Revisiting the blocking force test on ferroelectric ceramics using high energy x-ray diffraction

Daniel L, Hall DA, Koruza J, Webber KG, King A, Withers PJ (2015)


Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2015

Journal

Publisher: American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Book Volume: 117

DOI: 10.1063/1.4918928

Abstract

The blocking force test is a standard test to characterise the properties of piezoelectric actuators. The aim of this study is to understand the various contributions to the macroscopic behaviour observed during this experiment that involves the intrinsic piezoelectric effect, ferroelectric domain switching, and internal stress development. For this purpose, a high energy diffraction experiment is performed in-situ during a blocking force test on a tetragonal lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic (Pb0.98Ba0.01(Zr0.51Ti0.49)(0.98)Nb0.02O3). It is shown that the usual macroscopic linear interpretation of the test can also be performed at the single crystal scale, allowing the identification of local apparent piezoelectric and elastic properties. It is also shown that despite this apparent linearity, the blocking force test involves significant non-linear behaviour mostly due to domain switching under electric field and stress. Although affecting a limited volume fraction of the material, domain switching is responsible for a large part of the macroscopic strain and explains the high level of inter-and intra-granular stresses observed during the course of the experiment. The study shows that if apparent piezoelectric and elastic properties can be identified for PZT single crystals from blocking stress curves, they may be very different from the actual properties of polycrystalline materials due to the multiplicity of the physical mechanisms involved. These apparent properties can be used for macroscopic modelling purposes but should be considered with caution if a local analysis is aimed at. (C) 2015 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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APA:

Daniel, L., Hall, D.A., Koruza, J., Webber, K.G., King, A., & Withers, P.J. (2015). Revisiting the blocking force test on ferroelectric ceramics using high energy x-ray diffraction. Journal of Applied Physics, 117. https://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4918928

MLA:

Daniel, L., et al. "Revisiting the blocking force test on ferroelectric ceramics using high energy x-ray diffraction." Journal of Applied Physics 117 (2015).

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