZT compositions that maintained high d(sub ij) and Epsilon, while also exhibiting a large photovoltaic effect and integrate thin films of this composition into the system structure necessary to meet shape control applications. During the course of this program, several PZT and PLZT compositions were identified that meet these requirements. Two such compositions were successfully used in electrical and optical actuation studies of thin film structures.

  17. High Performance Piezoelectric Thin Films for Shape Control in Large Inflatable Structures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neurgaonkar, R. R.; Nelson, J. G.

    1999-01-01

    The objective of this research and development program was to develop PbZr(1-x)Ti(x)O3 (PZT) and Pb(1-x)Ba(x)Nb2O6 (PBN) materials with large piezoelectric response which are suitable for shape control in large inflatable structures. Two approaches were to be considered: (1) direct deposition of PZT and PBN films on flexible plastic or thin metal foil substrates, and (2) deposition on Si followed by fabrication of hybrid structures on mylar or kapton. Testing in shape control concepts was carried out at JPL and based on their results, the required modifications were made in the final film compositions and deposition techniques. The program objective was to identify and then optimize piezoelectric materials for NASA shape control applications. This involved the bulk piezoelectric and photovoltaic responses and the compatibility of the thin films with appropriate substrate structures. Within the PZT system, Rockwell has achieved the highest reported piezoelectric coefficient (d(sub 33) greater than 100 pC/N) of any ceramic composition. We used this experience in piezoelectric technology to establish compositions that can effectively address the issues of this program. The performance of piezoelectric thin films depends directly on d(sub ij) and epsilin. The challenge was to find PZT compositions that maintained high d(sub ij) and epsilon, while also exhibiting a large photovoltaic effect and integrate thin films of this composition into the system structure necessary to meet shape control applications. During the course of this program, several PZT and PLZT compositions were identified that meet these requirements. Two such compositions were successfully used in electrical and optical actuation studies of thin film structures.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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

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

    PubMed

    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.

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

    PubMed

    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.

  1. Piezoelectric ribbons printed onto rubber for flexible energy conversion.

    PubMed

    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.

  2. Implementation of advanced fiber optic and piezoelectric sensors : fabrication and laboratory testing of piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composite sensors for weigh-in-motion systems.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-02-01

    Weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems might soon replace the conventional techniques used to enforce : weight restrictions for large vehicles on highways. Currently WIM systems use a piezoelectric : polymer sensor that produces a voltage proportional to an a...

  3. Piezoelectric polymers as biomaterials for tissue engineering applications.

    PubMed

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2017-06-01

    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(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-x(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3 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.

  5. Lead Barium Potassium Sodium Niobate Ceramics for Piezoelectric Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sambasiva Rao, K.; Vallisnath, N.; Prasad, T. N. V. K. V.; Ch. Varada Rajulu, K.; Tilak, B.; Lee, Joon Hyung

    This paper reports a systematic study of tungsten bronze morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) system Pb2-2X-3Y/2Ba2xREyK1-xNaxNb5O15, where, x = 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, RE = Pr and Bi and y = 0.05 and their structure, microstructure, hysteresis, dielectric, piezoelectric, and Pyroelectric properties. Enhanced piezoelectric constants kp, kt, k31, d31, d33, g31, g33, S11 E as 30.8%, 47.6%, 18.9%, 57 × 10-12 C/N, 159 × 10-12 C/N, 6.89 × 10-3 mV/N, 19.23 × 10-3 mV/N, and 13.88 × 10-12 m2/N respectively are observed in the composition for which y = 0, and x = 0.30, which is above MPB. Also, a change in thickness, 0.0159 μm has been developed for a thickness of the sample 1.2 mm, d33 = 159 × 10-12 C/N and for an applied voltage of 100 V. The same material produces a length extension, 0.0475 μm for d31 = 57 × 10-12 C/N, l = 10 mm, t = 1.2 mm, for an applied voltage of 100 V. Thus the material may be useful for a piezoelectric transducer. Enhanced piezoelectric coefficients, d31 = 96 × 10-12 C/N and g33 = 12.95 × 10-3 mV/N are also observed in the composition for which RE = Pr and x = 0.25.

  6. A -Site Ordered Double Perovskite CaMnTi 2 O 6 as a Multifunctional Piezoelectric and Ferroelectric–Photovoltaic Material

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gou, Gaoyang; Charles, Nenian; Shi, Jing

    2017-09-11

    The double perovskite CaMnTi2O6, is a rare A site ordered perovskite oxide that exhibits a sizable ferroelectric polarization and relatively high Curie temperature. Using first-principles calculations combined with detailed symmetry analyses, we identify the origin of the ferroelectricity in CaMnTi2O6. We further explore the material properties of CaMnTi2O6, including its ferroelectric polarization, dielectric and piezoelectric responses, magnetic order, electronic structure, and optical absorption coefficient. It is found that CaMnTi2O6 exhibits room-temperature-stable ferroelectricity and moderate piezoelectric responses. Moreover, CaMnTi2O6 is predicted to have a semiconducting energy band gap similar to that of BiFeO3, and its band gap can further be tuned-viamore » distortions of the planar Mn-O bond lengths. CaMnTi2O6 exemplifies a new class of single-phase semiconducting ferroelectric perovskites for potential applications in ferroelectric photovoltaic solar cells.« less

  7. Compact piezoelectric micromotor with a single bulk lead zirconate titanate stator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yan, Liang; Lan, Hua; Jiao, Zongxia; Chen, Chin-Yin; Chen, I.-Ming

    2013-04-01

    The advance of micro/nanotechnology promotes the development of micromotors in recent years. In this article, a compact piezoelectric ultrasonic micromotor with a single bulk lead zirconate titanate stator is proposed. A traveling wave is generated by superposition of bending modes with 90° phase difference excited by d15 inverse piezoelectric effects. The operating principle simplifies the system structure significantly, and provides a miniaturization solution. A research prototype with the size of 0.75× 0.75×1.55 mm is developed. It can produce start-up torque of 0.27μNmand maximum speed of 2760 r/min at 14RMS.

  8. Progress towards developing neutron tolerant magnetostrictive and piezoelectric transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reinhardt, Brian; Tittmann, Bernhard; Rempe, Joy; Daw, Joshua; Kohse, Gordon; Carpenter, David; Ames, Michael; Ostrovsky, Yakov; Ramuhalli, Pradeep; Montgomery, Robert; Chien, Hualte; Wernsman, Bernard

    2015-03-01

    Current generation light water reactors (LWRs), sodium cooled fast reactors (SFRs), small modular reactors (SMRs), and next generation nuclear plants (NGNPs) produce harsh environments in and near the reactor core that can severely tax material performance and limit component operational life. To address this issue, several Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) research programs are evaluating the long duration irradiation performance of fuel and structural materials used in existing and new reactors. In order to maximize the amount of information obtained from Material Testing Reactor (MTR) irradiations, DOE is also funding development of enhanced instrumentation that will be able to obtain in-situ, real-time data on key material characteristics and properties, with unprecedented accuracy and resolution. Such data are required to validate new multi-scale, multi-physics modeling tools under development as part of a science-based, engineering driven approach to reactor development. It is not feasible to obtain high resolution/microscale data with the current state of instrumentation technology. However, ultrasound-based sensors offer the ability to obtain such data if it is demonstrated that these sensors and their associated transducers are resistant to high neutron flux, high gamma radiation, and high temperature. To address this need, the Advanced Test Reactor National Scientific User Facility (ATR-NSUF) is funding an irradiation, led by PSU, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research Reactor to test the survivability of ultrasound transducers. As part of this effort, PSU and collaborators have designed, fabricated, and provided piezoelectric and magnetostrictive transducers that are optimized to perform in harsh, high flux, environments. Four piezoelectric transducers were fabricated with either aluminum nitride, zinc oxide, or bismuth titanate as the active element that were coupled to either Kovar or aluminum waveguides and two

  9. Piezoelectric Motion of Multilayer Film with Alternate Rows of Optical Isomers of Chiral Polymer Film

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshida, Tetsuo; Imoto, Kenji; Nakai, Takaaki; Uwami, Ryouta; Kataoka, Takuya; Inoue, Masataka; Fukumoto, Takahiro; Kamimura, Yuuki; Kato, Atsuko; Tajitsu, Yoshiro

    2011-09-01

    We realized a multilayer film laminated alternately with poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactic acid) (PDLA) films in order to improve the piezoelectric performance of the PLLA film. In the fabrication processes, the thicknesses of PLLA and PDLA films were reduced to improve the effective electric field, and a multilayer composed of more than 100 layers (PDLA/PLLA multilayer film) was realized to improve the piezoelectric performance. In general, a single PLLA film has a piezoelectric constant of about 5 pC/N, and it is difficult to observe the piezoelectric resonance in this film of centimeter-order size using a commercial impedance analyzer because of its small Q-value. In contrast, the PDLA/PLLA multilayer film of centimeter-order size has a piezoelectric performance equivalent to that of the piezoelectric material with a piezoelectric constant of 100 pC/N, and also, the piezoelectric resonance can be observed in this film. On the basis of these results, we confirmed that even an object of 259 g mass is made to vibrate under the piezoelectric resonance vibration of this PDLA/PLLA multilayer film. In other words, necessary quantities for actual work as an actuator could be obtained in the PDLA/PLLA multilayer film.

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

    PubMed

    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).

  11. ZnO thin film piezoelectric micromachined microphone with symmetric composite vibrating diaphragm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Junhong; Wang, Chenghao; Ren, Wei; Ma, Jun

    2017-05-01

    Residual stress is an important factor affecting the sensitivity of piezoelectric micromachined microphone. A symmetric composite vibrating diaphragm was adopted in the micro electro mechanical systems piezoelectric microphone to decrease the residual stress and improve the sensitivity of microphone in this paper. The ZnO film was selected as piezoelectric materials of microphone for its higher piezoelectric coefficient d 31 and lower relative dielectric constant. The thickness optimization of piezoelectric film on square diaphragm is difficult to be fulfilled by analytic method. To optimize the thickness of ZnO films, the stress distribution in ZnO film was analyzed by finite element method and the average stress in different thickness of ZnO films was given. The ZnO films deposited using dc magnetron sputtering exhibits a densely packed structure with columnar crystallites preferentially oriented along (002) plane. The diaphragm of microphone fabricated by micromachining techniques is flat and no wrinkling at corners, and the sensitivity of microphone is higher than 1 mV Pa-1. These results indicate the diaphragm has lower residual stress.

  12. Advanced Industrial Materials Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stooksbury, F.

    1994-06-01

    The mission of the Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) program is to commercialize new/improved materials and materials processing methods that will improve energy efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness. Program investigators in the DOE national laboratories are working with about 100 companies, including 15 partners in CRDA's. Work is being done on intermetallic alloys, ceramic composites, metal composites, polymers, engineered porous materials, and surface modification. The program supports other efforts in the Office of Industrial Technologies to assist the energy-consuming process industries. The aim of the AIM program is to bring materials from basic research to industrial application to strengthen the competitive position of US industry and save energy.

  13. Advances in dental materials.

    PubMed

    Vaderhobli, Ram M

    2011-07-01

    The use of materials to rehabilitate tooth structures is constantly changing. Over the past decade, newer material processing techniques and technologies have significantly improved the dependability and predictability of dental material for clinicians. The greatest obstacle, however, is in choosing the right combination for continued success. Finding predictable approaches for successful restorative procedures has been the goal of clinical and material scientists. This article provides a broad perspective on the advances made in various classes of dental restorative materials in terms of their functionality with respect to pit and fissure sealants, glass ionomers, and dental composites. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The theory and design of piezoelectric/pyroelectric polymer film sensors for biomedical engineering applications.

    PubMed

    Brown, L F

    1989-01-01

    The unique properties of piezoelectric/pyroelectric polymers offer many new opportunities for biomedical engineering sensor applications. Since their discovery nearly 20 years ago, the polymer films have been used for many novel switching and sensor applications. Despite the prodigious exposure from many recent publications describing piezo film applications, methods of sensor fabrication and circuit interfacing still elude most engineers. This paper is presented as a tutorial guide to applying piezo polymers to biomedical engineering applications. A review of the fundamentals of piezoelectricity/pyroelectricity in piezo polymers is first presented. Their material properties are contrasted with piezoelectric ceramic materials. Some advantages and disadvantages of the films for biomedical sensors are discussed. Specific details on the fabrication of piezo film sensors are presented. Methods are described for forming, cutting, and mounting film sensors, and making lead connections. A brief discussion of equivalent circuit models for the design and simulation of piezoelectric/pyroelectric sensors is included, as well as common circuit interface techniques. Finally, several sources are recommended for further information on a variety of biomedical sensor applications.

  15. Fabrication and characteristics of thin disc piezoelectric transformers based on piezoelectric buzzers with gap circles.

    PubMed

    Chang, Kuo-Tsai; Lee, Chun-Wei

    2008-04-01

    This paper investigates design, fabrication and test of thin disc piezoelectric transformers (PTs) based on piezoelectric buzzers with gap circles at different diameters of the gap circles. The performance test is focused on characteristics of voltage gains, including maximum voltage gains and maximum-gain frequencies, for each piezoelectric transformer under different load conditions. Both a piezoelectric buzzer and a gap circle on a silver electrode of the buzzer are needed to build any type of the PTs. Here, the gap circle is used to form a ring-shaped input electrode and a circle-shaped output electrode for each piezoelectric transformer. To do so, both structure and connection of a PT are first expressed. Then, operating principle of a PT and its related vibration mode observed by a carbon-power imaging technique are described. Moreover, an experimental setup for characterizing each piezoelectric transformer is constructed. Finally, effects of diameters of the gap circles on characteristics of voltage gains at different load resistances are discussed.

  16. Adaptive piezoelectric sensoriactuator

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clark, Jr., Robert L. (Inventor); Vipperman, Jeffrey S. (Inventor); Cole, Daniel G. (Inventor)

    1996-01-01

    An adaptive algorithm implemented in digital or analog form is used in conjunction with a voltage controlled amplifier to compensate for the feedthrough capacitance of piezoelectric sensoriactuator. The mechanical response of the piezoelectric sensoriactuator is resolved from the electrical response by adaptively altering the gain imposed on the electrical circuit used for compensation. For wideband, stochastic input disturbances, the feedthrough capacitance of the sensoriactuator can be identified on-line, providing a means of implementing direct-rate-feedback control in analog hardware. The device is capable of on-line system health monitoring since a quasi-stable dynamic capacitance is indicative of sustained health of the piezoelectric element.

  17. Effect of aging on the piezoelectric properties of sol-gel derived lead-free BCZT ceramics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chandrakala, E.; Hazra, Binoy Krishna; Praveen, J. Paul; Das, Dibakar

    2018-04-01

    Aging is well observed in piezoelectric materials and plays a major role in determining the sustainabilityand performance issues of the piezoelectric based devices. Aging behavior is usually defined as the spontaneous decay of the piezoelectric properties with time. In this present study, the effect of aging on the piezoelectric properties of sol-gel derived lead-free BCZT ceramics has been investigated. During the aging process, the ferroelectric hysteresis loop was shifted along the field axis. The results revealed that the piezoelectric and dielectric properties were rapidly decreased linearly with increasing aging time and become stable with further increase in aging time. Piezoelectric (d33, g33 &kp) and dielectric properties (ɛr) were decreased approximately by 18% after 70 days. This could be due to the gradual stabilization of the ferroelectric domain structurewhich originates from the reorientation of the local defect dipoles and the migration of free oxygen vacancies towards the grain boundaries.

  18. Torsion sensing based on patterned piezoelectric beams

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

  20. Application of Advanced Materials in Petroleum Engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Gufan; Di, Weina; Wang, Minsheng

    With the background of increasing requirements on the petroleum engineering technology from more high demanding exploration targets, global oil companies and oil service companies are making more efforts on both R&D and application of new petroleum engineering technology. Advanced materials always have a decisive role in the functionality of a new product. Technology transplantation has become the important means of innovation in oil and gas industry. Here, we mainly discuss the properties and scope of application of several advanced materials. Based on the material requirements in petroleum engineering, we provide several candidates for downhole electronics protection, drilling fluid additives, downhole tools, etc. Based on the analysis of petroleum engineering technology characteristics, this paper made analysis and research on such advanced materials as new insulation materials, functional gradient materials, self-healing polymers, and introduced their application prospect in petroleum engineering in terms of specific characteristics.

  1. Hybrid Piezoelectric/Fiber-Optic Sensor Sheets

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2010-10-01

    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)O3 (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.

  3. Electrical and mechanical fully coupled theory and experimental verification of Rosen-type piezoelectric transformers.

    PubMed

    Hsu, Yu-Hsiang; Lee, Chih-Kung; Hsiao, Wen-Hsin

    2005-10-01

    A piezoelectric transformer is a power transfer device that converts its input and output voltage as well as current by effectively using electrical and mechanical coupling effects of piezoelectric materials. Equivalent-circuit models, which are traditionally used to analyze piezoelectric transformers, merge each mechanical resonance effect into a series of ordinary differential equations. Because of using ordinary differential equations, equivalent circuit models are insufficient to reflect the mechanical behavior of piezoelectric plates. Electromechanically, fully coupled governing equations of Rosen-type piezoelectric transformers, which are partial differential equations in nature, can be derived to address the deficiencies of the equivalent circuit models. It can be shown that the modal actuator concept can be adopted to optimize the electromechanical coupling effect of the driving section once the added spatial domain design parameters are taken into account, which are three-dimensional spatial dependencies of electromechanical properties. The maximum power transfer condition for a Rosen-type piezoelectric transformer is detailed. Experimental results, which lead us to a series of new design rules, also are presented to prove the validity and effectiveness of the theoretical predictions.

  4. Coupled polaritonic band gaps in the anisotropic piezoelectric superlattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  5. A Piezoelectric Shear Stress Sensor

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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

  6. Energy harvesting based on piezoelectric Ericsson cycles in a piezoceramic material

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, B.; Ducharne, B.; Guyomar, D.; Sebald, G.

    2013-09-01

    The possibility of recycling ambient energies with electric generators instead of using batteries with limited life spans has stimulated important research efforts over the past years. The integration of such generators into mainly autonomous low-power systems, for various industrial or domestic applications is envisioned. In particular, the present work deals with energy harvesting from mechanical vibrations. It is shown here that direct piezoelectric energy harvesting (short circuiting on an adapted resistance, for example) leads to relatively weak energy levels that are insufficient for an industrial development. By coupling an electric field and mechanical excitation on Ericsson-based cycles, the amplitude of the harvested energy can be highly increased, and can reach a maximum close to 100 times its initial value. To obtain such a gain, one needs to employ high electrical field levels (high amplitude, high frequency), which induce a non-linearity through the piezoceramic. A special dynamic hysteresis model has been developed to correctly take into account the material properties, and to provide a real estimation of the harvested energy. A large number of theoretical predictions and experimental results have been compared and are discussed herein, in order to validate the proposed solution.

  7. Theory-Guided Synthesis of a Metastable Lead-Free Piezoelectric Polymorph.

    PubMed

    Garten, Lauren M; Dwaraknath, Shyam; Walker, Julian; Mangum, John S; Ndione, Paul F; Park, Yoonsang; Beaton, Daniel A; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Gorman, Brian P; Schelhas, Laura T; Toney, Michael F; Trolier-McKinstry, Susan; Persson, Kristin A; Ginley, David S

    2018-05-10

    Many technologically critical materials are metastable under ambient conditions, yet the understanding of how to rationally design and guide the synthesis of these materials is limited. This work presents an integrated approach that targets a metastable lead-free piezoelectric polymorph of SrHfO 3 . First-principles calculations predict that the previous experimentally unrealized, metastable P4mm phase of SrHfO 3 should exhibit a direct piezoelectric response (d 33 ) of 36.9 pC N -1 (compared to d 33 = 0 for the ground state). Combining computationally optimized substrate selection and synthesis conditions lead to the epitaxial stabilization of the polar P4mm phase of SrHfO 3 on SrTiO 3 . The films are structurally consistent with the theory predictions. A ferroelectric-induced large signal effective converse piezoelectric response of 5.2 pm V -1 for a 35 nm film is observed, indicating the ability to predict and target multifunctionality. This illustrates a coupled theory-experimental approach to the discovery and realization of new multifunctional polymorphs. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    PubMed Central

    Reis, Joana; Frias, Clara; Canto e Castro, Carlos; Botelho, Maria Luísa; Marques, António Torres; Simões, José António Oliveira; Capela e Silva, Fernando; Potes, José

    2012-01-01

    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. PMID:22701304

  10. Piezoelectric and optoelectronic properties of electrospinning hybrid PVDF and ZnO nanofibers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  11. A piezoelectric shock-loading response simulator for piezoelectric-based device developers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rastegar, J.; Feng, Z.

    2017-04-01

    Pulsed loading of piezoelectric transducers occurs in many applications, such as those in munitions firing, or when a mechanical system is subjected to impact type loading. In this paper, an electronic simulator that can be programmed to generate electrical charges that a piezoelectric transducer generates as it is subjected to various shock loading profiles is presented. The piezoelectric output simulator can provide close to realistic outputs so that the circuit designer can use it to test the developed system under close to realistic conditions without the need for the costly and time consuming process of performing actual tests. The design of the electronic simulator and results of its testing are presented.

  12. A nanoscale piezoelectric transformer for low-voltage transistors.

    PubMed

    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.

  13. Analysis of an x-ray mirror made from piezoelectric bimorph

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  14. Piezoelectric MEMS: Ferroelectric thin films for MEMS applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  15. Development of advanced thermoelectric materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1984-01-01

    The development of an advanced thermoelectric material for radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) applications is reported. A number of materials were explored. The bulk of the effort, however, was devoted to improving silicon germanium alloys by the addition of gallium phosphide, the synthesis and evaluation of lanthanum chrome sulfide and the formulation of various mixtures of lanthanum sulfide and chrome sulfide. It is found that each of these materials exhibits promise as a thermoelectric material.

