Piezoelectricity Principles and Materials

Abstract

Abstract This article starts with the general presentation of piezoelectric principles and equations. Both tensor notations and Voigt matrix notations are discussed. Subsequently, several types of electroactive materials are presented: piezoelectric ceramics, electrostrictive ceramics, piezoelectric polymers, etc. Various formulations of these materials are currently commercially available. The names lead zirconate titanate (PZT) (a piezoelectric ceramic), lead manganate niobate (PMN) (an electrostrictive ceramic), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) (a piezoelectric polymer), which have become widely used in structural health monitoring (SHM) sensor applications, are presented. A general perspective on piezoelectricity and ferroelectric ceramics, explaining some of the physical behavior underpinning their salient features, especially in relation to perovskite crystalline structures, is given. Piezoelectric polymers such as PVDF, which are flexible, resilient, and durable but produce less force, are presented. Magnetoactive materials such as the magnetostrictive Terfenol‐D are also presented because they are used in some SHM sensor applications. Summary and conclusions wrap up the article.