Failure behavior of Pb(Zr0.95Ti0.05)O3 ferroelectric ceramics under shock compression

Abstract

PZT 95/5 ferroelectric ceramics have been used in shock-driven pulsed-power supplies for many years; their mechanical failure under shock compression plays an important role in dielectric breakdown. Shock experiments have been conducted to understand such failure by measuring the velocity of the free surface or the PZT/sapphire interface. Results confirm that delayed failure exists in PZT 95/5 before dynamic yielding at 2.4 GPa; multipoint measurements indicate that the failure layer in PZT 95/5 was not a plane but a rough front. The delay time and velocity of this layer had been determined by measuring samples of varying thicknesses at fixed pressure; results indicate that this velocity is the same as the shock-wave speed and the delay time decreases with increasing shock stress. At a shock stress of 4.9 GPa, the delay time falls to zero and a ramp wave is observed. This kind of failure is a new phenomenon in electric breakdown of PZT 95/5 under shock compression.