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

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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).

  17. Development of Specialized Advanced Materials Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malmgren, Thomas; And Others

    This course is intended to give students a comprehensive experience in current and future manufacturing materials and processes. It familiarizes students with: (1) base of composite materials; (2) composites--a very light, strong material used in spacecraft and stealth aircraft; (3) laminates; (4) advanced materials--especially aluminum alloys;…

  18. Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques Applied to the Quantitative Characterization of Textile Composite Materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miller, James G.

    1998-01-01

    An overall goal of this research has been to enhance our understanding of the scientific principles necessary to develop advanced ultrasonic nondestructive techniques for the quantitative characterization of advanced composite structures. To this end, we have investigated a thin woven composite (5-harness biaxial weave). We have studied the effects that variations of the physical parameters of the experimental setup can have on the ultrasonic determination of the material properties for this thin composite. In particular, we have considered the variation of the nominal center frequency and the f-number of the transmitting transducer which in turn address issues such as focusing and beam spread of ultrasonic fields. This study has employed a planar, two-dimensional, receiving pseudo-array that has permitted investigation of the diffraction patterns of ultrasonic fields. Distortion of the ultrasonic field due to the spatial anisotropy of the thin composite has prompted investigation of the phenomenon of phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture, piezoelectric receiver. We have performed phase-sensitive and phase-insensitive analyses to provide a measure of the amount of phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture, piezoelectric receiver. The pursuit of robust measurements of received energy (i.e., those not susceptible to phase cancellation at the face of a finite-aperture, piezoelectric receiver) supports the development of robust techniques to determine material properties from measure ultrasonic parameters.

  19. Miniature Piezoelectric Macro-Mass Balance

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    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

  20. Parameter identification of partially covered piezoelectric cantilever power scavenger based on the coupled distributed parameter solution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hosseini; Hamedi; Ebrahimi Mamaghani; Kim; Kim; Dayou

    2017-07-01

    Among the various techniques of power scavenging, piezoelectric energy harvesting usually has more power density. Although piezoceramics are usually more efficient than other piezoelectric materials, since they are very brittle and fragile, researchers are looking for alternative materials. Recently Cellulose Electro-active paper (EAPap) has been recognized as a smart material with piezoelectric behavior that can be used in energy scavenging systems. The majority of researches in energy harvesting area, use unimorph piezoelectric cantilever beams. This paper presents an analytical solution based on distributed parameter model for partially covered pieoelectric cantilever energy harvester. The purpose of the paper is to describe the changes in generated power with damping and the load resistance using analytical calculations. The analytical data are verified using experiment on a vibrating cantilever substrate that is partially covered by EAPap films. The results are very close to each other. Also asymptotic trends of the voltage, current and power outputs are investigated and expressions are obtained for the extreme conditions of the load resistance. These new findings provide guidelines for identification and manipulation of effective parameters in order to achieve the efficient performance in different ambient source conditions.

  1. Fabrication Method Study of ZnO Nanocoated Cellulose Film and Its Piezoelectric Property

    PubMed Central

    Ko, Hyun-U; Kim, Hyun Chan; Kim, Jung Woong; Zhai, Lindong; Kim, Jaehwan

    2017-01-01

    Recently, a cellulose-based composite material with a thin ZnO nanolayer—namely, ZnO nanocoated cellulose film (ZONCE)—was fabricated to increase its piezoelectric charge constant. However, the fabrication method has limitations to its application in mass production. In this paper, a hydrothermal synthesis method suitable for the mass production of ZONCE (HZONCE) is proposed. A simple hydrothermal synthesis which includes a hydrothermal reaction is used for the production, and the reaction time is controlled. To improve the piezoelectric charge constant, the hydrothermal reaction is conducted twice. HZONCE fabricated by twice-hydrothermal reaction shows approximately 1.6-times improved piezoelectric charge constant compared to HZONCE fabricated by single hydrothermal reaction. Since the fabricated HZONCE has high transparency, dielectric constant, and piezoelectric constant, the proposed method can be applied for continuous mass production. PMID:28772971

  2. Elastic properties of spherically anisotropic piezoelectric composites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

    2010-09-01

    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.

  3. Electrostrain in excess of 1% in polycrystalline piezoelectrics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

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

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    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.

  5. Manufacturing and testing of active composite panels with embedded piezoelectric sensors and actuators: wires out by molded-in holes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghasemi-Nejhad, Mehrdad N.; Pourjalali, Saeid

    2003-08-01

    This work presents manufacturing and testing of active composite panels (ACPs) with embedded piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The composite material employed here is a plain weave carbon epoxy prepreg fabric with about 0.33 mm ply thickness. The piezoelectric patches employed here are Continuum Control Corporation, CCC, (recently Continuum Photonics, Inc) active fiber composite patches with 0.33 mm thickness, i.e. close to the composite ply thickness. Composite cut-out layers are used to fill the space around the embedded piezoelectric patches to minimize the problems associated with ply drops in composites. The piezoelectric patches were embedded inside the composite laminate. High-temperature wires were soldered to the piezoelectric leads, insulated from the carbon substructure by high-temperature materials, and were taken out of the composite laminates employing a molded-in hole technique that reduces the stress concentration as opposed to a drilled hole, and thereby enhancing the performance of the composite structure. The laminated ACP"s were co-cured inside an autoclave employing the cure cycle recommended by the composite material supplier. The curie temperature of the embedded piezoelectric patches should be well above the curing temperature of the composite materials as was the case here. The manufactured ACP beams and plates were trimmed and then tested for their functionality. Vibration suppression as well as simultaneous vibration suppression and precision positioning tests, using PID control as well as Hybrid Adaptive Control techniques were successfully conducted on the manufactured ACP beams and their functionality were demonstrated. Recommendations on the use of this embedding technique for ACPs are provided.

  6. Modelling and analysis of piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester for different proof mass and material proportion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shashank, R.; Harisha, S. K., Dr; Abhishek, M. C.

    2018-02-01

    Energy harvesting using ambient energy sources is one of the fast growing trends in the world, research and development in the area of energy harvesting is moving progressively to get maximum power output from the existing resources. The ambient sources of energy available in the nature are solar energy, wind energy, thermal energy, vibrational energy etc. out of these methods energy harvesting by vibrational energy sources gain more importance due to its nature of not getting influenced by any environmental parameters and its free availability at anytime and anywhere. The project mainly deals with validating the values of voltage and electrical power output of experimentally conducted energy harvester, varying the parameters of the energy harvester and analyse the effect of the parameters on the performance of the energy harvester and compare the results. The cantilever beam was designed, analysed and simulated using COMSOL multi-physics software. The energy harvester gives an electrical output voltage of the 2.75 volts at a natural frequency of 37.2 Hz and an electrical power of 29μW. Decreasing the percentage of the piezoelectric material and simultaneously increasing the percentage of polymer material (so that total percentage of proportion remains same) increases the electrical voltage and decreases the natural frequency of the beam linearly upto 3.9V and 28.847 Hz till the percentage proportion of the beam was 24% piezoelectric beam and 76% polymer beam when the percentage proportion increased to 26% and 74% natural frequency goes on decreases further but voltage suddenly drops to 2.8V. The voltage generated by energy harvester increases proportionally and reaches 3.7V until weight of the proof mass reaches 4 grams and further increase in the weight of the proof mass decreases the voltage generated by energy harvester. Thus the investigation conveys that the weight of the proof mass and the length of the cantilever beam should be optimised to obtain maximum

  7. Materials Requirements for Advanced Propulsion Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Whitaker, Ann F.; Cook, Mary Beth; Clinton, R. G., Jr.

    2005-01-01

    NASA's mission to "reach the Moon and Mars" will be obtained only if research begins now to develop materials with expanded capabilities to reduce mass, cost and risk to the program. Current materials cannot function satisfactorily in the deep space environments and do not meet the requirements of long term space propulsion concepts for manned missions. Directed research is needed to better understand materials behavior for optimizing their processing. This research, generating a deeper understanding of material behavior, can lead to enhanced implementation of materials for future exploration vehicles. materials providing new approaches for manufacture and new options for In response to this need for more robust materials, NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) has established a strategic research initiative dedicated to materials development supporting NASA's space propulsion needs. The Advanced Materials for Exploration (AME) element directs basic and applied research to understand material behavior and develop improved materials allowing propulsion systems to operate beyond their current limitations. This paper will discuss the approach used to direct the path of strategic research for advanced materials to ensure that the research is indeed supportive of NASA's future missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

  8. An analytical and experimental study to investigate flutter suppression via piezoelectric actuation. M.S. Thesis - George Washington Univ., 1991

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heeg, Jennifer

    1991-01-01

    The objective was to analytically and experimentally study the capabilities of adaptive material plate actuators for suppressing flutter. The validity of analytical modeling techniques for piezoelectric materials was also investigated. Piezoelectrics are materials which are characterized by their ability to produce voltage when subjected to a mechanical strain. The converse piezoelectric effect can be utilized to actuate a structure by applying a voltage. For this investigation, a two degree of freedom wind tunnel model was designed, analyzed, and tested. The model consisted of a rigid airfoil and a flexible mount system which permitted a translational and a rotational degree of freedom. It was designed such that flutter was encounted within the testing envelope of the wind tunnel. Actuators, made of piezoelectric material were affixed to leaf springs of the mount system. Each degree of freedom was controlled by a separate leaf spring. Command signals, applied to the piezoelectric actuators, exerted control over the damping and stiffness properties. A mathematical aeroservoelastic model was constructed using finite element methods, laminated plate theory, and aeroelastic analysis tools. Plant characteristics were determined from this model and verified by open loop experimental tests. A flutter suppression control law was designed and implemented on a digital control computer. Closed loop flutter testing was conducted. The experimental results represent the first time that adaptive materials have been used to actively suppress flutter. It demonstrates that small, carefully placed actuating plates can be used effectively to control aeroelastic response.

  9. Monolithic piezoelectric sensor (MPS) for sensing chemical, biochemical and physical measurands

    DOEpatents

    Andle, Jeffrey C.; Lec, Ryszard M.

    2000-01-01

    A piezoelectric sensor and assembly for measuring chemical, biochemical and physical measurands is disclosed. The piezoelectric sensor comprises a piezoelectric material, preferably a crystal, a common metal layer attached to the top surface of the piezoelectric crystal, and a pair of independent resonators placed in close proximity on the piezoelectric crystal such that an efficacious portion of acoustic energy couples between the resonators. The first independent resonator serves as an input port through which an input signal is converted into mechanical energy within the sensor and the second independent resonator serves an output port through which a filtered replica of the input signal is detected as an electrical signal. Both a time delay and an attenuation at a given frequency between the input signal and the filtered replica may be measured as a sensor output. The sensor may be integrated into an assembly with a series feedback oscillator and a radio frequency amplifier to process the desired sensor output. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a selective film is disposed upon the grounded metal layer of the sensor and the resonators are encapsulated to isolate them from the measuring environment. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, more than two resonators are used in order to increase the resolution of the sensor.

  10. Top electrode size effects in the piezoresponse force microscopy of piezoelectric thin films attached to a rigid substrate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, J. H.

    2017-10-01

    In order to avoid the highly concentrated electric field induced beneath the sharp tip, the technique using a top coating electrode in the piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) has been developed to detect the piezoelectric coefficients. Reliable theory should be erected to explain the broadly reported top electrode size effects and relate the responses with material constants. In this paper, the surface displacement, electric potential inside the film, electric charge and effective piezoelectric coefficient are expressed as a set of integral equations. Analytical solutions are obtained for two limiting cases, i.e., half space (HS) and infinitely thin film (IT). The effective piezoelectric coefficient of the HS case is proved to be the same as that from the PFM of a piezoelectric half plane without a top coating. For the IT case, it is identical to the well-known piezoelectric coefficient result of piezoelectric thin film clamped between flat rigid electrodes subject to homogeneous external electric field. For PZT4 thin layer, numerical results reveal that the surface displacement obviously decreases and the electric potential distributions inside the film become more and more homogeneous as the electrode radius to film thickness ratio (a/t) enlarges. The electric charge dramatically increases while the effective piezoelectric coefficient evidently decreases and they both transfer from the HS solutions to the IT results when a/t varies from 0.001 to 20. The transition occurs at about a/t = 1 in agreement with the experimental observations. A critical top electrode size, i.e., a/t > 10, is obtained and applicable to other piezoelectric materials. Under such circumstances, one can readily gain the piezoelectric coefficients e 33, d 33 and the dielectric coefficient {\\in }33 if other mechanical coefficients and one piezoelectric constant are known a prior.

  11. Eshelby problem of polygonal inclusions in anisotropic piezoelectric full- and half-planes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pan, E.

    2004-03-01

    This paper presents an exact closed-form solution for the Eshelby problem of polygonal inclusion in anisotropic piezoelectric full- and half-planes. Based on the equivalent body-force concept of eigenstrain, the induced elastic and piezoelectric fields are first expressed in terms of line integral on the boundary of the inclusion with the integrand being the Green's function. Using the recently derived exact closed-form line-source Green's function, the line integral is then carried out analytically, with the final expression involving only elementary functions. The exact closed-form solution is applied to a square-shaped quantum wire within semiconductor GaAs full- and half-planes, with results clearly showing the importance of material orientation and piezoelectric coupling. While the elastic and piezoelectric fields within the square-shaped quantum wire could serve as benchmarks to other numerical methods, the exact closed-form solution should be useful to the analysis of nanoscale quantum-wire structures where large strain and electric fields could be induced by the misfit strain.

  12. Lead-free piezoelectrics based on potassium-sodium niobate with giant d(33).

    PubMed

    Zhang, Binyu; Wu, Jiagang; Cheng, Xiaojing; Wang, Xiaopeng; Xiao, Dingquan; Zhu, Jianguo; Wang, Xiangjian; Lou, Xiaojie

    2013-08-28

    High-performance lead-free piezoelectrics (d33 > 400 pC/N) based on 0.96(K0.5Na0.5)0.95Li0.05Nb1-xSbxO3-0.04BaZrO3 with the rhombohedral-tetragonal (R-T) phase boundary have been designed and prepared. The R-T phase boundary lies the composition range of 0.04 ≤ x ≤ 0.07, and the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the ceramics with the compositions near the phase boundary are significantly enhanced. In addition, the ceramic with x = 0.07 has a giant d33 of ~425 pC/N, which is comparable to that (~416 pC/N) of textured KNN-based ceramics (Saito, Y.; Takao, H.; Tani, T.; Nonoyama, T.; Takatori, K.; Homma, T.; Nagaya, T.; Nakamura, M. Nature 2004, 432, 84). The underlying physical mechanisms for enhanced piezoelectric properties are addressed. We believe that the material system is the most promising lead-free piezoelectric candidates for the practical applications.

  13. Design of a piezoelectric-based structural health monitoring system for damage detection in composite materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kessler, Seth S.; Spearing, S. Mark

    2002-07-01

    Cost-effective and reliable damage detection is critical for the utilization of composite materials. This paper presents the conclusions of an experimental and analytical survey of candidate methods for in-situ damage detection in composite structures. Experimental results are presented for the application of modal analysis and Lamb wave techniques to quasi-isotropic graphite/epoxy test specimens containing representative damage. Piezoelectric patches were used as actuators and sensors for both sets of experiments. Modal analysis methods were reliable for detecting small amounts of global damage in a simple composite structure. By comparison, Lamb wave methods were sensitive to all types of local damage present between the sensor and actuator, provided useful information about damage presence and severity, and present the possibility of estimating damage type and location. Analogous experiments were also performed for more complex built-up structures. These techniques are suitable for structural health monitoring applications since they can be applied with low power conformable sensors and can provide useful information about the state of a structure during operation. Piezoelectric patches could also be used as multipurpose sensors to detect damage by a variety of methods such as modal analysis, Lamb wave, acoustic emission and strain based methods simultaneously, by altering driving frequencies and sampling rates. This paper present guidelines and recommendations drawn from this research to assist in the design of a structural health monitoring system for a vehicle. These systems will be an important component in future designs of air and spacecraft to increase the feasibility of their missions.

  14. Vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays as thermal interface material for vibrational structure of piezoelectric transformer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Lie; Ju, Bin; Feng, Zhihua; Zhao, Yang

    2018-07-01

    The application and characterization of thermal interface material (TIM) for vibrational structures is investigated in this paper. The vibrating feature during the operation requires unique solution for its thermal management, since the connection between the device and heat dissipater should be able to conduct heat efficiently and impose minimum constraint onto the vibration simultaneously. As a typical vibrational device, piezoelectric transformers (PTs) are discussed in this paper. The PTs have urgent demands for thermal dissipation since their power conversion efficiency decrease rapidly with the rising temperature. A novel method by applying vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) arrays to the interface between PT and heat dissipater is presented to enhance the performance of piezoelectric transformers. VACNT arrays are one of the excellent TIMs. It can directly establish thermal contact between two surfaces by van der Waals’ forces. In addition, the unique anisotropic character of CNT arrays provides enough flexibility to accommodate the vibration during the operation. Different configurations of TIMs are compared with each other in this work, including CNT arrays, tape of polypropylene (PP) membrane and without heat transfer structure (HTS). The results indicate that the temperature rise is lowest and the efficiency is highest at the same power density while CNT arrays served as the TIM. Almost no significant fretting and wearing damage occurred on PT electrode surface with CNT arrays TIM even after working continuously for 120 days. Meanwhile, the thermo-physical properties of CNT arrays at contact interface are measured by optical transient thermo-reflectance technique.

  15. Enhancing Piezoelectric Performance of CaBi2Nb2O9 Ceramics Through Microstructure Control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Huanbei; Zhai, Jiwei

    2012-08-01

    Calcium bismuth niobate (CaBi2Nb2O9, CBN) is a high-Curie-temperature ( T C) piezoelectric material with relatively poor piezoelectric performance. Attempts were made to enhance the piezoelectric and direct-current (DC) resistive properties of CBN ceramics by increasing their density and controlling their microstructural texture, which were achieved by combining the templated grain growth and hot pressing methods. The modified CBN ceramics with 97.5% relative density and 90.5% Lotgering factor had much higher piezoelectric constant ( d 33 = 20 pC/N) than those prepared by the normal sintering process ( d 33 = 6 pC/N). High-temperature alternating-current (AC) impedance spectroscopy of the CBN ceramics was measured by using an impedance/gain-phase analyzer. Their electrical resistivity was approximately 6.5 × 104 Ω cm at 600°C. Therefore, CBN ceramics can be used for high-temperature piezoelectric applications.

  16. Characterization and calibration of piezoelectric polymers: In situ measurements of body vibrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kappel, Marcel; Abel, Markus; Gerhard, Reimund

    2011-07-01

    Piezoelectric polymers are known for their flexibility in applications, mainly due to their bending ability, robustness, and variable sensor geometry. It is an optimal material for minimal-invasive investigations in vibrational systems, e.g., for wood, where acoustical impedance matches particularly well. Many applications may be imagined, e.g., monitoring of buildings, vehicles, machinery, alarm systems, such that our investigations may have a large impact on technology. Longitudinal piezoelectricity converts mechanical vibrations normal to the polymer-film plane into an electrical signal, and the respective piezoelectric coefficient needs to be carefully determined in dependence on the relevant material parameters. In order to evaluate efficiency and durability for piezopolymers, we use polyvinylidene fluoride and measure the piezoelectric coefficient with respect to static pressure, amplitude of the dynamically applied force, and long-term stability. A known problem is the slow relaxation of the material towards equilibrium, if the external pressure changes; here, we demonstrate how to counter this problem with careful calibration. Since our focus is on acoustical measurements, we determine accurately the frequency response curve - for acoustics probably the most important characteristic. Eventually, we show that our piezopolymer transducers can be used as a calibrated acoustical sensors for body vibration measurements on a wooden musical instrument, where it is important to perform minimal-invasive measurements. A comparison with the simultaneously recorded airborne sound yields important insight of the mechanism of sound radiation in comparison with the sound propagating in the material. This is especially important for transient signals, where not only the long-living eigenmodes contribute to the sound radiation. Our analyses support that piezopolymer sensors can be employed as a general tool for the determination of the internal dynamics of vibrating systems.

  17. High precision optical measurement of displacement and simultaneous determinations of piezoelectric coefficients

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gamboa, Bryan M.; Malladi, Madhuri; Vadlamani, Ramya; Guo, Ruyan; Bhalla, Amar

    2016-09-01

    PZT are also well known for their applications in Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS). It is necessary to study the piezoelectric coefficients of the materials accurately in order to design a sensor as an example, which defines their strain dependent applications. Systematic study of the electro mechanic displacement measurement was conducted and compared using a white light fiber optic sensor, a heterodyne laser Doppler vibrometer, and a homodyne laser interferometry setup. Frequency dependent measurement is conducted to evaluate displacement values well below and near the piezoelectric resonances. UHF-120 ultra-high frequency Vibrometer is used to measure the longitudinal piezoelectric displacement or x33 and the MTI 2000 FotonicTM Sensor is used to measure the transverse piezoelectric displacement or x11 over 100Hz to 2MHz. A Multiphysics Finite Element Analysis method, COMSOL, is also adopted in the study to generate a three dimensional electromechanical coupled model based on experimentally determined strains x33 and x11 as a function of frequency of the electric field applied. The full family of piezoelectric coefficients of the poled electronic ceramic PZT, d33, d31, and d15, can be then derived, upon satisfactory simulation of the COMSOL. This is achieved without the usual need of preparation of piezoelectric resonators of fundamental longitudinal, transversal, and shear modes respectively.

