Determining Full Matrix Constants of Piezoelectric Crystal From a Single Sample Using Partial Electrode Electromechanical Impedance Spectroscopy

To determine all the material constants of a piezoelectric crystal using the IEEE resonance method or ultrasonic method, several samples with specific geometries and orientations are required, and the obtained results may be somewhat self-contradictory. The resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) can determine full material constants of a single piezoelectric sample by matching the numerically computed eigenfrequencies to the measured resonance spectrum. However, typically the usage of PZT transducers for excitation and reception makes the testing complicated and may add additional mass and damping. In this work, we propose a new method called partial electrode electromechanical impedance spectroscopy (PE-EMIS), which can obtain all the elastic, piezoelectric constants, and related internal frictions of a piezoelectric crystal by just using a single sample without additional transducers. In PE-EMIS, two small PEs are fabricated on one corner of a piezoelectric sample, and the sample's resonance frequencies, along with the internal frictions of the k th eigenmode, can be accurately obtained from the conductance spectrum measured using an impedance analyzer. The PE-EMIS experiment is carried out on a rectangular parallelepiped PZT-4 piezoelectric ceramic, and the extracted material constants are highly repeatable. Three of the extracted elastic constants ( c₁₁^E , c₃₃^D , and c₆₆^E ) are validated by the traditional wave propagation method. Due to its simplicity, convenience, and accuracy, the proposed PE-EMIS is expected to be widely used for characterization of piezoelectric materials in near future.

The Effect of Spool Displacement Control to the Flow Rate in the Piezoelectric Stack-Based Valve System Subjected to High Operating Temperature

This work investigates the effect of spool displacement control of the piezoelectric stack actuator (PSA) based valve system on the flow motion of the pressure drop and flow rate. As a first step, the governing equations of the structural parts of the displacement amplifier and spool are derived, followed by the governing equation of the fluid part considering control volume and steady flow force. Then, an appropriate size of the valve is designed and manufactured. An experimental apparatus to control the spool displacement is set up in the heat chamber and tracking control for the spool displacement is evaluated at 20 °C and 100 °C by implementing a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback controller. The tracking controls of the spool displacement associated with the sinusoidal and triangular trajectories are realized at 20 °C and 100 °C. It is demonstrated that the tracking controls for the sinusoidal and triangular trajectories have been well carried out showing the tracking error less than 3 μm at both temperatures. In addition, the flow motions for the pressure drop and the flow rate of the proposed valve system are experimentally investigated. It is identified from this investigation that both pressure drop and flow rate evaluated 20 °C have been decreased up to 18% at 100 °C. This result directly indicates that the temperature effect to control performance of the structural part and fluid part in the proposed PSA based valve system is different and hence careful attention is required to achieve the successful development of advanced valve systems subjected to a wide range of the operating temperature.

Cantilevered Piezoelectric Micro Generator Design Issues and Application to the Mining Locomotive

This paper will present a complete discussion in recent design strategies for harvesting vibration energy using piezoelectric cantilever transducers. The interest in this primary energy source is due to its presence in non-negligible quantities in most of the engines used in the industrial process. Previous work has shown that it is possible to harvest significant amounts of energy capable of supplying a wireless sensor (WS) node. However, in most research, only one step of the energy conversion and utilization chain is studied. Starting from the definition of the different design issues for a piezoelectric micro generator (PMG), the leading optimization solutions will be reviewed in this paper. Based on the findings, the quantification of the data transmission range of wireless sensor nodes powered by a PMG is proposed to support the objectives envisioned by Industry 4.0. The vibration characteristics taken from mining locomotives that have not yet been treated previously are used to illustrate the improvement of the various optimization solutions. Through our objectives, this work offers a comprehensive discussion on the use of vibrational energy by wireless sensors, bringing together the fields of mechanics, electrical, electronics, and wireless communications. The theoretical basis for each design stage is provided through the design equations. Based on actual measurements of ambient vibration, it is demonstrated, considering an optimal design of the PMG, that a WS could transmit data beyond 1 km for physical phenomena to be controlled every 7 min.

Design and Testing of a Co-Rotating Vibration Excitation System

A vibration excitation system (VES) in a form of an active coupling is proposed, designed and manufactured. The system is equipped with a set of piezoelectric stack actuators uniformly distributed around the rotor axis and positioned parallel to each other. The actuator arrangement allows an axial displacement of the coupling halves as well as their rotation about any transverse axis. Through the application of the VES an aimed vibration excitation is realised in a co-rotating coordinate system, which enables a non-invasive and precise modal analysis of rotating components. As an example, the VES is applied for the characterisation of the structural dynamic behaviour of a generic steel rotor at different rotational speeds. The first results are promising for both stationary and rotating conditions.

