Blocking force of a piezoelectric stack actuator made of single crystal layers (PMN-29PT)

Abstract

In this study, we fabricated and characterized a stack actuator made of forty layers of 1 mm thick PMN-29PT with a cross-sectional area of 10 × 10 mm2. From the measurement of actuation displacement, we confirmed that the piezoelectric strain constant in the direction of thickness of the material is 2000 pm V−1, as suggested by the manufacturer. The blocking forces of the actuator are measured to be 230 N, 369 N, and 478 N for 100 V, 200 V, and 300 V, respectively. The measured blocking forces showed large discrepancies from the estimated blocking forces calculated using linear models, especially for a high voltage application. An empirical equation acquired by fitting the measured blocking forces indicates that the blocking force has a nonlinear relationship with the applied voltage. The measured hysteresis showed a slight nonlinear voltage-stroke relationship and small energy loss.