  18. Advanced Photon Source Upgrade Project - Materials

    ScienceCinema

    Gibbson, Murray

    2018-03-02

    An upgrade to Advanced Photon Source announced by DOE - http://go.usa.gov/ivZ -- will help scientists break through bottlenecks in materials design in order to develop materials with desirable functions.

  19. Bulk Crystal Growth of Piezoelectric PMN-PT Crystals Using Gradient Freeze Technique for Improved SHM Sensors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aggarwal, Mohan D.; Kochary, F.; Penn, Benjamin G.; Miller, Jim

    2007-01-01

    There has been a growing interest in recent years in lead based perovskite ferroelectric and relaxor ferroelectric solid solutions because of their excellent dielectric, piezoelectric and electrostrictive properties that make them very attractive for various sensing, actuating and structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. We are interested in the development of highly sensitive and efficient PMN-PT sensors based on large single crystals for the structural health monitoring of composite materials that may be used in future spacecrafts. Highly sensitive sensors are needed for detection of defects in these materials because they often tend to fail by distributed and interacting damage modes and much of the damage occurs beneath the top surface of the laminate and not detectable by visual inspection. Research is being carried out for various combinations of solid solutions for PMN-PT piezoelectric materials and bigger size crystals are being sought for improved sensor applications. Single crystals of this material are of interest for sensor applications because of their high piezoelectric coefficient (d33 greater than 1700 pC/N) and electromechanical coefficients (k33 greater than 0.90). For comparison, the commonly used piezoelectric ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) has a d33 of about 600 pC/N and electromechanical coefficients k33 of about 0.75. At the present time, these piezoelectric relaxor crystals are grown by high temperature flux growth method and the size of these crystals are rather small (3x4x5 mm(exp 3). In the present paper, we have attempted to grow bulk single crystals of PMN-PT in a 2 inch diameter platinum crucible and successfully grown a large size crystal of 67%PMN-33%PT using the vertical gradient freeze technique with no flux. Piezoelectric properties of the grown crystals are investigated. PMN-PT plates show excellent piezoelectric properties. Samples were poled under an applied electric field of 5 kV/cm. Dielectric properties at a

  20. Parameter study and optimization for piezoelectric energy harvester for TPMS considering speed variation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toghi Eshghi, Amin; Lee, Soobum; Lee, Hanmin; Kim, Young-Cheol

    2016-04-01

    In this paper, we perform design parameter study and design optimization for a piezoelectric energy harvester considering vehicle speed variation. Initially, a FEM model using ANSYS is developed to appraise the performance of a piezoelectric harvester in a rotating tire. The energy harvester proposed here uses the vertical deformation at contact patch area from the car weight and centrifugal acceleration. This harvester is composed of a beam which is clamped at both ends and a piezoelectric material is attached on the top of that. The piezoelectric material possesses the 31 mode of transduction in which the direction of applied field is perpendicular to that of the electric field. To optimize the harvester performance, we would change the geometrical parameters of the harvester to obtain the maximum power. One of the main challenges in the design process is obtaining the required power while considering the constraints for harvester weight and volume. These two concerns are addressed in this paper. Since the final goal of this study is the development of an energy harvester with a wireless sensor system installed in a real car, the real time data for varied velocity of a vehicle are taken into account for power measurements. This study concludes that the proposed design is applicable to wireless tire sensor systems.

  1. High-performance piezoelectric nanogenerators for self-powered nanosystems: quantitative standards and figures of merit

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Wenzhuo

    2016-03-01

    Harvesting energies from the atmosphere cost-effectively is critical for both addressing worldwide long-term energy needs at the macro-scale, and achieving the sustainable maintenance-free operation of nanodevices at the micro-scale (Wang and Wu 2012 Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51 11700-21). Piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) technology has demonstrated its great application potential in harvesting the ubiquitous and abundant mechanical energy. Despite of the progress made in this rapidly-advancing field, a fundamental understanding and common standard for consistently quantifying and evaluating the performance of the various types of piezoelectric NGs is still lacking. In their recent study Crossley and Kar-Narayan (2015 Nanotechnology 26 344001), systematically investigated dynamical properties of piezoelectric NGs by taking into account the effect of driving mechanism and load frequency on NG performance. They further defined the NGs’ figures of merit as energy harvested normalized by applied strain or stress for NGs under strain-driven or stress-driven conditions, which are commonly seen in the vibrational energy harvesting. This work provides new insight and a feasible approach for consistently evaluating piezoelectric nanomaterials and NG devices, which is important for designing and optimizing nanoscale piezoelectric energy harvesters, as well as promoting their applications in emerging areas e.g. the internet of things, wearable devices, and self-powered nanosystems.

  2. High-performance piezoelectric nanogenerators for self-powered nanosystems: quantitative standards and figures of merit.

    PubMed

    Wu, Wenzhuo

    2016-03-18

    Harvesting energies from the atmosphere cost-effectively is critical for both addressing worldwide long-term energy needs at the macro-scale, and achieving the sustainable maintenance-free operation of nanodevices at the micro-scale (Wang and Wu 2012 Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 51 11700-21). Piezoelectric nanogenerator (NG) technology has demonstrated its great application potential in harvesting the ubiquitous and abundant mechanical energy. Despite of the progress made in this rapidly-advancing field, a fundamental understanding and common standard for consistently quantifying and evaluating the performance of the various types of piezoelectric NGs is still lacking. In their recent study Crossley and Kar-Narayan (2015 Nanotechnology 26 344001), systematically investigated dynamical properties of piezoelectric NGs by taking into account the effect of driving mechanism and load frequency on NG performance. They further defined the NGs' figures of merit as energy harvested normalized by applied strain or stress for NGs under strain-driven or stress-driven conditions, which are commonly seen in the vibrational energy harvesting. This work provides new insight and a feasible approach for consistently evaluating piezoelectric nanomaterials and NG devices, which is important for designing and optimizing nanoscale piezoelectric energy harvesters, as well as promoting their applications in emerging areas e.g. the internet of things, wearable devices, and self-powered nanosystems.

  3. Modified Continuum Mechanics Modeling on Size-Dependent Properties of Piezoelectric Nanomaterials: A Review

    PubMed Central

    Yan, Zhi; Jiang, Liying

    2017-01-01

    Piezoelectric nanomaterials (PNs) are attractive for applications including sensing, actuating, energy harvesting, among others in nano-electro-mechanical-systems (NEMS) because of their excellent electromechanical coupling, mechanical and physical properties. However, the properties of PNs do not coincide with their bulk counterparts and depend on the particular size. A large amount of efforts have been devoted to studying the size-dependent properties of PNs by using experimental characterization, atomistic simulation and continuum mechanics modeling with the consideration of the scale features of the nanomaterials. This paper reviews the recent progresses and achievements in the research on the continuum mechanics modeling of the size-dependent mechanical and physical properties of PNs. We start from the fundamentals of the modified continuum mechanics models for PNs, including the theories of surface piezoelectricity, flexoelectricity and non-local piezoelectricity, with the introduction of the modified piezoelectric beam and plate models particularly for nanostructured piezoelectric materials with certain configurations. Then, we give a review on the investigation of the size-dependent properties of PNs by using the modified continuum mechanics models, such as the electromechanical coupling, bending, vibration, buckling, wave propagation and dynamic characteristics. Finally, analytical modeling and analysis of nanoscale actuators and energy harvesters based on piezoelectric nanostructures are presented. PMID:28336861

  4. Mapping piezoelectric response in nanomaterials using a dedicated non-destructive scanning probe technique.

    PubMed

    Calahorra, Yonatan; Smith, Michael; Datta, Anuja; Benisty, Hadas; Kar-Narayan, Sohini

    2017-12-14

    There has been tremendous interest in piezoelectricity at the nanoscale, for example in nanowires and nanofibers where piezoelectric properties may be enhanced or controllably tuned, thus necessitating robust characterization techniques of piezoelectric response in nanomaterials. Piezo-response force microscopy (PFM) is a well-established scanning probe technique routinely used to image piezoelectric/ferroelectric domains in thin films, however, its applicability to nanoscale objects is limited due to the requirement for physical contact with an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip that may cause dislocation or damage, particularly to soft materials, during scanning. Here we report a non-destructive PFM (ND-PFM) technique wherein the tip is oscillated into "discontinuous" contact during scanning, while applying an AC bias between tip and sample and extracting the piezoelectric response for each contact point by monitoring the resulting localized deformation at the AC frequency. ND-PFM is successfully applied to soft polymeric (poly-l-lactic acid) nanowires, as well as hard ceramic (barium zirconate titanate-barium calcium titanate) nanowires, both previously inaccessible by conventional PFM. Our ND-PFM technique is versatile and compatible with commercial AFMs, and can be used to correlate piezoelectric properties of nanomaterials with their microstructural features thus overcoming key characterisation challenges in the field.

  5. Modified Continuum Mechanics Modeling on Size-Dependent Properties of Piezoelectric Nanomaterials: A Review.

    PubMed

    Yan, Zhi; Jiang, Liying

    2017-01-26

    Piezoelectric nanomaterials (PNs) are attractive for applications including sensing, actuating, energy harvesting, among others in nano-electro-mechanical-systems (NEMS) because of their excellent electromechanical coupling, mechanical and physical properties. However, the properties of PNs do not coincide with their bulk counterparts and depend on the particular size. A large amount of efforts have been devoted to studying the size-dependent properties of PNs by using experimental characterization, atomistic simulation and continuum mechanics modeling with the consideration of the scale features of the nanomaterials. This paper reviews the recent progresses and achievements in the research on the continuum mechanics modeling of the size-dependent mechanical and physical properties of PNs. We start from the fundamentals of the modified continuum mechanics models for PNs, including the theories of surface piezoelectricity, flexoelectricity and non-local piezoelectricity, with the introduction of the modified piezoelectric beam and plate models particularly for nanostructured piezoelectric materials with certain configurations. Then, we give a review on the investigation of the size-dependent properties of PNs by using the modified continuum mechanics models, such as the electromechanical coupling, bending, vibration, buckling, wave propagation and dynamic characteristics. Finally, analytical modeling and analysis of nanoscale actuators and energy harvesters based on piezoelectric nanostructures are presented.

  6. Recent advances in photonics packaging materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zweben, Carl

    2006-02-01

    There are now over a dozen low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities between that of copper (400 w/m-K) and over 4X copper (1700 W/m-K). Most have low densities. For comparison, traditional low-CTE packaging materials like copper/tungsten have thermal conductivities that are little or no better than that of aluminum (200 W/m-K) and high densities. There are also low-density thermal insulators with low CTEs. Some advanced materials are low cost. Most do not outgas. They have a wide range of electrical properties that can be used to minimize electromagnetic emissions or provide EMI shielding. Several are now in commercial and aerospace applications, including laser diode packages; light-emitting diode (LED) packages; thermoelectric cooler bases, plasma displays; power modules; servers; laptops; heat sinks; thermally conductive, low-CTE printed circuit boards; and printed circuit board cold plates. Advanced material payoffs include: improved thermal performance, reliability, alignment and manufacturing yield; reduced thermal stresses and heating power requirements; simplified thermal design; enablement of hard solder direct attach; weight savings up to 85%; size reductions up to 65%; and lower cost. This paper discusses the large and increasing number of advanced packaging materials, including properties, development status, applications, increasing manufacturing yield, cost, lessons learned and future directions, including nanocomposites.

  7. Piezoelectric extraction of ECG signal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ahmad, Mahmoud Al

    2016-11-01

    The monitoring and early detection of abnormalities or variations in the cardiac cycle functionality are very critical practices and have significant impact on the prevention of heart diseases and their associated complications. Currently, in the field of biomedical engineering, there is a growing need for devices capable of measuring and monitoring a wide range of cardiac cycle parameters continuously, effectively and on a real-time basis using easily accessible and reusable probes. In this paper, the revolutionary generation and extraction of the corresponding ECG signal using a piezoelectric transducer as alternative for the ECG will be discussed. The piezoelectric transducer pick up the vibrations from the heart beats and convert them into electrical output signals. To this end, piezoelectric and signal processing techniques were employed to extract the ECG corresponding signal from the piezoelectric output voltage signal. The measured electrode based and the extracted piezoelectric based ECG traces are well corroborated. Their peaks amplitudes and locations are well aligned with each other.

  8. Touching force response of the piezoelectric Braille cell.

    PubMed

    Smithmaitrie, Pruittikorn; Kanjantoe, Jinda; Tandayya, Pichaya

    2008-11-01

    The objective of this research is to investigate dynamic responses of the piezoelectric Braille cell when it is subjected to both electrical signal and touching force. Physical behavior of the piezoelectric actuator inside the piezoelectric Braille cell is analyzed. The mathematical model of the piezoelectric Braille system is presented. Then, data of visually impaired people using a Braille Note is studied as design information and a reference input for calculation of the piezoelectric Braille response under the touching force. The results show dynamic responses of the piezoelectric Braille cell. The designed piezoelectric bimorph has a settling time of 0.15 second. The relationship between the Braille dot height and applied voltage is linear. The behavior of the piezoelectric Braille dot when it is touched during operation shows that the dot height is decreased as the force increases. The result provides understanding of the piezoelectric Braille cell behavior under both touching force and electrical excitation simultaneously. This is the important issue for the design and development of piezoelectric Braille cells in senses of controlling Braille dot displacement or force-feedback in the future.

  9. Review of piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers and their applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jung, Joontaek; Lee, Wonjun; Kang, Woojin; Shin, Eunjung; Ryu, Jungho; Choi, Hongsoo

    2017-11-01

    In recent decades, micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUTs) have been investigated as an alternative to conventional piezocomposite ultrasonic transducers, primarily due to the advantages that microelectromechanical systems provide. Miniaturized ultrasonic systems require ultrasonic transducers integrated with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor circuits. Hence, piezoelectric MUTs (pMUTs) and capacitive MUTs (cMUTs) have been developed as the most favorable solutions. This paper reviews the basic equations to understand the characteristics of thin-film-based piezoelectric devices and presents recent research on pMUTs, including current approaches and limitations. Methods to improve the coupling coefficient of pMUTs are also investigated, such as device structure, materials, and fabrication techniques. The device structure improvements include multielectrode pMUTs, partially clamped boundary conditions, and 3D pMUTs (curved and domed types), where the latter can provide an electromechanical coupling coefficient of up to 45%. The piezoelectric coefficient (e 31) can be increased by controlling the crystal texture (seed layer of γ-Al2O3), using single-crystal (PMN-PT) materials, or control of residual stresses (using SiO2 layer). Arrays of pMUTs can be implemented for various applications including intravascular ultrasound, fingerprint sensors, rangefinders in air, and wireless power supply systems. pMUTs are expected to be an ideal solution for applications such as mobile biometric security (fingerprint sensors) and rangefinders due to their superior power efficiency and compact size.

  10. Advanced High-Temperature Engine Materials Technology Progresses

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1995-01-01

    The objective of the Advanced High Temperature Engine Materials Technology Program (HITEMP) is to generate technology for advanced materials and structural analysis that will increase fuel economy, improve reliability, extend life, and reduce operating costs for 21st century civil propulsion systems. The primary focus is on fan and compressor materials (polymer-matrix composites--PMC's), compressor and turbine materials (superalloys, and metal-matrix and intermetallic-matrix composites--MMC's and IMC's) and turbine materials (ceramic-matrix composites--CMC's). These advanced materials are being developed by in-house researchers and on grants and contracts. NASA considers this program to be a focused materials and structures research effort that builds on our base research programs and supports component-development projects. HITEMP is coordinated with the Advanced Subsonic Technology (AST) Program and the Department of Defense/NASA Integrated High-Performance Turbine Engine Technology (IHPTET) Program. Advanced materials and structures technologies from HITEMP may be used in these future applications. Recent technical accomplishments have not only improved the state-of-the-art but have wideranging applications to industry. A high-temperature thin-film strain gage was developed to measure both dynamic and static strain up to 1100 C (2000 F). The gage's unique feature is that it is minimally intrusive. This technology, which received a 1995 R&D 100 Award, has been transferred to AlliedSignal Engines, General Electric Company, and Ford Motor Company. Analytical models developed at the NASA Lewis Research Center were used to study Textron Specialty Materials' manufacturing process for titanium-matrix composite rings. Implementation of our recommendations on tooling and processing conditions resulted in the production of defect free rings. In the Lincoln Composites/AlliedSignal/Lewis cooperative program, a composite compressor case is being manufactured with a Lewis

  11. Future requirements for advanced materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Olstad, W. B.

    1980-01-01

    Recent advances and future trends in aerospace materials technology are reviewed with reference to metal alloys, high-temperature composites and adhesives, tungsten fiber-reinforced superalloys, hybrid materials, ceramics, new ablative materials, such as carbon-carbon composite and silica tiles used in the Shuttle Orbiter. The technologies of powder metallurgy coupled with hot isostatic pressing, near net forging, complex large shape casting, chopped fiber molding, superplastic forming, and computer-aided design and manufacture are emphasized.

  12. Aeroelastic flutter enhancement by exploiting the combined use of shape memory alloys and nonlinear piezoelectric circuits

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sousa, Vagner Candido de; Silva, Tarcísio Marinelli Pereira; De Marqui Junior, Carlos

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, the combined effects of semi-passive control using shunted piezoelectric material and passive pseudoelastic hysteresis of shape memory springs on the aerolastic behavior of a typical section is investigated. An aeroelastic model that accounts for the presence of both smart materials employed as mechanical energy dissipation devices is presented. The Brinson model is used to simulate the shape memory material. New expressions for the modeling of the synchronized switch damping on inductor technique (developed for enhanced piezoelectric damping) are presented, resulting in better agreement with experimental data. The individual effects of each nonlinear mechanism on the aeroelastic behavior of the typical section are first verified. Later, the combined effects of semi-passive piezoelectric control and passive shape memory alloy springs on the post-critical behavior of the system are discussed in details. The range of post-flutter airflow speeds with stable limit cycle oscillations is significantly increased due to the combined effects of both sources of energy dissipation, providing an effective and autonomous way to modify the behavior of aeroelastic systems using smart materials.

  13. Piezoelectric wave motor

    DOEpatents

    Yerganian, Simon Scott

    2001-07-17

    A piezoelectric motor having a stator in which piezoelectric elements are contained in slots formed in the stator transverse to the desired wave motion. When an electric field is imposed on the elements, deformation of the elements imposes a force perpendicular to the sides of the slot, deforming the stator. Appropriate frequency and phase shifting of the electric field will produce a wave in the stator and motion in a rotor. In a preferred aspect, the piezoelectric elements are configured so that deformation of the elements in direction of an imposed electric field, generally referred to as the d.sub.33 direction, is utilized to produce wave motion in the stator. In a further aspect, the elements are compressed into the slots so as to minimize tensile stresses on the elements in use.

  14. Piezoelectric wave motor

    DOEpatents

    Yerganian, Simon Scott

    2003-02-11

    A piezoelectric motor having a stator in which piezoelectric elements are contained in slots formed in the stator transverse to the desired wave motion. When an electric field is imposed on the elements, deformation of the elements imposes a force perpendicular to the sides of the slot, deforming the stator. Appropriate frequency and phase-shifting of the electric field will produce a wave in the stator and motion in a rotor. In a preferred aspect, the piezoelectric elements are configured so that deformation of the elements in the direction of an imposed electric field, generally referred to as the d.sub.33 direction, is utilized to produce wave motion in the stator. In a further aspect, the elements are compressed into the slots so as to minimize tensile stresses on the elements in use.

  15. Active Piezoelectric Diaphragms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bryant, Robert G.; Effinger, Robert T., IV; Aranda, Isaiah, Jr.; Copeland, Ben M.; Covington, Ed W., III

    2002-01-01

    Several active piezoelectric diaphragms were fabricated by placing unelectroded piezoelectric disks between copper clad films patterned with Inter-Circulating Electrodes "ICE". When a voltage potential is applied to the electrodes, the result is radially distributed electric field that mechanically strains the piezo-ceramic along the Z-axis (perpendicular to the applied electric field), rather than the expected in-plane (XY-axis) direction. Unlike other out of plane piezoelectric actuators, which are benders, these Radial Field Diaphragms (RFDs) strain concentrically yet afford high displacements while maintaining a constant circumference. This paper covers the fabrication and characterization of these diaphragms as a function of poling field strength, ceramic diameter and line spacing, as well as the surface topography, the resulting strain field and displacement as a function of applied voltage ranging from DC to 10 Hz.

  16. Reflection of electromagnetic wave from the boundary of the piezoelectric half-space with cubic symmetry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berberyan, A. Kh; Garakov, V. G.

    2018-04-01

    A large number of works have been devoted to investigation of the influence of the piezoelectric properties of a material on the propagation of elastic waves [1–3]. Herewith, the quasi-static piezoelasticity model was mainly used. In the problem of an electromagnetic wave reflection from an elastic medium with piezoelectric properties, it is necessary to consider hyperbolic equations [4].

  17. Piezoelectric Actuator/Sensor Technology at Rockwell

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Neurgaonkar, Ratnakar R.

    1996-01-01

    We describe the state-of-the art of piezoelectric materials based on perovskite and tungsten bronze families for sensor, actuator and smart structure applications. The microstructural defects in these materials have been eliminated to a large extent and the resulting materials exhibit exceedingly high performance for various applications. The performance of Rockwell actuators/sensors is at least 3 times better than commercially available products. These high performance actuators are being incorporated into various applications including, DOD, NASA and commercial. The multilayer actuator stacks fabricated from our piezoceramics are advantageous for sensing and high capacitance applications. In this presentation, we will describe the use of our high performance piezo-ceramics for actuators and sensors, including multilayer stacks and composite structures.

  18. Ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films and their applications for integrated capacitors, piezoelectric ultrasound transducers and piezoelectric switches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klee, M.; Boots, H.; Kumar, B.; van Heesch, C.; Mauczok, R.; Keur, W.; de Wild, M.; van Esch, H.; Roest, A. L.; Reimann, K.; van Leuken, L.; Wunnicke, O.; Zhao, J.; Schmitz, G.; Mienkina, M.; Mleczko, M.; Tiggelman, M.