Hi-Fi Stake Piezo Single Crystal Actuator

High fidelity (Hi-Fi) piezoelectric single crystal stake actuators are presented in this work. They are made of multiple rectangular d32 mode lead-based relaxor ferroelectric (notably Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PZN-PT) and Pb(In0.5Nb0.5)O3-Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-PbTiO3 (PIN-PMN-PT)) single crystals bonded along their long edges with the aid of compliant polymeric edge guides into a square or polygonal pipe-like construction. Due to the highly stable engineered domain structure and high piezoelectricity of single crystal active materials, the actuators exhibit large linear displacement responses with negligible (<1%) hysteresis. Prototypes of square-pipe stake actuators were first fabricated and their phase transformation curves under different applied voltages, axial compressive loads and temperatures were established. Based on the information obtained, a range of Hi-Fi stake actuators with external square cross-sections of 5 × 5 mm2, 7.5 × 7.5 mm2 and 10 × 10 mm2, each of 4 different overall lengths of 15, 28, 41 and 54 mm, were further designed and fabricated using either PZN-PT or PIN-PMN-PT single crystals (both with TRO ≈ 110–125 °C) of 0.4 mm in crystal thickness. The stroke for the longest stake actuator fabricated (L = 54 mm) reaches −58 µm at 240 V. The working conditions, over which these Hi-Fi stake actuators remain linear with negligible hysteresis, were established for a total load of up to 10 kg and use temperature of up to 40 °C.

High-Bending-Stiffness Connector (HBSC) and High-Authority Piezoelectric Actuator (HAPA) Made of Such

High-authority piezoelectric actuator (HAPA) is a term used to describe high-performance piezoelectric actuators of relatively large displacement (≥50 μm) and high blocking force (≥100 N), but compact in size. One such piezoelectric actuator is described in this paper, which is made possible by means of high-bending-stiffness connector (HBSC) that connects multiple commercial piezoceramic stacks into a stable 2- (or multi-) level actuation configuration. Key design requirements for the HBSC are described. Computer simulation results and experimental verification are presented. A HAPA-(2 + 2) actuator was fabricated from such a HBSC, in which there are two commercial PZT stacks projecting upwards in the upper level and two projecting downwards in the lower lever, all of 5 × 5 mm2 in cross-section and 40 mm in length. The HAPA-(2 + 2) actuator prototype displays about twice the overall stroke and blocking force of individual stacks, being about 90 μm and >1600 N, respectively. This compares favorably with lever-arm, flextensional, and telescopic actuators, of which the blocking force is adversely affected. Using a similar concept, HBSCs and HAPAs of other designs are presented. In addition to being stand-alone actuators, the HAPAs can be used as the active material to drive existing displacement amplification schemes to produce piezoelectric actuators of exceptional performance characteristics.

Development of a micro-gripper using piezoelectric bimorphs

Piezoelectric bimorphs have been used as a micro-gripper in many applications, but the system might be complex and the response performance might not have been fully characterized. In this study the dynamic characteristics of bending piezoelectric bimorphs actuators were theoretically and experimentally investigated for micro-gripping applications in terms of deflection along the length, transient response, and frequency response with varying driving voltages and driving signals. In addition, the implementation of a parallel micro-gripper using bending piezoelectric bimorphs was presented. Both fingers were actuated separately to perform mini object handling. The bending piezoelectric bimorphs were fixed as cantilevers and individually driven using a high voltage amplifier and the bimorph deflection was measured using a non contact proximity sensor attached at the tip of one finger. The micro-gripper could perform precise micro-manipulation tasks and could handle objects down to 50 µm in size. This eliminates the need for external actuator extension of the microgripper as the grasping action was achieved directly with the piezoelectric bimorph, thus minimizing the weight and the complexity of the micro-gripper.

Influence of piezoceramic to fused silica plate thickness on the radii of curvature of piezoelectric bimorph mirror

Piezoelectric based bimorph mirrors (PBM) find extensive use in focusing of x-ray beams. Many optical instruments require use of PBM whose radii of curvature can be tuned precisely. The 100 mm and 300 mm PBMs were fabricated with varying piezoelectric to fused silica plate thicknesses. The radii of curvature of free standing mirrors were measured as a function of voltage and it was found to decrease with increasing voltage. For a given piezoelectric plate thickness, as the fused silica thickness increases, the radii of curvature was found to increase owing to increase in stiffness of the mirror. On the other hand, for a given fused silica plate thickness, when the piezoelectric plate thickness is increased, the radii of curvature are decreased for a given electric field, due to increase in generated force. This study brings out the influence of piezoceramic to fused silica plate thickness on the radii of curvature of PBM.