    2010-02-01

    Ferroelectric and piezoelectric thin films are gaining more and more importance for the integration of high performance devices in small modules. High-K 'Integrated Discretes' devices have been developed, which are based on thin film ferroelectric capacitors integrated together with resistors and ESD protection diodes in a small Si-based chip-scale package. Making use of ferroelectric thin films with relative permittivity of 950-1600 and stacking processes of capacitors, extremely high capacitance densities of 20-520 nF/mm2, high breakdown voltages up to 140 V and lifetimes of more than 10 years at operating voltages of 5 V and 85°C are achieved. Thin film high-density capacitors play also an important role as tunable capacitors for applications such as tuneable matching circuits for RF sections of mobile phones. The performance of thin film tuneable capacitors at frequencies between 1 MHz and 1 GHz is investigated. Finally thin film piezoelectric ultrasound transducers, processed in Si- related processes, are attractive for medical imaging, since they enable large bandwidth (>100%), high frequency operation and have the potential to integrate electronics. With these piezoelectric thin film ultrasound transducers real time ultrasound images have been realized. Finally, piezoelectric thin films are used to manufacture galvanic MEMS switches. A model for the quasi-static mechanical behaviour is presented and compared with measurements.

  19. Piezoelectric thin films and their applications for electronics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoshino, Yukio

    2009-03-01

    ZnO and AlN piezoelectric thin films have been studied for applications in bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonator. This article introduces methods of forming ZnO and AlN piezoelectric thin films by radio frequency sputtering and applications of BAW resonators considering the relationship between the crystallinity of piezoelectric thin films and the characteristics of the BAW resonators. Using ZnO thin films, BAW resonators were fabricated for a contour mode at 3.58 MHz and thickness modes from 200 MHz to 5 GHz. The ZnO thin films were combined with various materials, substrates, and thin films to minimize the temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF). The minimum TCF of BAW resonators was approximately 2 ppm/°C in the range -20 to 80 °C. The electromechanical coupling coefficient (k2) in a 1.9 GHz BAW resonator was 6.9%. Using AlN thin films, 5-20 GHz BAW resonators with an ultrathin membrane were realized. The membrane thickness of a 20 GHz BAW resonator was about 200 nm, k2 was 6.1%, and the quality factor (Q) was about 280. Q decreased with increasing resonant frequency. The value of k2 is almost the same for 5-20 GHz resonators. This result could be obtained by improving the thickness uniformity, by controlling internal stress of thin films, and by controlling the crystallinity of AlN piezoelectric thin film.

  20. Growth of potassium niobate micro-hexagonal tablets with monoclinic phase and its excellent piezoelectric property

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Zhong; Huang, Jingyun; Wang, Ye; Yang, Yefeng; Wu, Yongjun; Ye, Zhizhen

    2012-09-01

    Potassium niobate micro-hexagonal tablets were synthesized through hydrothermal reaction with KOH, H2O and Nb2O5 as source materials by using a polycrystalline Al2O3 as substrate. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra and selected area electron diffraction analysis results indicated that the tablets exhibit monoclinic phase structure and are highly crystallized. Meanwhile, piezoelectric property of the micro-hexagonal tablets was investigated. The as-synthesized tablets exhibit excellent piezoactivities in the experiments, and an effective piezoelectric coefficient of around 80 pm/V was obtained. The tablets have huge potential applications in micro/nano-integrated piezoelectric and optical devices.

  1. Superior piezoelectric composite films: taking advantage of carbon nanomaterials.

    PubMed

    Saber, Nasser; Araby, Sherif; Meng, Qingshi; Hsu, Hung-Yao; Yan, Cheng; Azari, Sara; Lee, Sang-Heon; Xu, Yanan; Ma, Jun; Yu, Sirong

    2014-01-31

    Piezoelectric composites comprising an active phase of ferroelectric ceramic and a polymer matrix have recently found numerous sensory applications. However, it remains a major challenge to further improve their electromechanical response for advanced applications such as precision control and monitoring systems. We here investigated the incorporation of graphene platelets (GnPs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), each with various weight fractions, into PZT (lead zirconate titanate)/epoxy composites to produce three-phase nanocomposites. The nanocomposite films show markedly improved piezoelectric coefficients and electromechanical responses (50%) besides an enhancement of ~200% in stiffness. The carbon nanomaterials strengthened the impact of electric field on the PZT particles by appropriately raising the electrical conductivity of the epoxy. GnPs have been proved to be far more promising in improving the poling behavior and dynamic response than MWNTs. The superior dynamic sensitivity of GnP-reinforced composite may be caused by the GnPs' high load transfer efficiency arising from their two-dimensional geometry and good compatibility with the matrix. The reduced acoustic impedance mismatch resulting from the improved thermal conductance may also contribute to the higher sensitivity of GnP-reinforced composite. This research pointed out the potential of employing GnPs to develop highly sensitive piezoelectric composites for sensing applications.

  2. Electric poling and electromechanical characterization of 0.1-mm-thick sensor films and 0.2-mm-thick cable layers from piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene).

    PubMed

    Wegener, Michael; Gerhard-Multhaupt, Reimund

    2003-07-01

    Piezoelectric polymers have been proposed for many sensor and actuator applications. Among these, piezoelectric polymer films with thicknesses between several tens and a few hundreds of micrometers as well as coaxial cables with piezoelectric polymer layers are highly suitable and attractive for the detection of mechanical loads. In addition to good piezoelectric properties, materials for such sensors should have high mechanical strength. Therefore, the most common materials are nonporous piezoelectric polymers, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or its copolymer with trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)). Here, P(VDF-TrFE) polymer films as well as the operating principle and the geometry of piezoelectric polymer cables are described. As active piezoelectric cable layer, P(VDF-TrFE) (76/24) was employed. After electrical poling with one or more point-to-cable corona discharges, the polarization in the P(VDF-TrFE) layer was investigated. Poling parameters, such as electric field and poling time, were varied. The resulting polarization was characterized with measurements of polarization profiles across the film or the cable-layer thickness as well as with the determination of other electromechanical quantities. The optimized poling process yields good piezoelectric properties in the piezoelectric polymer layers as well as useful sensor properties of the piezoelectric polymer cable, which are assessed and discussed.

  3. Nuclear-relaxed elastic and piezoelectric constants of materials: Computational aspects of two quantum-mechanical approaches.

    PubMed

    Erba, Alessandro; Caglioti, Dominique; Zicovich-Wilson, Claudio Marcelo; Dovesi, Roberto

    2017-02-15

    Two alternative approaches for the quantum-mechanical calculation of the nuclear-relaxation term of elastic and piezoelectric tensors of crystalline materials are illustrated and their computational aspects discussed: (i) a numerical approach based on the geometry optimization of atomic positions at strained lattice configurations and (ii) a quasi-analytical approach based on the evaluation of the force- and displacement-response internal-strain tensors as combined with the interatomic force-constant matrix. The two schemes are compared both as regards their computational accuracy and performance. The latter approach, not being affected by the many numerical parameters and procedures of a typical quasi-Newton geometry optimizer, constitutes a more reliable and robust mean to the evaluation of such properties, at a reduced computational cost for most crystalline systems. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Characterization of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting MEMS

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2015-12-01

    dimensional image of the piezoelectric energy harvester under test. The image shows the intrinsic stress within the material resulting in the curved ...amount of deformation. This indicates that the center pad is curved concave up in the z-direction at rest, which may affect the stiffness of the...greatest amount of deformation; blue indicates the least amount of deformation. This indicates that the center pad is curved concave up in the z

  5. Large piezoelectricity in electric-field modified single crystals of SrTiO3

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Khanbabaee, B.; Mehner, E.; Richter, C.; Hanzig, J.; Zschornak, M.; Pietsch, U.; Stöcker, H.; Leisegang, T.; Meyer, D. C.; Gorfman, S.

    2016-11-01

    Defect engineering is an effective and powerful tool to control the existing material properties and produce completely new ones, which are symmetry-forbidden in a defect-free crystal. For example, the application of a static electric field to a single crystal of SrTiO3 forms a strained near-surface layer through the migration of oxygen vacancies out of the area beneath the positively charged electrode. While it was previously shown that this near-surface phase holds pyroelectric properties, which are symmetry-forbidden in centrosymmetric bulk SrTiO3, this paper reports that the same phase is strongly piezoelectric. We demonstrate the piezoelectricity of this phase through stroboscopic time-resolved X-ray diffraction under alternating electric field and show that the effective piezoelectric coefficient d33 ranges between 60 and 100 pC/N. The possible atomistic origins of the piezoelectric activity are discussed as a coupling between the electrostrictive effect and spontaneous polarization of this near-surface phase.

  6. Fabrication and characterization of thick-film piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate ceramic resonators by tape-casting.

    PubMed

    Qin, Lifeng; Sun, Yingying; Wang, Qing-Ming; Zhong, Youliang; Ou, Ming; Jiang, Zhishui; Tian, Wei

    2012-12-01

    In this paper, thick-film piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic resonators with thicknesses down to tens of micrometers have been fabricated by tape-casting processing. PZT ceramic resonators with composition near the morphotropic phase boundary and with different dopants added were prepared for piezoelectric transducer applications. Material property characterization for these thick-film PZT resonators is essential for device design and applications. For the property characterization, a recently developed normalized electrical impedance spectrum method was used to determine the electromechanical coefficient and the complex piezoelectric, elastic, and dielectric coefficients from the electrical measurement of resonators using thick films. In this work, nine PZT thick-film resonators have been fabricated and characterized, and two different types of resonators, namely thickness longitudinal and transverse modes, were used for material property characterization. The results were compared with those determined by the IEEE standard method, and they agreed well. It was found that depending on the PZT formulation and dopants, the relative permittivities ε(T)(33)/ε(0) measured at 2 kHz for these thick-films are in the range of 1527 to 4829, piezoelectric stress constants (e(33) in the range of 15 to 26 C/m(2), piezoelectric strain constants (d(31)) in the range of -169 × 10(-12) C/N to -314 × 10(-12) C/N, electromechanical coupling coefficients (k(t)) in the range of 0.48 to 0.53, and k(31) in the range of 0.35 to 0.38. The characterization results shows tape-casting processing can be used to fabricate high-quality PZT thick-film resonators, and the extracted material constants can be used to for device design and application.

  7. Development and Implementation of a New HELIOS Diagnostic using a Fast Piezoelectric Valve on the Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ray, Holly; Biewer, Theodore; Caneses, Juan; Green, Jonathan; Lindquist, Elizabeth; McQuown, Levon; Schmitz, Oliver

    2017-10-01

    A new helium line-ratio spectral monitoring (HELIOS) diagnostic, using a piezoelectric valve with high duty cycles (on/off times ms), allowing for good background correction, and measured particle flowrates on the order of 1020 particles/second is being implemented on Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) Prototype Material Plasma Exposure eXperiment (Proto-MPEX). Built in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the HELIOS diagnostic communicates with a Labview program for controlled bursts of helium into the vessel. The open magnetic geometry of Proto-MPEX is ideal for testing and characterizing a HELIOS diagnostic. The circular cross-section with four ports allows for cross comparison between different diagnostics: 1) Helium injection with the piezoelectric puff valve, 2) HELIOS line-of-sight high-gain observation, 3) scan-able Double Langmuir probe, and 4) HELIOS 2D imaging observation. Electron density and temperature measurements from the various techniques will be compared. This work was supported by the US. D.O.E. contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 and DE-SC00013911.

  8. High-Fidelity Piezoelectric Audio Device

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Woodward, Stanley E.; Fox, Robert L.; Bryant, Robert G.

    2003-01-01

    ModalMax is a very innovative means of harnessing the vibration of a piezoelectric actuator to produce an energy efficient low-profile device with high-bandwidth high-fidelity audio response. The piezoelectric audio device outperforms many commercially available speakers made using speaker cones. The piezoelectric device weighs substantially less (4 g) than the speaker cones which use magnets (10 g). ModalMax devices have extreme fabrication simplicity. The entire audio device is fabricated by lamination. The simplicity of the design lends itself to lower cost. The piezoelectric audio device can be used without its acoustic chambers and thereby resulting in a very low thickness of 0.023 in. (0.58 mm). The piezoelectric audio device can be completely encapsulated, which makes it very attractive for use in wet environments. Encapsulation does not significantly alter the audio response. Its small size (see Figure 1) is applicable to many consumer electronic products, such as pagers, portable radios, headphones, laptop computers, computer monitors, toys, and electronic games. The audio device can also be used in automobile or aircraft sound systems.

  9. Fabrication of Biocompatible Potassium Sodium Niobate Piezoelectric Ceramic as an Electroactive Implant

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Wei; Yu, Zunxiong; Pang, Jinshan; Yu, Peng; Tan, Guoxin; Ning, Chengyun

    2017-01-01

    The discovery of piezoelectricity in natural bone has attracted extensive research in emulating biological electricity for various tissue regeneration. Here, we carried out experiments to build biocompatible potassium sodium niobate (KNN) ceramics. Then, influence substrate surface charges on bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein adsorption and cell proliferation on KNN ceramics surfaces was investigated. KNN ceramics with piezoelectric constant of ~93 pC/N and relative density of ~93% were fabricated. The adsorption of protein on the positive surfaces (Ps) and negative surfaces (Ns) of KNN ceramics with piezoelectric constant of ~93 pC/N showed greater protein adsorption capacity than that on non-polarized surfaces (NPs). Biocompatibility of KNN ceramics was verified through cell culturing and live/dead cell staining of MC3T3. The cells experiment showed enhanced cell growth on the positive surfaces (Ps) and negative surfaces (Ns) compared to non-polarized surfaces (NPs). These results revealed that KNN ceramics had great potential to be used to understand the effect of surface potential on cells processes and would benefit future research in designing piezoelectric materials for tissue regeneration. PMID:28772704

  10. PVDF Gauge Piezoelectric Response under Two-Stage Light Gas Gun Impact Loading

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bauer, Francois

    2002-07-01

    Stress gauges based on ferroelectric polymer (PVDF) studies under very high pressure shock compression have shown that the piezoelectric response exhibits a precise reproducible behavior up to 25 GPa. Shock pressure profiles obtained with "in situ" PVDF gauges in porous H.E. (Formex) in a detonation regime have been achieved. Observations of a fast superpressure of a few nanoseconds followed by a pressure release have raised the question of the loading path dependence of the piezoelectric response of PVDF at high shock pressure levels. Consequently, studies of the piezoelectric behavior of PVDF gauges under impact loading using a two-stage light gas gun have been conducted recently. Symmetric impact as well as non symmetric impact and reverse impact techniques have been achieved. Strong viscoplastic behavior of some materials is observed. In typical experiments, the piezoelectric response of PVDF at shock equilibrium could be determined. These results show that the PVDF response appears independent of the loading path up to 30 GPa. Accurate measurements in situ H.E. are also reported with very low inductance PVDF gauges.

  11. Fabrication of Biocompatible Potassium Sodium Niobate Piezoelectric Ceramic as an Electroactive Implant.

    PubMed

    Chen, Wei; Yu, Zunxiong; Pang, Jinshan; Yu, Peng; Tan, Guoxin; Ning, Chengyun

    2017-03-26

    The discovery of piezoelectricity in natural bone has attracted extensive research in emulating biological electricity for various tissue regeneration. Here, we carried out experiments to build biocompatible potassium sodium niobate (KNN) ceramics. Then, influence substrate surface charges on bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein adsorption and cell proliferation on KNN ceramics surfaces was investigated. KNN ceramics with piezoelectric constant of ~93 pC/N and relative density of ~93% were fabricated. The adsorption of protein on the positive surfaces (Ps) and negative surfaces (Ns) of KNN ceramics with piezoelectric constant of ~93 pC/N showed greater protein adsorption capacity than that on non-polarized surfaces (NPs). Biocompatibility of KNN ceramics was verified through cell culturing and live/dead cell staining of MC3T3. The cells experiment showed enhanced cell growth on the positive surfaces (Ps) and negative surfaces (Ns) compared to non-polarized surfaces (NPs). These results revealed that KNN ceramics had great potential to be used to understand the effect of surface potential on cells processes and would benefit future research in designing piezoelectric materials for tissue regeneration.

  12. Modelling, fabrication, and characterization for improved piezoelectric energy harvesters

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alomari, Almuatasim Ali

    The ambitious goal of this dissertation is to contribute its share to the scientific researchers and academic community by demonstrate a versatile study on energy harvesting via smart materials. Smart materials are amongst the current production modes which generate clean and green energy. The advantages of smart materials include ferroelectric, piezoelectric, and pyroelectric ceramics and composites in materials science and technology of the 21 st century are inconceivable. Their most current applications include conventional sensors, actuators, batteries replacement, and switch. Further, Piezoelectricity is the accumulation of electrical charges as a result of applying mechanical stress on certain type of materials such as crystals, DNA, and protein, where pyro-electricity is the accumulation of electrical charges from ambient environment from temperature gauges or fluctuations. In an incessant effort to increase the performance of smart materials devices researchers in both academic and industrial communities in field of green energy have suggested many techniques and procedures to increase the power generation capability and enhance the bandwidth of thermal and vibration energy harvesters. In this study, the EulerBernoulli beam Theory, lumped parameter model (LPM), and chain matrix method were applied on various design and structure shape of smart materials to find the output electrical parameters. The modeling and simulation investigations are accomplished using MATLAB program and COMSOL Multiphysics software. A low-cost fabrication technique, of polyvinyl-dine difluoride (PVDF) with different amount of Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT), Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate (PMN-PT), and Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) are introduced in this study as well. Later, the (Paint/ PZT) fabricated nanocomposites was tested for dielectric constants over a wide frequency range at different temperatures. It was observed that the composites with higher concentrations

  13. Analysis of Sensory/Active Piezoelectric Composite Structures in Thermal Environments

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lee, Ho-Jun; Saravanos, Dimitris A.

    1996-01-01

    Although there has been extensive development of analytical methods for modeling the behavior of piezoelectric structures, only a limited amount of research has been performed concerning the implications of thermal effects on both the active and sensory response of smart structures. Thermal effects become important when the piezoelectric structure has to operate in either extremely hot or cold temperature environments. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to extend the previously developed discrete layer formulation of Saravanos and Heyliger to account for the coupled mechanical, electrical, and thermal response in modern smart composite beams. The mechanics accounts for thermal effects which may arise in the elastic and piezoelectric media at the material level through the constitutive equations. The displacements, electric potentials, and temperatures are introduced as state variables, allowing them to be modeled as variable fields through the laminate thickness. This unified representation leads to an inherent capability to model both the active compensation of thermal distortions in smart structures and the resultant sensory voltage when thermal loads are applied. The corresponding finite element formulation is developed and numerical results demonstrate the ability to model both the active and sensory modes of composite beams with heterogeneous plies with attached piezoelectric layers under thermal loadings.

  14. Consideration of impedance matching techniques for efficient piezoelectric energy harvesting.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyeoungwoo; Priya, Shashank; Stephanou, Harry; Uchino, Kenji

    2007-09-01

    This study investigates multiple levels of impedance-matching methods for piezoelectric energy harvesting in order to enhance the conversion of mechanical to electrical energy. First, the transduction rate was improved by using a high piezoelectric voltage constant (g) ceramic material having a magnitude of g33 = 40 x 10(-3) V m/N. Second, a transducer structure, cymbal, was optimized and fabricated to match the mechanical impedance of vibration source to that of the piezoelectric transducer. The cymbal transducer was found to exhibit approximately 40 times higher effective strain coefficient than the piezoelectric ceramics. Third, the electrical impedance matching for the energy harvesting circuit was considered to allow the transfer of generated power to a storage media. It was found that, by using the 10-layer ceramics instead of the single layer, the output current can be increased by 10 times, and the output load can be reduced by 40 times. Furthermore, by using the multilayer ceramics the output power was found to increase by 100%. A direct current (DC)-DC buck converter was fabricated to transfer the accumulated electrical energy in a capacitor to a lower output load. The converter was optimized such that it required less than 5 mW for operation.

  15. Two-dimensional fracture analysis of piezoelectric material based on the scaled boundary node method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen-Shen, Chen; Juan, Wang; Qing-Hua, Li

    2016-04-01

    A scaled boundary node method (SBNM) is developed for two-dimensional fracture analysis of piezoelectric material, which allows the stress and electric displacement intensity factors to be calculated directly and accurately. As a boundary-type meshless method, the SBNM employs the moving Kriging (MK) interpolation technique to an approximate unknown field in the circumferential direction and therefore only a set of scattered nodes are required to discretize the boundary. As the shape functions satisfy Kronecker delta property, no special techniques are required to impose the essential boundary conditions. In the radial direction, the SBNM seeks analytical solutions by making use of analytical techniques available to solve ordinary differential equations. Numerical examples are investigated and satisfactory solutions are obtained, which validates the accuracy and simplicity of the proposed approach. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11462006 and 21466012), the Foundation of Jiangxi Provincial Educational Committee, China (Grant No. KJLD14041), and the Foundation of East China Jiaotong University, China (Grant No. 09130020).

  16. Characterizing absolute piezoelectric microelectromechanical system displacement using an atomic force microscope

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Evans, J., E-mail: radiant@ferrodevices.com; Chapman, S., E-mail: radiant@ferrodevices.com

    Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) is a popular tool for the study of ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials at the nanometer level. Progress in the development of piezoelectric MEMS fabrication is highlighting the need to characterize absolute displacement at the nanometer and Ångstrom scales, something Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) might do but PFM cannot. Absolute displacement is measured by executing a polarization measurement of the ferroelectric or piezoelectric capacitor in question while monitoring the absolute vertical position of the sample surface with a stationary AFM cantilever. Two issues dominate the execution and precision of such a measurement: (1) the small amplitude ofmore » the electrical signal from the AFM at the Ångstrom level and (2) calibration of the AFM. The authors have developed a calibration routine and test technique for mitigating the two issues, making it possible to use an atomic force microscope to measure both the movement of a capacitor surface as well as the motion of a micro-machine structure actuated by that capacitor. The theory, procedures, pitfalls, and results of using an AFM for absolute piezoelectric measurement are provided.« less

  17. Advances in photonics thermal management and packaging materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zweben, Carl

    2008-02-01

    Heat dissipation, thermal stresses, and cost are key packaging design issues for virtually all semiconductors, including photonic applications such as diode lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solid state lighting, photovoltaics, displays, projectors, detectors, sensors and laser weapons. Heat dissipation and thermal stresses affect performance and reliability. Copper, aluminum and conventional polymeric printed circuit boards (PCBs) have high coefficients of thermal expansion, which can cause high thermal stresses. Most traditional low-coefficient-of-thermal-expansion (CTE) materials like tungsten/copper, which date from the mid 20 th century, have thermal conductivities that are no better than those of aluminum alloys, about 200 W/m-K. There are an increasing number of low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities ranging between that of copper (400 W/m-K) and 1700 W/m-K, and many other new low-CTE materials with lower thermal conductivities. An important benefit of low-CTE materials is that they allow use of hard solders. Some advanced materials are low cost. Others have the potential to be low cost in high-volume production. High-thermal-conductivity materials enable higher power levels, potentially reducing the number of required devices. Advanced thermal materials can constrain PCB CTE and greatly increase thermal conductivity. This paper reviews traditional packaging materials and advanced thermal management materials. The latter provide the packaging engineer with a greater range of options than in the past. Topics include properties, status, applications, cost, using advanced materials to fix manufacturing problems, and future directions, including composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and other thermally conductive materials.

  18. Surface oxidation: an effective way to induce piezoelectricity in 2D black phosphorus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Jiabin; Zhao, Ting; He, Chaoyu; Zhang, Kaiwang

    2018-03-01

    In this letter, first-principles methods are employed to investigate the elastic stiffness and piezoelectric tensors of surface-oxidized black phosphorene. Our results show that the piezoelectric coefficients d 11 and d 12 for surface-oxidized black phosphorene are 88.54 pm V-1 and  -1.94 pm V-1, respectively, which are comparable to those of group-IV monochalcogenides and more remarkable than those of the experimentally viable h-BN and MoS2. These results indicate that surface-oxidization is an effective way to make black phosphorene into an excellent piezoelectric material for potential applications in sensors, actuators, electric field generators and any other applications requiring electrical and mechanical energy conversion. We expect further experimental exploration on this interesting result to confirm our predictions.

  19. Thermal energy conversion by coupled shape memory and piezoelectric effects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zakharov, Dmitry; Lebedev, Gor; Cugat, Orphee; Delamare, Jerome; Viala, Bernard; Lafont, Thomas; Gimeno, Leticia; Shelyakov, Alexander

    2012-09-01

    This work gives experimental evidence of a promising method of thermal-to-electric energy conversion by coupling shape memory effect (SME) and direct piezoelectric effect (DPE) for harvesting quasi-static ambient temperature variations. Two original prototypes of thermal energy harvesters have been fabricated and tested experimentally. The first is a hybrid laminated composite consisting of TiNiCu shape memory alloy (SMA) and macro fiber composite piezoelectric. This composite comprises 0.1 cm3 of active materials and harvests 75 µJ of energy for each temperature variation of 60 °C. The second prototype is a SME/DPE ‘machine’ which uses the thermally induced linear strains of the SMA to bend a bulk PZT ceramic plate through a specially designed mechanical structure. The SME/DPE ‘machine’ with 0.2 cm3 of active material harvests 90 µJ over a temperature increase of 35 °C (60 µJ when cooling). In contrast to pyroelectric materials, such harvesters are also compatible with both small and slow temperature variations.

  20. Binary Oxide p-n Heterojunction Piezoelectric Nanogenerators with an Electrochemically Deposited High p-Type Cu2O Layer.

    PubMed

    Baek, Seung Ki; Kwak, Sung Soo; Kim, Joo Sung; Kim, Sang Woo; Cho, Hyung Koun

    2016-08-31

    The high performance of ZnO-based piezoelectric nanogenerators (NGs) has been limited due to the potential screening from intrinsic electron carriers in ZnO. We have demonstrated a novel approach to greatly improve piezoelectric power generation by electrodepositing a high-quality p-type Cu2O layer between the piezoelectric semiconducting film and the metal electrode. The p-n heterojunction using only oxides suppresses the screening effect by forming an intrinsic depletion region, and thus sufficiently enhances the piezoelectric potential, compared to the pristine ZnO piezoelectric NG. Interestingly, a Sb-doped Cu2O layer has high mobility and low surface trap states. Thus, this doped layer is an attractive p-type material to significantly improve piezoelectric performance. Our results revealed that p-n junction NGs consisting of Au/ZnO/Cu2O/indium tin oxide with a Cu2O:Sb (cuprous oxide with a small amount of antimony) layer of sufficient thickness (3 μm) exhibit an extraordinarily high piezoelectric potential of 0.9 V and a maximum output current density of 3.1 μA/cm(2).

  1. Dynamics and Control of Orbiting Space Structures NASA Advanced Design Program (ADP)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cruse, T. A.

    1996-01-01

    The report summarizes the advanced design program in the mechanical engineering department at Vanderbilt University for the academic years 1994-1995 and 1995-1996. Approximately 100 students participated in the two years of the subject grant funding. The NASA-oriented design projects that were selected included lightweight hydrogen propellant tank for the reusable launch vehicle, a thermal barrier coating test facility, a piezoelectric motor for space antenna control, and a lightweight satellite for automated materials processing. The NASA supported advanced design program (ADP) has been a success and a number of graduates are working in aerospace and are doing design.

  2. Thermally Stable, Piezoelectric and Pyroelectric Polymeric Substrates

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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

    1999-01-01

    A thermally stable, piezoelectric and pyroelectric polymeric substrate was prepared. This thermally stable, piezoelectric and pyroelectric polymeric substrate may be used to prepare electromechanical transducers, thermomechanical transducers, accelerometers. acoustic sensors, infrared sensors, pressure sensors, vibration sensors, impact sensors, in-situ temperature sensors, in-situ stress/strain sensors, micro actuators, switches, adjustable fresnel lenses, speakers, tactile sensors. weather sensors, micro positioners, ultrasonic devices, power generators, tunable reflectors, microphones, and hydrophones. The process for preparing these polymeric substrates includes: providing a polymeric substrate having a softening temperature greater than 1000 C; depositing a metal electrode material onto the polymer film; attaching a plurality of electrical leads to the metal electrode coated polymeric substrate; heating the metal electrode coated polymeric substrate in a low dielectric medium; applying a voltage to the heated metal electrode coated polymeric substrate to induce polarization; and cooling the polarized metal electrode coated polymeric electrode while maintaining a constant voltage.

  3. High-throughput density functional calculations to optimize properties and interfacial chemistry of piezoelectric materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barr, Jordan A.; Lin, Fang-Yin; Ashton, Michael; Hennig, Richard G.; Sinnott, Susan B.

    2018-02-01

    High-throughput density functional theory calculations are conducted to search through 1572 A B O3 compounds to find a potential replacement material for lead zirconate titanate (PZT) that exhibits the same excellent piezoelectric properties as PZT and lacks both its use of the toxic element lead (Pb) and the formation of secondary alloy phases with platinum (Pt) electrodes. The first screening criterion employed a search through the Materials Project database to find A -B combinations that do not form ternary compounds with Pt. The second screening criterion aimed to eliminate potential candidates through first-principles calculations of their electronic structure, in which compounds with a band gap of 0.25 eV or higher were retained. Third, thermodynamic stability calculations were used to compare the candidates in a Pt environment to compounds already calculated to be stable within the Materials Project. Formation energies below or equal to 100 meV/atom were considered to be thermodynamically stable. The fourth screening criterion employed lattice misfit to identify those candidate perovskites that have low misfit with the Pt electrode and high misfit of potential secondary phases that can be formed when Pt alloys with the different A and B components. To aid in the final analysis, dynamic stability calculations were used to determine those perovskites that have dynamic instabilities that favor the ferroelectric distortion. Analysis of the data finds three perovskites warranting further investigation: CsNb O3 , RbNb O3 , and CsTa O3 .

  4. Integrated 3D printing and corona poling process of PVDF piezoelectric films for pressure sensor application

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Hoejin; Torres, Fernando; Wu, Yanyu; Villagran, Dino; Lin, Yirong; Tseng, Tzu-Liang(Bill

    2017-08-01

    This paper presents a novel process to fabricate piezoelectric films from polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer using integrated fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing and corona poling technique. Corona poling is one of many effective poling processes that has received attention to activate PVDF as a piezoelectric responsive material. The corona poling process occurs when a PVDF polymer is exposed to a high electric field created and controlled through an electrically charged needle and a grid electrode under heating environment. FDM 3D printing has seen extensive progress in fabricating thermoplastic materials and structures, including PVDF. However, post processing techniques such as poling is needed to align the dipoles in order to gain piezoelectric properties. To further simplify the piezoelectric sensors and structures fabrication process, this paper proposes an integrated 3D printing process with corona poling to fabricate piezoelectric PVDF sensors without post poling process. This proposed process, named ‘Integrated 3D Printing and Corona poling process’ (IPC), uses the 3D printer’s nozzle and heating bed as anode and cathode, respectively, to create poling electric fields in a controlled heating environment. The nozzle travels along the programmed path with fixed distance between nozzle tip and sample’s top surface. Simultaneously, the electric field between the nozzle and bottom heating pad promotes the alignment of dipole moment of PVDF molecular chains. The crystalline phase transformation and output current generated by printed samples under different electric fields in this process were characterized by a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and through fatigue load frame. It is demonstrated that piezoelectric PVDF films with enhanced β-phase percentage can be fabricated using the IPC process. In addition, mechanical properties of printed PVDF was investigated by tensile testing. It is expected to expand the use of additive

  5. In vitro deposition of hydroxyapatite on cortical bone collagen stimulated by deformation-induced piezoelectricity.

    PubMed

    Noris-Suárez, Karem; Lira-Olivares, Joaquin; Ferreira, Ana Marina; Feijoo, José Luis; Suárez, Nery; Hernández, Maria C; Barrios, Esteban

    2007-03-01

    In the present work, we have studied the effect of the piezoelectricity of elastically deformed cortical bone collagen on surface using a biomimetic approach. The mineralization process induced as a consequence of the piezoelectricity effect was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). SEM micrographs showed that mineralization occurred predominantly over the compressed side of bone collagen, due to the effect of piezoelectricity, when the sample was immersed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) in a cell-free system. The TSDC method was used to examine the complex collagen dielectric response. The dielectric spectra of deformed and undeformed collagen samples with different hydration levels were compared and correlated with the mineralization process followed by SEM. The dielectric measurements showed that the mineralization induced significant changes in the dielectric spectra of the deformed sample. DSC and TSDC results demonstrated a reduction of the collagen glass transition as the mineralization process advanced. The combined use of SEM, TSDC, and DSC showed that, even without osteoblasts present, the piezoelectric dipoles produced by deformed collagen can produce the precipitation of hydroxyapatite by electrochemical means, without a catalytic converter as occurs in classical biomimetic deposition.

  6. Radial Field Piezoelectric Diaphragms

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bryant, R. G.; Effinger, R. T., IV; Copeland, B. M., Jr.

    2002-01-01

    A series of active piezoelectric diaphragms were fabricated and patterned with several geometrically defined Inter-Circulating Electrodes "ICE" and Interdigitated Ring Electrodes "ICE". When a voltage potential is applied to the electrodes, the result is a radially distributed electric field that mechanically strains the piezoceramic along the Z-axis (perpendicular to the applied electric field). Unlike other piezoelectric bender actuators, these Radial Field Diaphragms (RFDs) strain concentrically yet afford high displacements (several times that of the equivalent Unimorph) while maintaining a constant circumference. One of the more intriguing aspects is that the radial strain field reverses itself along the radius of the RFD while the tangential strain remains relatively constant. The result is a Z-deflection that has a conical profile. This paper covers the fabrication and characterization of the 5 cm. (2 in.) diaphragms as a function of poling field strength, ceramic thickness, electrode type and line spacing, as well as the surface topography, the resulting strain field and displacement as a function of applied voltage at low frequencies. The unique features of these RFDs include the ability to be clamped about their perimeter with little or no change in displacement, the environmentally insulated packaging, and a highly repeatable fabrication process that uses commodity materials.

  7. Actuators Using Piezoelectric Stacks and Displacement Enhancers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, Stewart; Bao, Xiaoqi; Badescu, Mircea; Lee, Hyeong Jae; Walkenmeyer, Phillip; Lih, Shyh-Shiuh

    2015-01-01

    Actuators are used to drive all active mechanisms including machines, robots, and manipulators to name a few. The actuators are responsible for moving, manipulating, displacing, pushing and executing any action that is needed by the mechanism. There are many types and principles of actuation that are responsible for these movements ranging from electromagnetic, electroactive, thermo-mechanic, piezoelectric, electrostrictive etc. Actuators are readily available from commercial producers but there is a great need for reducing their size, increasing their efficiency and reducing their weight. Studies at JPL’s Non Destructive Evaluation and Advanced Actuators (NDEAA) Laboratory have been focused on the use of piezoelectric stacks and novel designs taking advantage of piezoelectric’s potential to provide high torque/force density actuation and high electromechanical conversion efficiency. The actuators/motors that have been developed and reviewed in this paper are operated by various horn configurations as well as the use of pre-stress flexures that make them thermally stable and increases their coupling efficiency. The use of monolithic designs that pre-stress the piezoelectric stack eliminates the use of compression stress bolt. These designs enable the embedding of developed solid-state motors/actuators in any structure with the only macroscopically moving parts are the rotor or the linear translator. Finite element modeling and design tools were used to determine the requirements and operation parameters and the results were used to simulate, design and fabricate novel actuators/motors. The developed actuators and performance will be described and discussed in this paper.

  8. Solar synthesis of advanced materials: A solar industrial program initiative

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lewandowski, A.

    1992-06-01

    This is an initiative for accelerating the use of solar energy in the advanced materials manufacturing industry in the United States. The initiative will be based on government-industry collaborations that will develop the technology and help US industry compete in the rapidly expanding global advanced materials marketplace. Breakthroughs in solar technology over the last 5 years have created exceptional new tools for developing advanced materials. Concentrated sunlight from solar furnaces can produce intensities that approach those on the surface of the sun and can generate temperatures well over 2000 C. Very thin layers of illuminated surfaces can be driven to remarkably high temperatures in a fraction of a second. Concentrated solar energy can be delivered over large areas, allowing for rapid processing and high production rates. By using this technology, researchers are transforming low-cost raw materials into high-performance products. Solar synthesis of advanced materials uses bulk materials and energy more efficiently, lowers processing costs, and reduces the need for strategic materials -- all with a technology that does not harm the environment. The Solar Industrial Program has built a unique, world class solar furnace at NREL to help meet the growing need for applied research in advanced materials. Many new advanced materials processes have been successfully demonstrated in this facility, including metalorganic deposition, ceramic powders, diamond-like carbon materials, rapid heat treating, and cladding (hard coating).

  9. Multistage Force Amplification of Piezoelectric Stacks

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Xu, Tian-Bing (Inventor); Siochi, Emilie J. (Inventor); Zuo, Lei (Inventor); Jiang, Xiaoning (Inventor); Kang, Jin Ho (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    Embodiments of the disclosure include an apparatus and methods for using a piezoelectric device, that includes an outer flextensional casing, a first cell and a last cell serially coupled to each other and coupled to the outer flextensional casing such that each cell having a flextensional cell structure and each cell receives an input force and provides an output force that is amplified based on the input force. The apparatus further includes a piezoelectric stack coupled to each cell such that the piezoelectric stack of each cell provides piezoelectric energy based on the output force for each cell. Further, the last cell receives an input force that is the output force from the first cell and the last cell provides an output apparatus force In addition, the piezoelectric energy harvested is based on the output apparatus force. Moreover, the apparatus provides displacement based on the output apparatus force.

  10. Giant strain with ultra-low hysteresis and high temperature stability in grain oriented lead-free K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaTiO3-Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 piezoelectric materials

    PubMed Central

    Maurya, Deepam; Zhou, Yuan; Wang, Yaojin; Yan, Yongke; Li, Jiefang; Viehland, Dwight; Priya, Shashank

    2015-01-01

    We synthesized grain-oriented lead-free piezoelectric materials in (K0.5Bi0.5TiO3-BaTiO3-xNa0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (KBT-BT-NBT) system with high degree of texturing along the [001]c (c-cubic) crystallographic orientation. We demonstrate giant field induced strain (~0.48%) with an ultra-low hysteresis along with enhanced piezoelectric response (d33 ~ 190pC/N) and high temperature stability (~160°C). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) results demonstrate smaller size highly ordered domain structure in grain-oriented specimen relative to the conventional polycrystalline ceramics. The grain oriented specimens exhibited a high degree of non-180° domain switching, in comparison to the randomly axed ones. These results indicate the effective solution to the lead-free piezoelectric materials. PMID:25716551

  11. Dielectric Properties of Piezoelectric Polyimides

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ounaies, Z.; Young, J. A.; Simpson, J. O.; Farmer, B. L.

    1997-01-01

    Molecular modeling and dielectric measurements are being used to identify mechanisms governing piezoelectric behavior in polyimides such as dipole orientation during poling, as well as degree of piezoelectricity achievable. Molecular modeling on polyimides containing pendant, polar nitrile (CN) groups has been completed to determine their remanent polarization. Experimental investigation of their dielectric properties evaluated as a function of temperature and frequency has substantiated numerical predictions. With this information in hand, we are then able to suggest changes in the molecular structures, which will then improve upon the piezoelectric response.

  12. Piezoelectric bimorph optical-fiber sensor.

    PubMed

    Sun, Fengguo; Xiao, Gaozhi; Zhang, Zhiyi; Grover, Chander P

    2004-03-20

    We propose and demonstrate a novel high-voltage optical-fiber sensor. This sensor consists of an emitting fiber, a receiving fiber, and a piezoelectric bimorph transducer. The emitting fiber is fixed in a base, whereas the receiving fiber is mounted on the free end of the piezoelectric bimorph transducer. When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric bimorph transducer, its free end is displaced over a distance delta. The displacement induces a loss in the optical coupling between the emitting and the receiving fiber. The voltage can be measured by monitoring the coupling loss.

  13. Long-Term Durability and Integrity of Built-In Piezoelectric-Based Active Sensing Network in Structures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2007-03-31

    iterating to the end-time step. 1.3 Code Verification 1.3.1 Statement of the Problem A square aluminum alloy plate (thickness = 1.02 mm, width and...plate. The electro-mechanical properties of the piezoelectric materials (APC850) are available from American Piezoceramics, Inc. . The piezoceramic...structural usage and provide an early indication of physical damage. Piezoelectric (PZT) based SHM systems are among the most widely used for active and

  14. New design for inertial piezoelectric motors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Lige; Ge, Weifeng; Meng, Wenjie; Hou, Yubin; Zhang, Jing; Lu, Qingyou

    2018-03-01

    We have designed, implemented, and tested a novel inertial piezoelectric motor (IPM) that is the first IPM to have controllable total friction force, which means that it sticks with large total friction forces and slips with severely reduced total friction forces. This allows the IPM to work with greater robustness and produce a larger output force at a lower threshold voltage while also providing higher rigidity. This is a new IPM design that means that the total friction force can be dramatically reduced or even canceled where necessary by pushing the clamping points at the ends of a piezoelectric tube that contains the sliding shaft inside it in the opposite directions during piezoelectric deformation. Therefore, when the shaft is propelled forward by another exterior piezoelectric tube, the inner piezoelectric tube can deform to reduce the total friction force acting on the shaft instantly and cause more effective stepping movement of the shaft. While our new IPM requires the addition of another piezoelectric tube, which leads to an increase in volume of 120% when compared with traditional IPMs, the average step size has increased by more than 400% and the threshold voltage has decreased by more than 50 V. The improvement in performance is far more significant than the increase in volume. This enhanced performance will allow the proposed IPM to work under large load conditions where a simple and powerful piezoelectric motor is needed.

  15. Buckling delamination of the circular sandwich plate with piezoelectric face and elastic core layers under rotationally symmetric external pressure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Akbarov, Surkay D.; Cafarova, Fazile I.; Yahnioglu, Nazmiye

    2017-02-01

    The axisymmetric buckling delamination of the piezoelectric circular sandwich plate with piezoelectric face and elastic (metal) core layers around the interface penny-shaped cracks is investigated. The case is considered where short-circuit conditions with respect to the electrical potential on the upper and lower and also lateral surfaces of face layers are satisfied. It is assumed that the edge surfaces of the cracks have an infinitesimal rotationally symmetric initial imperfection and the development of this imperfection with rotationally symmetric compressive forces acting on the lateral surface of the plate is studied by employing the exact geometrically non-linear field equations and relations of electro-elasticity for piezoelectric materials. Solution to the considered nonlinear problem is reduced to solution of the series boundary value problems derived by applying the linearization procedure with respect to small imperfection of the sought values. Numerical results reveal the effect of piezoelectricity as well as geometrical and material parameters on the critical values are determined numerically by employing finite element method (FEM).

  16. Laminated piezoelectric transformer

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vazquez Carazo, Alfredo (Inventor)

    2006-01-01

    A laminated piezoelectric transformer is provided using the longitudinal vibration modes for step-up voltage conversion applications. The input portions are polarized to deform in a longitudinal plane and are bonded to an output portion. The deformation of the input portions is mechanically coupled to the output portion, which deforms in the same longitudinal direction relative to the input portion. The output portion is polarized in the thickness direction relative its electrodes, and piezoelectrically generates a stepped-up output voltage.