A transparent polymeric flexure-hinge nanopositioner, actuated by a piezoelectric stack actuator

Nanopositioning using piezoelectric actuation and a flexure mechanism is one of most common methods for nanometre-scale positioning. Generally, flexure mechanism nanopositioners have been made from metal. Thus, their application to various environments needs careful consideration with regard to corrosion and circumference interference. In this study, we propose the concept of a chip-like polymeric flexure-based nanopositioner equipped with piezoelectric actuation. In its design, motion performance was predicted using finite element analysis of deformation and stress, and injection mouldability was considered through an injection moulding simulation to allow for fabrication by injection moulding. A cyclic olefin copolymer nanopositioner was fabricated using a mesoscale injection moulding process. Experiments demonstrated that the developed nanopositioner had a travel range of 15 µm with high linearity and it could be successfully controlled by a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) algorithm including a low-pass filter with a root mean square control error of 3 nm.

A fingerprint method for variability and robustness analysis of stochastically controlled cellular actuator arrays

In this paper we present a ‘fingerprint method’ for modeling and subsequently characterizing stochastically controlled actuator arrays. The actuator arrays are built from small actuator cells with structural elasticity. These cells are controlled using a bistable stochastic process wherein all cells are given a common input probability (control) value which they use to determine whether to actuate or relax. Arranging the cells in different networks gives different actuator array properties, which must be found before the actuator arrays can be applied to manipulators. The fingerprint method is used to describe and automatically generate every possible stochastic actuator array topology for a given number of cells, and to calculate actuator array properties such as: travel, required actuator strength/displacement, force range, force variance, and robustness for any array topology. The properties of several illustrative examples are shown and a discussion covers the importance of the properties, and trends between actuator array layouts and their properties. Finally, results from a validation experiment using a stochastically controlled solenoid array are presented.

Coupled torsional and longitudinal vibrations of piezoelectric fiber actuator with helical electrodes

The vibration characteristics of a piezoelectric fiber actuator with helical electrodes are studied theoretically and experimentally. Its working principle indicates that the torsional, longitudinal, and tangential deformations of the fiber are coupled. A simplified dynamic model is deduced to investigate the properties of the coupled vibrations and their corresponding equivalent circuits are also provided. Resonant frequencies and mechanical coupling coefficients in free-free boundary condition are calculated. The trends of resonant frequencies as functions of the electrode helical angle and fiber length are discussed and validated in experiments.

A micropower miniature piezoelectric actuator for implantable middle ear hearing device

This paper describes the design and development of a small actuator using a miniature piezoelectric stack and a flextensional mechanical amplification structure for an implantable middle ear hearing device (IMEHD). A finite-element method was used in the actuator design. Actuator vibration displacement was measured using a laser vibrometer. Preliminary evaluation of the actuator for an IMEHD was conducted using a temporal bone model. Initial results from one temporal bone study indicated that the actuator was small enough to be implanted within the middle ear cavity, and sufficient stapes displacement can be generated for patients with mild to moderate hearing losses, especially at higher frequency range, by the actuator suspended onto the stapes. There was an insignificant mass-loading effect on normal sound transmission (<3 dB) when the actuator was attached to the stapes and switched off. Improved vibration performance is predicted by more firm attachment. The actuator power consumption and its generated equivalent sound pressure level are also discussed. In conclusion, the actuator has advantages of small size, lightweight, and micropower consumption for potential use as IMHEDs.

On the use of piezoelectric sensors in structural mechanics: some novel strategies

In the present paper, a review on piezoelectric sensing of mechanical deformations and vibrations of so-called smart or intelligent structures is given. After a short introduction into piezoelectric sensing and actuation of such controlled structures, we pay special emphasis on the description of some own work, which has been performed at the Institute of Technical Mechanics of the Johannes Kepler University of Linz (JKU) in the last years. Among other aspects, this work has been motivated by the fact that collocated control of smart structures requires a sensor output that is work-conjugated to the input by the actuator. This fact in turn brings into the play the more general question of how to measure mechanically meaningful structural quantities, such as displacements, slopes, or other quantities, which form the work-conjugated quantities of the actuation, by means piezoelectric sensors. At least in the range of small strains, there is confidence that distributed piezoelectric sensors or sensor patches in smart structures do measure weighted integrals over their domain. Therefore, there is a need of distributing or shaping the sensor activity in order to be able to re-interpret the sensor signals in the desired mechanical sense. We sketch a general strategy that is based on a special application of work principles, more generally on displacement virials. We also review our work in the past on bringing this concept to application in smart structures, such as beams, rods and plates.