  17. Feasibility of using piezoelectric actuators to control launch vehicle acoustics and structural vibrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Niezrecki, Christopher; Cudney, Harley H.

    2000-06-01

    Future launch vehicle payload fairings will be manufactured form advanced lightweight composite materials. The loss of distributed mass causes a significant increase in the internal acoustic environment, causing a severe threat to the payload. Using piezoelectric actuators to control the fairing vibration and the internal acoustic environment has been proposed. To help determine the acoustic control authority of piezoelectric actuators mounted on a rocket fairing, the internal acoustic response created by the actuators needs to be determined. In this work, the internal acoustic response of a closed simply-supported (SS) cylinder actuated by piezoelectric (PZT) actuators is determined using a n impedance model for the actuator and boundary element analysis. The experimentally validated model is used to extrapolate results for a SS cylinder that emulates a Minotaur payload fairing. The internal cylinder acoustic levels are investigated for PZT actuation between 35 and 400 Hz. Significant reductions in the structural response due to increased damping do not equate to similar reductions in the acoustic SPLs for the cylinder. The sound levels at the acoustic resonant frequencies are essentially unaffected by the significant increase in structural damping while the acoustic level sat the structural resonant frequencies are mildly reduced. The interior acoustic response of the cylinder is dominated by the acoustic modes and therefore significant reductions in the overall interior acoustic levels will not be achieved if only the structural resonances are controlled. As the actuation frequency is reduced, the number of actuators required to generate acoustic levels commensurate to that found in the fairing increases to impractical values. Below approximately 100 Hz, the current demands reach levels that are extremely difficult to achieve with a practical system. The results of this work imply that PZT actuators do not have the authority to control the payload fairing

  18. Nanogenerators consisting of direct-grown piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes using flexoelectric effects

    PubMed Central

    Han, Jin Kyu; Jeon, Do Hyun; Cho, Sam Yeon; Kang, Sin Wook; Yang, Sun A.; Bu, Sang Don; Myung, Sung; Lim, Jongsun; Choi, Moonkang; Lee, Minbaek; Lee, Min Ku

    2016-01-01

    We report the first attempt to prepare a flexoelectric nanogenerator consisting of direct-grown piezoelectrics on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mwCNT). Direct-grown piezoelectrics on mwCNTs are formed by a stirring and heating method using a Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT)-mwCNT precursor solution. We studied the unit cell mismatch and strain distribution of epitaxial PZT nanoparticles, and found that lattice strain is relaxed along the growth direction. A PZT-mwCNT nanogenerator was found to produce a peak output voltage of 8.6 V and an output current of 47 nA when a force of 20 N is applied. Direct-grown piezoelectric nanogenerators generate a higher voltage and current than simple mixtures of PZT and CNTs resulting from the stronger connection between PZT crystals and mwCNTs and an enhanced flexoelectric effect caused by the strain gradient. These experiments represent a significant step toward the application of nanogenerators using piezoelectric nanocomposite materials. PMID:27406631

  19. Analytical and finite element performance evaluation of embedded piezoelectric sensors in polyethylene

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Safaei, Mohsen; Anton, Steven R.

    2017-04-01

    A common application of piezoelectric transducers is to obtain operational data from working structures and dynamic components. Collected data can then be used to evaluate dynamic characterization of the system, perform structural health monitoring, or implement various other assessments. In some applications, piezoelectric transducers are bonded inside the host structure to satisfy system requirements; for example, piezoelectric transducers can be embedded inside the biopolymers of total joint replacements to evaluate the functionality of the artificial joint. The interactions between the piezoelectric device (inhomogeneity) and the surrounding polymer matrix determine the mechanical behavior of the matrix and the electromechanical behavior of the sensor. In this work, an analytical approach is employed to evaluate the electromechanical performance of 2-D plane strain piezoelectric elements of both circular and rectangular-shape inhomogeneities. These piezoelectric elements are embedded inside medical grade ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene, a material commonly used for bearing surfaces of joint replacements, such as total knee replacements (TKRs). Using the famous Eshelby inhomogeneity solution, the stress and electric field inside the circular (elliptical) inhomogeneity is obtained by decoupling the solution into purely elastic and dielectric systems of equations. For rectangular (non-elliptical) inhomogeneities, an approximation method based on the boundary integral function is utilized and the same decoupling method is employed. In order to validate the analytical result, a finite element analysis is performed for both the circular and rectangular inhomogeneities and the error for each case is calculated. For elliptical geometry, the error is less than 1% for stress and electric fields inside and outside the piezoelectric inhomogeneity, whereas, the error for non-elliptical geometry is obtained as 11% and 7% for stress and electric field inside

  20. Direct Ink Writing of Three-Dimensional (K, Na)NbO3-Based Piezoelectric Ceramics

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yayun; Li, Longtu; Li, Bo

    2015-01-01

    A kind of piezoelectric ink was prepared with Li, Ta, Sb co-doped (K, Na)NbO3 (KNN) powders. Piezoelectric scaffolds with diameters at micrometer scale were constructed from this ink by using direct ink writing method. According to the micro-morphology and density test, the samples sintered at 1100 °C for 2 h have formed ceramics completely with a high relative density of 98%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) test shows that the main phase of sintered samples is orthogonal (Na0.52K0.4425Li0.0375)(Nb0.87Sb0.07Ta0.06)O3. The piezoelectric constant d33 of 280 pC/N, dielectric constant ε of 1775, remanent polarization Pr of 18.8 μC/cm2 and coercive field Ec of 8.5 kV/cm prove that the sintered samples exhibit good electrical properties. The direct ink writing method allows one to design and rapidly fabricate piezoelectric structures in complex three-dimensional (3D) shapes without the need for any dies or lithographic masks, which will simplify the process of material preparation and offer new ideas for the design and application of piezoelectric devices. PMID:28788028

  1. Piezoelectric diaphragm for vibration energy harvesting.

    PubMed

    Minazara, E; Vasic, D; Costa, F; Poulin, G

    2006-12-22

    This paper presents a technique of electric energy generation using a mechanically excited unimorph piezoelectric membrane transducer. The electrical characteristics of the piezoelectric power generator are investigated under dynamic conditions. The electromechanical model of the generator is presented and used to predict its electrical performances. The experiments was performed with a piezoelectric actuator (shaker) moving a macroscopic 25 mm diameter piezoelectric membrane. A power of 0.65 mW was generated at the resonance frequency (1.71 kHz) across a 5.6 kOmega optimal resistor and for a 80 N force. A special electronic circuit has been conceived in order to increase the power harvested by the piezoelectric transducer. This electrical converter applies the SSHI (synchronized switch harvesting on inductor) technique, and leads to remarkable results: under the same actuation conditions the generated power reaches 1.7 mW, which is sufficient to supply a large range of low consumption sensors.

  2. Deformation and Damage Studies for Advanced Structural Materials

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2005-01-01

    Advancements made in understanding deformation and damage of advanced structural materials have enabled the development of new technologies including the attainment of a nationally significant NASA Level 1 Milestone and the provision of expertise to the Shuttle Return to Flight effort. During this collaborative agreement multiple theoretical and experimental research programs, facilitating safe durable high temperature structures using advanced materials, have been conceived, planned, executed. Over 26 publications, independent assessments of structures and materials in hostile environments, were published within this agreement. This attainment has been recognized by 2002 Space Flight Awareness Team Award, 2004 NASA Group Achievement Award and 2003 and 2004 OAI Service Awards. Accomplishments in the individual research efforts are described as follows.

  3. Materials for advanced rocket engine turbopump turbine blades

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chandler, W. T.

    1985-01-01

    A study program was conducted to identify those materials that will provide the greatest benefits as turbine blades for advanced liquid propellant rocket engine turbines and to prepare technology plans for the development of those materials for use in the 1990 through 1995 period. The candidate materials were selected from six classes of materials: single-crystal (SC) superalloys, oxide dispersion-strengthened (ODS) superalloys, rapid solidification processed (RSP) superalloys, directionally solidified eutectic (DSE) superalloys, fiber-reinforced superalloy (FRS) composites, and ceramics. Properties of materials from the six classes were compiled and evaluated and property improvements were projected approximately 5 years into the future for advanced versions of materials in each of the six classes.

  4. Comparison of Piezo-material based Energy Transduction Systems for Artificial Nanoswimmer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nain, S.; Rathore, J. S.; Sharma, N. N.

    2018-04-01

    The energy harnessing is a process of obtaining energy from the surrounding environment and converting into electrical energy. In the last two decades, there has been a plenteous study in energy harnessing. Now a day, energy harnessing using piezoelectric materials has drawn attention of researchers due to low cost, flexibility and light weight. The benefits of piezoelectric material can be utilized by designing a self-powered device for artificial nanoswimmer. Some of the ceramics which displays the piezoelectric effect are lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), lead-titanate (PbTiO2), lead-zirconate (PbZrO3) and Barium Titanate (BaTiO3). PZT is most extensively used piezoelectric material in the field of energy harnessing but it is brittle in nature. Lead based piezoelectric materials are toxic in nature and may not suitable for in-vivo biomedical applications. To eradicate this problem, researchers are interested in synthesizing lead free piezoelectric material such as Aluminium Nitride (AIN), Barium Titanate (BaTiO3) and Polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF). The biocompatibility of PVDF makes it appropriate to be used for energy harnessing in human body for applications like on board powering of nanoswimmer for various disease detection and drug delivery. In this paper, a cantilever beam is being simulated in COMSOL to study electric potential generated on the surface of beam made of different piezoelectric materials such as AIN, PVDF and PZT due to fluidic pressure, which will be utilized as energy for actuation of artificial nanoswimmer. Piezo-based cantilever beams have been compared and maximum electric potential is being observed in PVDF based beam. PVDF seems most promising piezoelectric material for in-vivo biomedical application and it is readily available.

  5. Nanoconfinement: an effective way to enhance PVDF piezoelectric properties.

    PubMed

    Cauda, Valentina; Stassi, Stefano; Bejtka, Katarzyna; Canavese, Giancarlo

    2013-07-10

    The dimensional confinement and oriented crystallization are both key factors in determining the piezoelectric properties of a polymeric nanostructured material. Here we prepare arrays of one-dimensional polymeric nanowires showing piezoelectric features by template-wetting two distinct polymers into anodic porous alumina (APA) membranes. In particular, poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, and its copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene), PVTF, are obtained in commercially available APA, showing a final diameter of about 200 nm and several micrometers in length, reflecting the templating matrix features. We show that the crystallization of both polymers into a ferroelectric phase is directed by the nanotemplate confinement. Interestingly, the PVDF nanowires mainly crystallize into the β-phase in the nanoporous matrix, whereas the reference thin film of PVDF crystallizes in the α nonpolar phase. In the case of the PVTF nanowires, needle-like crystals oriented perpendicularly to the APA channel walls are observed, giving insight on the molecular orientation of the polymer within the nanowire structure. A remarkable piezoelectric behavior of both 1-D polymeric nanowires is observed, upon recording ferroelectric polarization, hysteresis, and displacement loops. In particular, an outstanding piezoelectric effect is observed for the PVDF nanowires with respect to the polymeric thin film, considering that no poling was carried out. Current versus voltage (I-V) characteristics showed a consistent switching behavior of the ferroelectric polar domains, thus revealing the importance of the confined and oriented crystallization of the polymer in monodimensional nanoarchitectures.

  6. Quantitative evaluation of the piezoelectric response of unpoled ferroelectric ceramics from elastic and dielectric measurements: Tetragonal BaTiO3

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cordero, F.

    2018-03-01

    A method is proposed for evaluating the potential piezoelectric response, that a ferroelectric material would exhibit after full poling, from elastic and dielectric measurements of the unpoled ceramic material. The method is based on the observation that the softening in a ferroelectric phase with respect to the paraelectric phase is of piezoelectric origin, and is tested on BaTiO3. The angular averages of the piezoelectric softening in unpoled ceramics are calculated for ferroelectric phases of different symmetries. The expression of the orientational average with the piezoelectric and dielectric constants of single crystal tetragonal BaTiO3 from the literature reproduces well the softening of the Young's modulus of unpoled ceramic BaTiO3, after a correction for the porosity. The agreement is good in the temperature region sufficiently far from the Curie temperature and from the transition to the orthorhombic phase, where the effect of fluctuations should be negligible, but deviations are found outside this region, and possible reasons for this are discussed. This validates the determination of the piezoelectric response by means of purely elastic measurements on unpoled samples. The method is indirect and, for quantitative assessments, requires the knowledge of the dielectric tensor. On the other hand, it does not require poling of the sample, and therefore is insensitive to inaccuracies from incomplete poling, and can even be used with materials that cannot be poled, for example, due to excessive electrical conductivity. While the proposed example of the Young's modulus of a ceramic provides an orientational average of all the single crystal piezoelectric constants, a Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy measurement of a single unpoled ceramic sample through the ferroelectric transition can in principle measure all the piezoelectric constants, together with the elastic ones.

  7. Advances in LED packaging and thermal management materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zweben, Carl

    2008-02-01

    Heat dissipation, thermal stresses and cost are key light-emitting diode (LED) packaging issues. Heat dissipation limits power levels. Thermal stresses affect performance and reliability. Copper, aluminum and conventional polymeric printed circuit boards (PCBs) have high coefficients of thermal expansion, which can cause high thermal stresses. Most traditional low-coefficient-of-thermal-expansion (CTE) materials like tungsten/copper, which date from the mid 20th century, have thermal conductivities that are no better than those of aluminum alloys, about 200 W/m-K. An OIDA LED workshop cited a need for better thermal materials. There are an increasing number of low-CTE materials with thermal conductivities ranging between that of copper (400 W/m-K) and 1700 W/m-K, and many other low-CTE materials with lower thermal conductivities. Some of these materials are low cost. Others have the potential to be low cost in high-volume production. High-thermal-conductivity materials enable higher power levels, potentially reducing the number of required LEDs. Advanced thermal materials can constrain PCB CTE and greatly increase thermal conductivity. This paper reviews traditional packaging materials and advanced thermal management materials. The latter provide the packaging engineer with a greater range of options than in the past. Topics include properties, status, applications, cost, using advanced materials to fix manufacturing problems, and future directions, including composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes and other thermally conductive materials.

  8. [Piezoelectric property of novel biological piezoelectric ceramic HALNK and its effect on the functional expression of rat osteoblast cells].

    PubMed

    Wang, Peng; Zhang, Jin-Chao; Zhang, Xiao-Zhou; Liu, Zhi-Qin; Chen, Que-Ting; Sun, Jing; Chen, Zhi-Qing

    2009-09-01

    To test the Piezoelectric property of novel biological piezoelectric ceramic HALNK and its effect on the proliferation and differentiation of rat osteoblast cells. The biological piezoelectric ceramic HALNK1/9 and HALNK5/5 were prepared by mixing Hydroxyapatite (HA) with lithium sodium potassium niobate (LNK) piezoelectric ceramic at a ratio of 1/9 and 5/5 (wt/wt), respectively. After poling treatment, the piezoelectric constants were measured. The osteoblast cells were then seeded on the surfaces of HALNK. The proliferation and differentiation activities of the osteoblast cells were evaluated by MTT assays, ALP activities and scanning electron microscopy examinations. Cells grown on the surfaces of HALNK showed normal morphology, and had better proliferation and differentiation activities than the control. The growth of osteoblastic cells on the surface of HALNK1/9 was significantly better than others. The surface of HALNK 1/9 possesses better piezoelectric property and osteogenesis potential than HALNK5/5.

  9. Multifunctional Device based on phosphor-piezoelectric PZT: lighting, speaking, and mechanical energy harvesting.

    PubMed

    Lee, Sunghoon; Kang, Taewook; Lee, Wunho; Afandi, Mohammad M; Ryu, Jongho; Kim, Jongsu

    2018-01-10

    We demonstrated the tri-functional device based on all powder-processing methods by using ZnS powder as phosphor layer and piezoelectric material as dielectric layer. The fabricated device generated the electroluminescent (EL) light from phosphor and the sound from piezoelectric sheet under a supply of external electric power, and additionally harvested the reverse-piezoelectric energy to be converted into EL light. Under sinusoidal applied voltage, EL luminances were exponentially increased with a maximum luminous efficiency of 1.3 lm/W at 40 V and 1,000 Hz, and sound pressure levels (SPLs) were linearly increased. The EL luminances were linearly dependent on applied frequency while the SPLs showed the parabolic increase behavior below 1,000 Hz and then the flat response. The temperature dependence on EL luminances and SPLs was demonstrated; the former was drastically increased and the latter was slightly decreased with the increase of temperature. Finally, as an energy harvesting application, the piezoelectric-induced electroluminescence effect was demonstrated by applying only mechanical pressure to the device without any external electric power.

  10. Attenuation of empennage buffet response through active control of damping using piezoelectric material

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heeg, Jennifer; Miller, Jonathan M.; Doggett, Robert V., Jr.

    1993-01-01

    Dynamic response and damping data obtained from buffet studies conducted in a low-speed wind tunnel by using a simple, rigid model attached to spring supports are presented. The two parallel leaf spring supports provided a means for the model to respond in a vertical translation mode, thus simulating response in an elastic first bending mode. Wake-induced buffeting flow was created by placing an airfoil upstream of the model of that the wake of the airfoil impinged on the model. Model response was sensed by a strain gage mounted on one of the springs. The output signal from the strain gage was fed back through a control law implemented on a desktop computer. The processed signals were used to 'actuate' a piezoelectric bending actuator bonded to the other spring in such a way as to add damping as the model responded. The results of this 'proof-of-concept' study show that the piezoelectric actuator was effective in attenuating the wake-induced buffet response over the range of parameters investigated.

  11. Correlation between the structure and the piezoelectric properties of lead-free (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Ta,Sb)O3 ceramics studied by XRD and Raman spectroscopy.

    PubMed

    Rubio-Marcos, Fernando; Marchet, Pascal; Romero, Juan José; Fernández, Jose F

    2011-09-01

    This article reviews on the use of Raman spectroscopy for the study of (K,Na,Li)(Nb,Ta,Sb)O(3) lead-free piezoceramics. Currently, this material appears to be one of the most interesting and promising alternatives to the well-known PZT piezoelectric materials. In this work, we prepare piezoceramics with different stoichiometries and study their structural, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties. By using both Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, we establish a direct correlation between the structure and the properties. The results demonstrate that the wavenumber of the A(1g) vibration is proportional to the tetragonality, the remnant polarization, and the piezoelectric coefficients of these materials. Thus, Raman spectroscopy appears as a very useful technique for a fast evaluation of the crystalline structure and the ferroelectric/ piezoelectric properties.

  12. Flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting from jaw movements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delnavaz, Aidin; Voix, Jérémie

    2014-10-01

    Piezoelectric fiber composites (PFC) represent an interesting subset of smart materials that can function as sensor, actuator and energy converter. Despite their excellent potential for energy harvesting, very few PFC mechanisms have been developed to capture the human body power and convert it into an electric current to power wearable electronic devices. This paper provides a proof of concept for a head-mounted device with a PFC chin strap capable of harvesting energy from jaw movements. An electromechanical model based on the bond graph method is developed to predict the power output of the energy harvesting system. The optimum resistance value of the load and the best stretch ratio in the strap are also determined. A prototype was developed and tested and its performances were compared to the analytical model predictions. The proposed piezoelectric strap mechanism can be added to all types of head-mounted devices to power small-scale electronic devices such as hearing aids, electronic hearing protectors and communication earpieces.

  13. Conservation of the piezoelectric response of PVDF films under irradiation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Melilli, G.; Lairez, D.; Gorse, D.; Garcia-Caurel, E.; Peinado, A.; Cavani, O.; Boizot, B.; Clochard, M.-C.

    2018-01-01

    As opposed to piezo-ceramics (i.e PZT), flexibility and robustness characterize piezoelectric polymers. The main advantage of a piezoelectric polymer, such as Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), is an electric power generation under large reversible elastic deformation. Starting from polarized PVDF, we have shown that, despite the fact that irradiation is known to structurally modify the PVDF by introducing defects (radicals, chain scission and crosslinks), the electro-active properties were not affected. At doses lower than 100 kGy, a comparison between swift heavy-ion (SHI) and e-beam irradiations is presented. A homemade device was realized to measure the output voltage as a function of the bending deformation for irradiated and non-irradiated PVDF film. DSC and FT-IR techniques give new insights on which crystalline part or structural change contributes to the conservation of the output voltage. Results suggest that despite the material after irradiation is composed of smaller crystallites, the β-phase content remains stable around 36%, which explains the remarkable preservation of the piezoelectric response in irradiated polarized PVDF films.

  14. Elastic Properties and Enhanced Piezoelectric Response at Morphotropic Phase Boundaries

    PubMed Central

    Cordero, Francesco

    2015-01-01

    The search for improved piezoelectric materials is based on the morphotropic phase boundaries (MPB) between ferroelectric phases with different crystal symmetry and available directions for the spontaneous polarization. Such regions of the composition x−T phase diagrams provide the conditions for minimal anisotropy with respect to the direction of the polarization, so that the polarization can easily rotate maintaining a substantial magnitude, while the near verticality of the TMPBx boundary extends the temperature range of the resulting enhanced piezoelectricity. Another consequence of the quasi-isotropy of the free energy is a reduction of the domain walls energies, with consequent formation of domain structures down to nanoscale. Disentangling the extrinsic and intrinsic contributions to the piezoelectricity in such conditions requires a high level of sophistication from the techniques and analyses for studying the structural, ferroelectric and dielectric properties. The elastic characterization is extremely useful in clarifying the phenomenology and mechanisms related to ferroelectric MPBs. The relationship between dielectric, elastic and piezoelectric responses is introduced in terms of relaxation of defects with electric dipole and elastic quadrupole, and extended to the response near phase transitions in the framework of the Landau theory. An account is provided of the anelastic experiments, from torsional pendulum to Brillouin scattering, that provided new important information on ferroelectric MPBs, including PZT, PMN-PT, NBT-BT, BCTZ, and KNN-based systems. PMID:28793707

  15. Identifiable piezoelectric security system design

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Zhenyu; Zhang, Xiaoming

    2017-10-01

    Directing at the disadvantages of low environmental suitability, inferior anti-interference ability and being easy to be found and destroyed in existing security product, a kind of identifiable piezoelectric security system based on piezoelectric cable is designed. The present system gathers vibration signals of different moving bodies, such as human, vehicles, animals and so on, with piezoelectric cable buried under -ground and distinguishes the different moving bodies through recognition algorithm and thus giving an alarm. As is shown in experiments, the present system has the features of good concealment and high accuracy in distinguishing moving bodies.

  16. Effect of poling process on piezoelectric properties of BCZT - 0.08 wt.% CeO{sub 2} lead-free ceramics

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chandrakala, E.; Praveen, J. Paul; Das, Dibakar, E-mail: ddse@uohyd.ernet.in

    2016-05-06

    The properties of lead free piezoelectric materials can be tuned by suitable doping in the A and B sites of the perovskite structure. In the present study, cerium has been identified as a dopant to investigate the piezoelectric properties of lead-free BCZT system. BCZT – 0.08 wt.%CeO{sub 2} lead-free ceramics have been synthesized using sol-gel technique and the effects of CeO{sub 2} dopant on their phase structure and piezoelectric properties were investigated systematically. Poling conditions, such as temperature, electric field, and poling time have been optimized to get enhanced piezoelectric response. The optimized poling conditions (50°C, 3Ec and 30min) resultedmore » in high piezoelectric charge coefficient d{sub 33} ~ 670pC/N, high electromechanical coupling coefficient k{sub p} ~ 60% and piezoelectric voltage coefficient g{sub 33} ~ 14 mV.m/N for BCZT – 0.08wt.% CeO{sub 2} ceramics.« less

  17. Improved dielectric constant and breakdown strength of γ-phase dominant super toughened polyvinylidene fluoride/TiO2 nanocomposite film: an excellent material for energy storage applications and piezoelectric throughput

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mehebub Alam, Md; Ghosh, Sujoy Kumar; Sarkar, Debabrata; Sen, Shrabanee; Mandal, Dipankar

    2017-01-01

    Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) embedded γ-phase containing polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanocomposite (PNC) film turns to an excellent material for energy storage application due to an increased dielectric constant (32 at 1 kHz), enhanced electric breakdown strength (400 MV m-1). It also exhibits a high energy density of 4 J cm-3 which is 25 times higher than that of virgin PVDF. 98% of the electroactive γ-phase has been acheived by the incorporation of TiO2 NPs and the resulting PNC behaves like a super-toughened material due to a dramatic improvement (more than 80%) in the tensile strength. Owing to their electroactive nature and extraordinary mechanical properties, PNC films have a strong ability to fabricate the piezoelectric nanogenerators (PNGs) that have recently been an area of focus regarding mechanical energy harvesting. The feasibility of piezoelectric voltage generation from PNGs is demostrated under the rotating fan that also promises further utility such as rotational speed (RPM) determination.

  18. Ultra-flexible Piezoelectric Devices Integrated with Heart to Harvest the Biomechanical Energy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Bingwei; Chen, Ying; Ou, Dapeng; Chen, Hang; Diao, Liwei; Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Jun; Ma, Weiguo; Sun, Lizhong; Feng, Xue

    2015-11-01

    Power supply for medical implantable devices (i.e. pacemaker) always challenges not only the surgery but also the battery technology. Here, we report a strategy for energy harvesting from the heart motion by using ultra-flexible piezoelectric device based on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics that has most excellent piezoelectricity in commercial materials, without any burden or damage to hearts. Experimental swine are selected for in vivo test with different settings, i.e. opened chest, close chest and awake from anesthesia, to simulate the scenario of application in body due to their hearts similar to human. The results show the peak-to-peak voltage can reach as high as 3 V when the ultra-flexible piezoelectric device is fixed from left ventricular apex to right ventricle. This demonstrates the possibility and feasibility of fully using the biomechanical energy from heart motion in human body for sustainably driving implantable devices.

  19. Analysis of temperature rise for piezoelectric transformer using finite-element method.

    PubMed

    Joo, Hyun-Woo; Lee, Chang-Hwan; Rho, Jong-Seok; Jung, Hyun-Kyo

    2006-08-01

    Analysis of heat problem and temperature field of a piezoelectric transformer, operated at steady-state conditions, is described. The resonance frequency of the transformer is calculated from impedance and electrical gain analysis using a finite-element method. Mechanical displacement and electric potential of the transformer at the calculated resonance frequency are used to calculate the loss distribution of the transformer. Temperature distribution using discretized heat transfer equation is calculated from the obtained losses of the transformer. Properties of the piezoelectric material, dependent on the temperature field, are measured to recalculate the losses, temperature distribution, and new resonance characteristics of the transformer. Iterative method is adopted to recalculate the losses and resonance frequency due to the changes of the material constants from temperature increase. Computed temperature distributions and new resonance characteristics of the transformer at steady-state temperature are verified by comparison with experimental results.

  20. Characterization of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) piezoelectric properties for Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) device

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rosydi Zakaria, Mohd; Johari, Shazlina; Hafiz Ismail, Mohd; Hashim, Uda

    2017-11-01

    In fabricating Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) biosensors device, the substrate is one of important factors that affected to performance device. there are many types of piezoelectric substrate in the markets and the cheapest is zinc Oxide substrate. Zinc Oxide (ZnO) with its unique properties can be used as piezoelectric substrate along with SAW devices for detection of DNA in this research. In this project, ZnO thin film is deposited onto silicon oxide substrate using electron beam evaporation (E-beam) and Sol-Gel technique. Different material structure is used to compare the roughness and best piezoelectric substrate of ZnO thin film. Two different structures of ZnO target which are pellet and granular are used for e-beam deposition and one sol-gel liquid were synthesize and compared. Parameter for thickness of ZnO e-beam deposition is fixed to a 0.1kÅ for both materials structure and sol-gel was coat using spin coat technique. After the process is done, samples are annealed at temperature of 500°C for 2 hours. The structural properties of effect of post annealing using different material structure of ZnO are studied using Atomic Force Microscopic (AFM) for surface morphology and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) for phase structure.

  1. Piezoelectric Active Humidity Sensors Based on Lead-Free NaNbO₃ Piezoelectric Nanofibers.

    PubMed

    Gu, Li; Zhou, Di; Cao, Jun Cheng

    2016-06-07

    The development of micro-/nano-scaled energy harvesters and the self-powered sensor system has attracted great attention due to the miniaturization and integration of the micro-device. In this work, lead-free NaNbO₃ piezoelectric nanofibers with a monoclinic perovskite structure were synthesized by the far-field electrospinning method. The flexible active humidity sensors were fabricated by transferring the nanofibers from silicon to a soft polymer substrate. The sensors exhibited outstanding piezoelectric energy-harvesting performance with output voltage up to 2 V during the vibration process. The output voltage generated by the NaNbO₃ sensors exhibited a negative correlation with the environmental humidity varying from 5% to 80%, where the peak-to-peak value of the output voltage generated by the sensors decreased from 0.40 to 0.07 V. The sensor also exhibited a short response time, good selectively against ethanol steam, and great temperature stability. The piezoelectric active humidity sensing property could be attributed to the increased leakage current in the NaNbO₃ nanofibers, which was generated due to proton hopping among the H₃O⁺ groups in the absorbed H₂O layers under the driving force of the piezoelectric potential.

  2. Modeling NDT piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters.

    PubMed

    San Emeterio, J L; Ramos, A; Sanz, P T; Ruíz, A; Azbaid, A

    2004-04-01

    Ultrasonic NDT applications are frequently based on the spike excitation of piezoelectric transducers by means of efficient pulsers which usually include a power switching device (e.g. SCR or MOS-FET) and some rectifier components. In this paper we present an approximate frequency domain electro-acoustic model for pulsed piezoelectric ultrasonic transmitters which, by integrating partial models of the different stages (driving electronics, tuning/matching networks and broadband piezoelectric transducer), allows the computation of the emission transfer function and output force temporal waveform. An approximate frequency domain model is used for the evaluation of the electrical driving pulse from the spike generator. Tuning circuits, interconnecting cable and mechanical impedance matching layers are modeled by means of transmission lines and the classical quadripole approach. The KLM model is used for the piezoelectric transducer. In addition, a PSPICE scheme is used for an alternative simulation of the broadband driving spike, including the accurate evaluation of non-linear driving effects. Several examples illustrate the capabilities of the specifically developed software.

  3. Dynamic response of a piezoelectric flapping wing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Alok; Khandwekar, Gaurang; Venkatesh, S.; Mahapatra, D. R.; Dutta, S.

    2015-03-01

    Piezo-composite membranes have advantages over motorized flapping where frequencies are high and certain coupling between bending and twisting is useful to generate lift and forward flight. We draw examples of fruit fly and bumble bee. Wings with Piezo ceramic PZT coating are realized. The passive mechanical response of the wing is characterized experimentally and validated using finite element simulation. Piezoelectric actuation with uniform electrode coating is characterized and optimal frequencies for flapping are identified. The experimental data are used in an empirical model and advanced ratio for a flapping insect like condition for various angular orientations is estimated.

  4. Resonant Vibrations and Vibrational Heating of Physically Nonlinear Viscoelastic Shells and Their Damping Using Piezoelectric Sensor and Actuator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kirichok, I. F.

    2017-09-01

    Forced axisymmetric resonant vibrations and vibrational heating of viscoelastic, physically nonlinear, closed, spherical, and infinitely long cylindrical shells and ring with piezoelectric sensor and actuator are considered. The effect of physical nonlinearity of passive material on the vibration amplitude and vibrational heating temperature is studied. The possibility of active damping of vibrations by piezoelectric sensors and actuators is demonstrated.

  5. Plate equations for piezoelectrically actuated flexural mode ultrasound transducers.

    PubMed

    Perçin, Gökhan

    2003-01-01

    This paper considers variational methods to derive two-dimensional plate equations for piezoelectrically actuated flexural mode ultrasound transducers. In the absence of analytical expressions for the equivalent circuit parameters of a flexural mode transducer, it is difficult to calculate its optimal parameters and dimensions, and to choose suitable materials. The influence of coupling between flexural and extensional deformation, and coupling between the structure and the acoustic volume on the dynamic response of piezoelectrically actuated flexural mode transducer is analyzed using variational methods. Variational methods are applied to derive two-dimensional plate equations for the transducer, and to calculate the coupled electromechanical field variables. In these methods, the variations across the thickness direction vanish by using the stress resultants. Thus, two-dimensional plate equations for a stepwise laminated circular plate are obtained.

  6. Heartbeat detection system using piezoelectric transducer

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamonangan, Yosua; Purnamaningsih, Wigajatri

    2017-02-01

    This paper presents a simple piezoelectric based heartbeat detection system. The signal produced by the piezoelectric will undergo signal conditioning and then converted into digital data by Arduino Nano. Using serial communication, the data will be sent to a computer for display and further analysis. The detection of heartbeat is carried out on three locations; wrist, chest, and diaphragm. From the measurement results, it is shown that the system work best when the piezoelectric is placed on wrist.

  7. Nonlinear Constitutive Modeling of Piezoelectric Ceramics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xu, Jia; Li, Chao; Wang, Haibo; Zhu, Zhiwen

    2017-12-01

    Nonlinear constitutive modeling of piezoelectric ceramics is discussed in this paper. Van der Pol item is introduced to explain the simple hysteretic curve. Improved nonlinear difference items are used to interpret the hysteresis phenomena of piezoelectric ceramics. The fitting effect of the model on experimental data is proved by the partial least-square regression method. The results show that this method can describe the real curve well. The results of this paper are helpful to piezoelectric ceramics constitutive modeling.

  8. A Model for the Formation of Piezoelectric Single-Crystal Nanorings and Nanobows

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Angela G.

    2004-01-01

    The piezoelectric materials generate electricity or electric polarity in dielectric crystals when subjected to an applied voltage. The nanorings and nanobows are presented that can be used in nanoscale applications such as sensors, transducers, and electromechanical coupling devices.

  9. Piezoelectric Film.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garrison, Steve

    1992-01-01

    Presents activities that utilize piezoelectric film to familiarize students with fundamental principles of electricity. Describes classroom projects involving chemical sensors, microbalances, microphones, switches, infrared sensors, and power generation. (MDH)

  10. Advanced materials for aircraft engine applications.

    PubMed

    Backman, D G; Williams, J C

    1992-02-28

    A review of advances for aircraft engine structural materials and processes is presented. Improved materials, such as superalloys, and the processes for making turbine disks and blades have had a major impact on the capability of modern gas turbine engines. New structural materials, notably composites and intermetallic materials, are emerging that will eventually further enhance engine performance, reduce engine weight, and thereby enable new aircraft systems. In the future, successful aerospace manufacturers will combine product design and materials excellence with improved manufacturing methods to increase production efficiency, enhance product quality, and decrease the engine development cycle time.

  11. THUNDER Piezoelectric Actuators as a Method of Stretch-Tuning an Optical Fiber Grating

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Allison, Sidney G.; Fox, Robert L.; Froggatt, Mark E.; Childers, Brooks A.

    2000-01-01

    A method of stretching optical fiber holds interest for measuring strain in smart structures where the physical displacement may be used to tune optical fiber lasers. A small, light weight, low power tunable fiber laser is ideal for demodulating strain in optical fiber Bragg gratings attached to smart structures such as the re-usable launch vehicle that is being developed by NASA. A method is presented for stretching optical fibers using the THUNDER piezoelectric actuators invented at NASA Langley Research Center. THUNDER actuators use a piezoelectric layer bonded to a metal backing to enable the actuators to produce displacements larger than the unbonded piezoelectric material. The shift in reflected optical wavelength resulting from stretching the fiber Bragg grating is presented. Means of adapting THUNDER actuators for stretching optical fibers is discussed, including ferrules, ferrule clamp blocks, and plastic hinges made with stereo lithography.

  12. Barriers to applying advanced high-temperature materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Premkumar, M. K.

    1993-01-01

    During the past 25 years, aerospace engineers and material scientists have made significant technical progress toward developing next-generation aircraft. However, while advanced high-temperature materials continue to be developed, the outlook for their future application is uncertain and will depend on the ability of these materials to satisfy a more diverse market.

  13. Optimal Location of Piezoelectric Patch on Composite Structure using Viewing Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Samyal, Rahul; Bagha, Ashok K.

    2017-08-01

    A useful material which is manufactured by mixing of two or three different materials in homogeneous level is termed as composite material. In now day’s composite materials are used in wide area such as aerospace, automobiles, satellite, bullet proof jackets, rotor blades etc. In this paper modal analysis of composite material, mixture of polyester as matrix and glass as fiber, is carried out by using ABAQUS software. The modal analysis of composite material for fiber orientation 450 is carried out. In this paper by viewing the different mode shapes of the composite material, the optimal location of piezoelectric patch is carried out.

  14. Advanced ceramic materials for next-generation nuclear applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marra, John

    2011-10-01

    The nuclear industry is at the eye of a 'perfect storm' with fuel oil and natural gas prices near record highs, worldwide energy demands increasing at an alarming rate, and increased concerns about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that have caused many to look negatively at long-term use of fossil fuels. This convergence of factors has led to a growing interest in revitalization of the nuclear power industry within the United States and across the globe. Many are surprised to learn that nuclear power provides approximately 20% of the electrical power in the US and approximately 16% of the world-wide electric power. With the above factors in mind, world-wide over 130 new reactor projects are being considered with approximately 25 new permit applications in the US. Materials have long played a very important role in the nuclear industry with applications throughout the entire fuel cycle; from fuel fabrication to waste stabilization. As the international community begins to look at advanced reactor systems and fuel cycles that minimize waste and increase proliferation resistance, materials will play an even larger role. Many of the advanced reactor concepts being evaluated operate at high-temperature requiring the use of durable, heat-resistant materials. Advanced metallic and ceramic fuels are being investigated for a variety of Generation IV reactor concepts. These include the traditional TRISO-coated particles, advanced alloy fuels for 'deep-burn' applications, as well as advanced inert-matrix fuels. In order to minimize wastes and legacy materials, a number of fuel reprocessing operations are being investigated. Advanced materials continue to provide a vital contribution in 'closing the fuel cycle' by stabilization of associated low-level and high-level wastes in highly durable cements, ceramics, and glasses. Beyond this fission energy application, fusion energy will demand advanced materials capable of withstanding the extreme environments of high

  15. A nondisturbing electric-field sensor using piezoelectric and converse piezoelectric resonances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Yongkwan; Kim, Ilryong; Lee, Soonchil

    1997-12-01

    An electric-field sensor was developed using both piezoelectric and converse piezoelectric resonances. Composed of no metallic parts, this probe minimizes field disturbance. The most distinguishing feature of this probe is that a signal is transmitted neither electrically nor optically, but mechanically. To demonstrate the field sensing capability of this probe, we measured both the capacitive and inductive fields inside empty and plasma-filled solenoidal coils. The result shows that the capacitive field is dominant in an empty solenoid, although it is almost completely shielded by inductively excited plasma.

  16. AlN based piezoelectric micromirror.

    PubMed

    Shao, Jian; Li, Qi; Feng, Chuhuan; Li, Wei; Yu, Hongbin

    2018-03-01

    Aiming to pursue a micromirror possessing many desired characteristics, such as linear control, low power consumption, fast response, and easy fabrication, a new piezoelectric actuation strategy is presented. Different from conventional piezoelectric actuation cases, we first propose using AlN film as the active layer for actuating the micromirror. Owing to its good CMOS compatible deposition and patterning techniques, the AlN based piezoelectric micromirror has been successfully fabricated with a modified silicon-on-insulator-based microelectromechanical system (MEMS) process. At the same time, various mirror movement modes operating at high frequencies and excellent linear relationship between the movement and the control signal both have been experimentally demonstrated.

  17. TECHNICAL NOTE: Characteristic analysis of an ultrasonic micromotor using a 3 mm diameter piezoelectric rod

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, Xiangcheng; Yan, Li; Li, Longtu

    2004-04-01

    Smart systems and devices generally use certain microstructures, e.g. rod- and strip-shaped structures. In this paper, a miniaturized piezoelectric rod is analysed using the finite element method (FEM) and a laser scanning vibrometer (LSV). The effects of some factors, including the detailed structure, material parameters and input voltage, on the resonant frequencies and vibration behaviors of a piezoelectric rod are studied. On the basis of experimental results, the vibration modes of the piezoelectric rod can be made available for use in fabricating an ultrasonic micromotor or piezoelectric actuators of other types. The prototype motor fabricated here has a maximum output torque of 410 µN m for a stainless steel stator and 360 µN m for a copper stator. This article was originally published in 2003 by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in the framework of its Albert Einstein Memorial Lectures series. Reprinted by permission of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

  18. Improved Multiple-DOF SAW Piezoelectric Motors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Bao, Xiaoqi; Hull, Anthony; Wright, John

    2003-01-01

    Surface-acoustic-wave (SAW) piezoelectric motors of a proposed type would be capable of operating in multiple degrees of freedom (DOFs) simultaneously and would be amenable to integration into diverse structures and mechanisms. These motors would be compact and structurally simple and would not contain bearings or lead screws. One example of a particularly useful motor of this type would be a two-dimensional- translation stage. Another such example would be a self-actuated spherical joint that could be made to undergo controlled, simultaneous rotations about two orthogonal axes: Such a motor could serve as a mechanism for aiming an "eyeball" camera or as a compact transducer in, and an integral part of, a joint in a robot arm. The multiple-DOF SAW piezoelectric motors as now proposed would be successors to the ones reported in "Multiple-DOF Surface-Acoustic-Wave Piezoelectric Motors" (NPO-20735), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 24, No. 12 (December 2000), page 5b. The basic principle of operation of a multiple-DOF SAW piezoelectric motor is a straightforward extension of that of single-DOF SAW piezoelectric motors, which have been reported in several previous NASA Tech Briefs articles: For example, in the case of a linear SAW piezoelectric motor, piezoelectric transducers at opposite ends of a stator excite surface acoustic waves that travel along the surface of the stator. An object (denoted the slider) is pressed against the stator with sufficient pressure (in practice .300 MPa) that it remains in frictional contact with the stator at all times. The slider rides the crests of the waves and is thereby made to move along the surface of the stator. The direction of motion (forward or backward) is controlled by selecting the relative phase of waves generated by the two piezoelectric transducers. The speed increases with the amplitude of the waves and thus with the magnitude of the voltage applied to the transducers.

  19. Feedforward control of a closed-loop piezoelectric translation stage for atomic force microscope.

    PubMed

    Li, Yang; Bechhoefer, John

    2007-01-01

    Simple feedforward ideas are shown to lead to a nearly tenfold increase in the effective bandwidth of a closed-loop piezoelectric positioning stage used in scanning probe microscopy. If the desired control signal is known in advance, the feedforward filter can be acausal: the information about the future can be used to make the output of the stage have almost no phase lag with respect to the input. This keeps in register the images assembled from right and left scans. We discuss the design constraints imposed by the need for the feedforward filter to work robustly under a variety of circumstances. Because the feedforward needs only to modify the input signal, it can be added to any piezoelectric stage, whether closed or open loop.

  20. Advanced materials for automobiles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Narula, C.K.; Allison, J.E.; Bauer, D.R.

    Quite early on, manufacturers realized that lighter automobiles (with gas and diesel engines) would be more fuel efficient and produce fewer tailpipe emissions. They also realized that burning diesel fuel at elevated temperatures (1,315 C) would result in similar improvements. However, materials limitations prevent the operation of diesel vehicles at high temperatures. The fuel efficiency of gasoline-powered vehicles is currently improved by reducing the weight of the automobile and treated the emissions with a three-way catalyst. Additional improvements can be achieved with the use of advanced materials that reduce the weight of vehicles without compromising safety. The use of ceramics,more » fiber-reinforced plastics, and metal-matrix composites are discussed. The paper also discusses automotive catalysts and their components, electrically heated catalyst devices, a lean-burn NOx catalyst, and the future for materials chemistry.« less

  1. Influence of the piezoelectric parameters on the dynamics of an active rotor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gawryluk, Jarosław; Mitura, Andrzej; Teter, Andrzej

    2018-01-01

    The main aim of this paper is an experimental and numerical analysis of the dynamic behavior of an active rotor with three composite blades. The study focuses on developing an effective FE modeling technique of a macro fiber composite element (denoted as MFC or active element) for the dynamic tests of active structures. The active rotor under consideration consists of a hub with a drive shaft, three grips and three glass-epoxy laminate blades with embedded active elements. A simplified FE model of the macro fiber composite element exhibiting the d33 piezoelectric effect is developed using the Abaqus software package. The discussed transducer is modeled as quasi-homogeneous piezoelectric material, and voltage is applied to the opposite faces of the element. In this case, the effective (equivalent) piezoelectric constant d33* is specified. Both static and dynamic tests are performed to verify the proposed model. First, static deflections of the active blade caused by the voltage signal are determined by numerical and experimental analyses. Next, a numerical modal analysis of the active rotor is performed. The eigenmodes and corresponding eigenfrequencies are determined by the Lanczos method. The influence of the model parameters (i.e., the effective piezoelectric constant d33 *, voltage signal, angular velocity) on the dynamics of the active rotor is examined. Finally, selected numerical results are validated in experimental tests. The experimental findings demonstrate that the structural stiffening effect caused by the active element strongly depends on the value of the effective piezoelectric constant.

  2. Advanced organic composite materials for aircraft structures: Future program

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1987-01-01

    Revolutionary advances in structural materials have been responsible for revolutionary changes in all fields of engineering. These advances have had and are still having a significant impact on aircraft design and performance. Composites are engineered materials. Their properties are tailored through the use of a mix or blend of different constituents to maximize selected properties of strength and/or stiffness at reduced weights. More than 20 years have passed since the potentials of filamentary composite materials were identified. During the 1970s much lower cost carbon filaments became a reality and gradually designers turned from boron to carbon composites. Despite progress in this field, filamentary composites still have significant unfulfilled potential for increasing aircraft productivity; the rendering of advanced organic composite materials into production aircraft structures was disappointingly slow. Why this is and research and technology development actions that will assist in accelerating the application of advanced organic composites to production aircraft is discussed.

  3. Piezoelectric micromachined acoustic emission sensors for early stage damage detection in structures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kabir, Minoo; Kazari, Hanie; Ozevin, Didem

    2018-03-01

    Acoustic emission (AE) is a passive nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method that relies on the energy release of active flaws. The passive nature of this NDE method requires highly sensitive transducers in addition to low power and lightweight characteristics. With the advancement of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), acoustic emission (AE) transducers can be developed in low power and miniaturized. In this paper, the AE transducers operating in plate flexural mode driven piezoelectrically known as Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUTs) are presented. The AE PMUTs are manufactured using PiezoMUMPS process by MEMSCAP and tuned to 46 kHz and 200 kHz. The PiezoMUMPs is a 5-mask level SOI (silicon-on-insulator) patterning and etching process followed by deposition of 0.5 micron Aluminum Nitride (AlN) to form piezoelectric layer to form the transducers. The AE transducers are numerically modeled using COMSOL Multiphysics software in order to optimize the performance before manufacturing. The electrometrical characterization experiments are presented. The efficiency of the proposed AE PMUTs compared to the conventional AE transducers in terms of power consumption, weight and sensitivity is presented.

  4. Grain Oriented Perovskite Layer Structure Ceramics for High-Temperature Piezoelectric Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fuierer, Paul Anton

    The perovskite layer structure (PLS) compounds have the general formula (A^{2+}) _2(B^{5+})_2 O_7, or (A^ {3+})_2(B^{4+ })_2O_7, and crystallize in a very anisotropic layered structure consisting of parallel slabs made up of perovskite units. Several of these compounds possess the highest Curie temperatures (T_{rm c} ) of any known ferroelectrics. Two examples are Sr_2Nb_2O _7 with T_{rm c} of 1342^circC, and La_2Ti_2O _7 with T_{rm c} of 1500^circC. This thesis is an investigation of PLS ceramics and their feasibility as a high temperature transducer material. Piezoelectricity in single crystals has been measured, but the containerless float zone apparatus necessary to grow high quality crystals of these refractory compounds is expensive and limited to a small number of research groups. Previous attempts to pole polycrystalline Sr_2Nb _2O_7 have failed, and to this point piezoelectricity has been absent. The initiative taken in this research was to investigate PLS ceramics by way of composition and processing schemes such that polycrystalline bodies could be electrically poled. The ultimate objective then was to demonstrate piezoelectricity in PLS ceramics, especially at high temperatures. Donor-doping of both La_2Ti _2O_7 and Sr_2Nb_2O _7 was found to increase volume resistivities at elevated temperatures, an important parameter to consider during the poling process. Sr_2Ta _2O_7 (T _{rm c} = -107 ^circC) was used to make solid solution compositions with moderately high Curie temperatures, of about 850^circC, and lower coercive fields. A hot-forging technique was employed to produce ceramics with high density (>99% of theoretical) and high degree of grain orientation (>90%). Texturing was characterized by x-ray diffraction and microscopy. Considerable anisotropy was observed in physical and electrical properties, including thermal expansion, resistivity, dielectric constant, and polarization. The direction perpendicular to the forging axis proved to be the

  5. Nanoscale defect architectures and their influence on material properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Campbell, Branton

    2006-10-01

    Diffraction studies of long-range order often permit one to unambiguously determine the atomic structure of a crystalline material. Many interesting material properties, however, are dominated by nanoscale crystal defects that can't be characterized in this way. Fortunately, advances in x-ray detector technology, synchrotron x-ray source brightness, and computational power make it possible to apply new methods to old problems. Our research group uses multi-megapixel x-ray cameras to map out large contiguous volumes of reciprocal space, which can then be visually explored using graphics engines originally developed by the video-game industry. Here, I will highlight a few recent examples that include high-temperature superconductors, colossal magnetoresistors and piezoelectric materials.

  6. Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) fellowship program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McCleary, D.D.

    1997-04-01

    The Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) Program administers a Graduate Fellowship Program focused toward helping students who are currently under represented in the nation`s pool of scientists and engineers, enter and complete advanced degree programs. The objectives of the program are to: (1) establish and maintain cooperative linkages between DOE and professors at universities with graduate programs leading toward degrees or with degree options in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, and Ceramic Engineering, the disciplines most closely related to the AIM Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); (2) strengthen the capabilities and increase the level of participation of currentlymore » under represented groups in master`s degree programs, and (3) offer graduate students an opportunity for practical research experience related to their thesis topic through the three-month research assignment or practicum at ORNL. The program is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE).« less

  7. Institute for Advanced Materials at University of Louisville

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sunkara, Mahendra; Sumaneskara, Gamini; Starr, Thomas L

    2009-10-29

    In this project, a university-wide, academic center has been established entitled Institute for Advanced Materials and Renewable Energy. In this institute, a comprehensive materials characterization facility has been established by co-locating several existing characterization equipment and acquiring several state of the art instrumentation such as field emission transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, high resolution X-ray diffractometer, Particle Size Distribution/Zeta Potential measurement system, and Ultra-microtome for TEM specimen. In addition, a renewable energy conversion and storage research facility was also established by acquiring instrumentation such as UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, Atomic Layer Deposition reactor, Solar light simulator, oxygen-free glove box, potentiostat/galvanostatsmore » and other miscellaneous items. The institute is staffed with three full-time staff members (one senior research technologist, a senior PhD level research scientist and a junior research scientist) to enable proper use of the techniques. About thirty faculty, fifty graduate students and several researchers access the facilities on a routine basis. Several industry R&D organizations (SudChemie, Optical Dynamics and Hexion) utilize the facility. The established Institute for Advanced Materials at UofL has three main objectives: (a) enable a focused research effort leading to the rapid discovery of new materials and processes for advancing alternate energy conversion and storage technologies; (b) enable offering of several laboratory courses on advanced materials science and engineering; and (c) develop university-industry partnerships based on the advanced materials research. The Institute's efforts were guided by an advisory board comprising eminent researchers from outside KY. Initial research efforts were focused on the discovery of new materials and processes for solar cells and Li ion battery electrodes. Initial sets of results helped

  8. Simple model for piezoelectric ceramic/polymer 1-3 composites used in ultrasonic transducer applications.

    PubMed

    Chan, H W; Unsworth, J

    1989-01-01

    A theoretical model is presented for combining parameters of 1-3 ultrasonic composite materials in order to predict ultrasonic characteristics such as velocity, acoustic impedance, electromechanical coupling factor, and piezoelectric coefficients. Hence, the model allows the estimation of resonance frequencies of 1-3 composite transducers. This model has been extended to cover more material parameters, and they are compared to experimental results up to PZT volume fraction nu of 0.8. The model covers calculation of piezoelectric charge constants d(33) and d(31). Values are found to be in good agreement with experimental results obtained for PZT 7A/Araldite D 1-3 composites. The acoustic velocity, acoustic impedance, and electromechanical coupling factor are predicted and found to be close to the values determined experimentally.

  9. Raman Mapping for the Investigation of Nano-phased Materials

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gouadec, G.; Bellot-Gurlet, L.; Baron, D.; Colomban, Ph.

    Nanosized and nanophased materials exhibit special properties. First they offer a good compromise between the high density of chemical bonds by unit volume, needed for good mechanical properties and the homogeneity of amorphous materials that prevents crack initiation. Second, interfaces are in very high concentration and they have a strong influence on many electrical and redox properties. The analysis of nanophased, low crystallinity materials is not straigtforward. The recording of Raman spectra with a geometric resolution close to 0.5 \\upmu {text{ m}^3} and the deep understanding of the Raman signature allow to locate the different nanophases and to predict the properties of the material. Case studies are discussed: advanced polymer fibres, ceramic fibres and composites, textured piezoelectric ceramics and corroded (ancient) steel.

  10. Ultra-flexible Piezoelectric Devices Integrated with Heart to Harvest the Biomechanical Energy

    PubMed Central

    Lu, Bingwei; Chen, Ying; Ou, Dapeng; Chen, Hang; Diao, Liwei; Zhang, Wei; Zheng, Jun; Ma, Weiguo; Sun, Lizhong; Feng, Xue

    2015-01-01

    Power supply for medical implantable devices (i.e. pacemaker) always challenges not only the surgery but also the battery technology. Here, we report a strategy for energy harvesting from the heart motion by using ultra-flexible piezoelectric device based on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics that has most excellent piezoelectricity in commercial materials, without any burden or damage to hearts. Experimental swine are selected for in vivo test with different settings, i.e. opened chest, close chest and awake from anesthesia, to simulate the scenario of application in body due to their hearts similar to human. The results show the peak-to-peak voltage can reach as high as 3 V when the ultra-flexible piezoelectric device is fixed from left ventricular apex to right ventricle. This demonstrates the possibility and feasibility of fully using the biomechanical energy from heart motion in human body for sustainably driving implantable devices. PMID:26538375

  11. Single-Input and Multiple-Output Surface Acoustic Wave Sensing for Damage Quantification in Piezoelectric Sensors.

    PubMed

    Pamwani, Lavish; Habib, Anowarul; Melandsø, Frank; Ahluwalia, Balpreet Singh; Shelke, Amit

    2018-06-22

    The main aim of the paper is damage detection at the microscale in the anisotropic piezoelectric sensors using surface acoustic waves (SAWs). A novel technique based on the single input and multiple output of Rayleigh waves is proposed to detect the microscale cracks/flaws in the sensor. A convex-shaped interdigital transducer is fabricated for excitation of divergent SAWs in the sensor. An angularly shaped interdigital transducer (IDT) is fabricated at 0 degrees and ±20 degrees for sensing the convex shape evolution of SAWs. A precalibrated damage was introduced in the piezoelectric sensor material using a micro-indenter in the direction perpendicular to the pointing direction of the SAW. Damage detection algorithms based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and principal component analysis (PCA) are implemented to quantify the evolution of damage in piezoelectric sensor material. The evolution of the damage was quantified using a proposed condition indicator (CI) based on normalized Euclidean norm of the change in principal angles, corresponding to pristine and damaged states. The CI indicator provides a robust and accurate metric for detection and quantification of damage.

  12. Piezoelectricity above the Curie temperature? Combining flexoelectricity and functional grading to enable high-temperature electromechanical coupling

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Mbarki, R.; Baccam, N.; Dayal, Kaushik

    Most technologically relevant ferroelectrics typically lose piezoelectricity above the Curie temperature. This limits their use to relatively low temperatures. In this Letter, exploiting a combination of flexoelectricity and simple functional grading, we propose a strategy for high-temperature electromechanical coupling in a standard thin film configuration. We use continuum modeling to quantitatively demonstrate the possibility of achieving apparent piezoelectric materials with large and temperature-stable electromechanical coupling across a wide temperature range that extends significantly above the Curie temperature. With Barium and Strontium Titanate, as example materials, a significant electromechanical coupling that is potentially temperature-stable up to 900 °C is possible.

  13. Smart material-based radiation sources

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kovaleski, Scott

    2014-10-01

    From sensors to power harvesters, the unique properties of smart materials have been exploited in numerous ways to enable new applications and reduce the size of many useful devices. Smart materials are defined as materials whose properties can be changed in a controlled and often reversible fashion by use of external stimuli, such as electric and magnetic fields, temperature, or humidity. Smart materials have been used to make acceleration sensors that are ubiquitous in mobile phones, to make highly accurate frequency standards, to make unprecedentedly small actuators and motors, to seal and reduce friction of rotating shafts, and to generate power by conversion of either kinetic or thermal energy to electrical energy. The number of useful devices enabled by smart materials is large and continues to grow. Smart materials can also be used to generate plasmas and accelerate particles at small scales. The materials discussed in this talk are from non-centrosymmetric crystalline classes including piezoelectric, pyroelectric, and ferroelectric materials, which produce large electric fields in response to external stimuli such as applied electric fields or thermal energy. First, the use of ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric materials for plasma generation and particle acceleration will be reviewed. The talk will then focus on the use of piezoelectric materials at the University of Missouri to construct plasma sources and electrostatic accelerators for applications including space propulsion, x-ray imaging, and neutron production. The basic concepts of piezoelectric transformers, which are analogous to conventional magnetic transformers, will be discussed, along with results from experiments over the last decade to produce micro-thrusters for space propulsion and particle accelerators for x-ray and neutron production. Support from ONR, AFOSR, and LANL.

  14. Piezoelectric biosensor with a ladder polymer substrate coating

    DOEpatents

    Renschler, Clifford L.; White, Christine A.; Carter, Robert M.

    1998-01-01

    A piezoelectric biosensor substrate useful for immobilizing biomolecules in an oriented manner on the surface of a piezoelectric sensor has a ladder polymer of polyacrylonitrile. To make the substrate, a solution of an organic polymer, preferably polyacrylonitrile, is applied to the surface of a piezoelectric sensor. The organic polymer is modifying by heating the polymer in a controlled fashion in air such that a ladder polymer is produced which, in turn, forms the attachment point for the biomolecules comprising the piezoelectric biosensor.

  15. Development of piezoelectric composites for transducers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Safari, A.

    1994-07-01

    For the past decade and a half, many different types of piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites have been developed intended for transducer applications. These diphasic composites are prepared from non-active polymer, such as epoxy, and piezoelectric ceramic, such as PZT, in the form of filler powders, elongated fibers, multilayer and more complex three-dimensional structures. For the last four years, most of the efforts have been given to producing large area and fine scale PZT fiber composites. In this paper, processing of piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites with various connectivity patterns are reviewed. Development of fine scale piezoelectric composites by lost mold, injection molding and the relic method are described. Research activities of different groups for preparing large area piezocomposites for hydrophone and actuator applications are briefly reviewed. Initial development of electrostrictive ceramics and composites are also

  16. Native Cellulose Microfiber-Based Hybrid Piezoelectric Generator for Mechanical Energy Harvesting Utility.

    PubMed

    Alam, Md Mehebub; Mandal, Dipankar

    2016-01-27

    A flexible hybrid piezoelectric generator (HPG) based on native cellulose microfiber (NCMF) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as conducting filler is presented where the further chemical treatment of the cellulose and traditional electrical poling steps for piezoelectric voltage generation is avoided. It delivers a high electrical throughput that is an open circuit voltage of ∼30 V and power density ∼9.0 μW/cm(3) under repeated hand punching. We demonstrate to power up various portable electronic units by HPG. Because cellulose is a biocompatible material, suggesting that HPG may have greater potential in biomedical applications such as implantable power source in human body.

  17. THz acoustic phonon spectroscopy and nanoscopy by using piezoelectric semiconductor heterostructures.

    PubMed

    Mante, Pierre-Adrien; Huang, Yu-Ru; Yang, Szu-Chi; Liu, Tzu-Ming; Maznev, Alexei A; Sheu, Jinn-Kong; Sun, Chi-Kuang

    2015-02-01

    Thanks to ultrafast acoustics, a better understanding of acoustic dynamics on a short time scale has been obtained and new characterization methods at the nanoscale have been developed. Among the materials that were studied during the development of ultrafast acoustics, nitride based heterostructures play a particular role due to their piezoelectric properties and the possibility to generate phonons with over-THz frequency and bandwidth. Here, we review some of the work performed using this type of structure, with a focus on THz phonon spectroscopy and nanoscopy. First, we present a brief description of the theory of coherent acoustic phonon generation by piezoelectric heterostructure. Then the first experimental observation of coherent acoustic phonon generated by the absorption of ultrashort light pulses in piezoelectric heterostructures is presented. From this starting point, we then present some methods developed to realize customizable phonon generation. Finally we review some more recent applications of these structures, including imaging with a nanometer resolution, broadband attenuation measurements with a frequency up to 1THz and phononic bandgap characterization. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Fabrication of Advanced Thermoelectric Materials by Hierarchical Nanovoid Generation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Park, Yeonjoon (Inventor); Elliott, James R. (Inventor); Stoakley, Diane M. (Inventor); Chu, Sang-Hyon (Inventor); King, Glen C. (Inventor); Kim, Jae-Woo (Inventor); Choi, Sang Hyouk (Inventor); Lillehei, Peter T. (Inventor)

    2011-01-01

    A novel method to prepare an advanced thermoelectric material has hierarchical structures embedded with nanometer-sized voids which are key to enhancement of the thermoelectric performance. Solution-based thin film deposition technique enables preparation of stable film of thermoelectric material and void generator (voigen). A subsequent thermal process creates hierarchical nanovoid structure inside the thermoelectric material. Potential application areas of this advanced thermoelectric material with nanovoid structure are commercial applications (electronics cooling), medical and scientific applications (biological analysis device, medical imaging systems), telecommunications, and defense and military applications (night vision equipments).

  19. A very promising piezoelectric property of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin films. II: Birefringence and piezoelectricity

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Audier, M., E-mail: Marc.Audier@grenoble-inp.fr; Chenevier, B.; Roussel, H.

    2011-08-15

    Birefringent and piezoelectric properties of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} ceramic thin films of monoclinic and trigonal structures were analyzed. The birefringence, observed by reflected polarized light microscopy, yields information on thin film microstructures, crystal shapes and sizes and on crystallographic orientations of grains of trigonal structure. Such an information was considered for investigating piezoelectric properties by laser Doppler vibrometry and by piezoresponse force microscopy. The vibration velocity was measured by applying an oscillating electric field between electrodes on both sides of a Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} film deposited on a Si substrate which was pasted on an isolating mica sheet. In thismore » case, it is shown that the vibration velocity results were not only from a converse piezoelectric effect, proportional to the voltage, but also from the Coulomb force, proportional to the square of the voltage. A huge piezoelectric strain effect, up to 7.6%, is found in the case of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} of trigonal structure. From an estimation of the electrical field through the Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin film, this strain likely corresponds to a very high longitudinal coefficient d{sub 33} of several thousand picometers. Results obtained by piezoresponse force microscopy show that trigonal grains exhibit a polarization at zero field, which is probably due to stress caused expansion in the transition monoclinic-trigonal, presented in a previous article (part I). - Graphical abstract: Image of cross-polarized optical microscopy showing grains of trigonal structure embedded in the monoclinic phase (on the left); (a) mounting of the sample for Laser Doppler Vibrometry, sample constituted of several layers and its equivalent electrical circuit; (b) longitudinal displacements due to converse piezoelectric and Coulomb effects and corresponding piezoelectric strain-U{sub app.}. hystereses. Highlights: > A new Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} trigonal phase is shown to be birefringent

  20. Materials Requirements for Advanced Energy Systems - New Fuels. Volume 3: Materials Research Needs in Advanced Energy Systems Using New Fuels

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1974-07-01

    elec- Materials se: trode materials and associ- operational ated conductors. 2.5.1 General. H" (02) Materials resources Technoeconomic analysis - None...Advanced Energy Systems Using New Fnels VIII Correlation and Analysis of Materials Requirements IX Research Recommendations and Priorities The authois...of government and industrial organizal ions who gave us the benefit of their knowledge and experience. iv VIII CORRELATION ANU ANALYSIS OF MATERIALS