Cement-based Piezoelectric Composites Research Articles

Interfacial morphology and domain configurations in 0-3 PZT–Portland cement composites

Cement-based piezoelectric composites have attracted great attention recently due to their promising applications as sensors in smart structures. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and Portland cement (PC) composite were fabricated using 60% of PZT by volume. Scanning Electron Microscope and piezoresponse force microscope were used to investigate the morphology and domain configurations at the interfacial zone of PZT–Portland cement composites. Angular PZT ceramic grains were found to bind well with the cement matrix. The submicro-scale domains were clearly observed by piezoresponse force microscope at the interfacial regions between the piezoelectric PZT phase and Portland cement phase, and are clearer than the images obtained for pure PZT. This is thought to be due to the applied internal stress of cement to the PZT ceramic particle which resulted to clearer images.

The application of 1–3 cement-based piezoelectric transducers in active and passive healthmonitoring for concrete structures

1–3 cement-based piezoelectric composite has been developed for health monitoring ofconcrete structures. Transducers made of this type of composite have broadbandfrequency response. Plain concrete and engineered cement composite (ECC) beamswith embedded 1–3 cement-based piezoelectric transducers were prepared andtested. During experiments, the transducers were used to perform active andpassive detection of the damage evolution of the beams. In active detection, adamage index based on the average energy of the received waves was proposed andused. In passive detection, acoustic emission (AE) events were recorded and theaccumulated AE event number was analyzed with the loading history. Cracklocalization was also accomplished in the passive monitoring. The results of the twomethods demonstrated similar trends in interpreting the damage evolution of theconcrete beam. The results were also consistent with each material’s characteristics.

Effect of carbon black on properties of 0–3 piezoelectric ceramic/cement composites

0–3 cement-based piezoelectric composites were fabricated using sulphoaluminate cement and piezoelectric ceramic [0.08Pb(Li 1/4Nb 3/4)O 3 · 0.47PbTiO 3 · 0.45PbZrO 3] [P(LN)ZT] as raw materials by compressing technique. The influences of carbon black content on the piezoelectric and dielectric properties, electric conductivity and impedance were investigated. The results indicate that the piezoelectric strain constant d 33 and piezoelectric voltage constant g 33 of the composites increase gradually with a suitable carbon black addition. When the carbon black content is 0.3 wt%, both of the piezoelectric strain constant d 33 and piezoelectric voltage constant g 33 of the composite exist the maximum value, which are 17.45 pC N −1 and 36.3 mV m N −1, respectively. As the carbon black content increases, the dielectric constant ε r, dielectric loss tanδ and electric conductivity σ of the composites all increase, while the impedance decreases. In the frequency range tested, the more the carbon black content, the higher the ε r value. The planar electromechanical coupling coefficient K p, the thickness electromechanical coupling coefficient K t and the mechanical quality factor Q m are almost unaffected by the carbon black content.

The study of pore structure and its influence on material properties of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites

In order to investigate the pore structure and its influence on the material properties of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites, specimens with different ceramic/cement ratio of composite are prepared. The pore structure of composite is obtained by using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). The variety of pore structure is attributed to the chemical reaction at the surface of PZT particles and cement grains, which is different with that of cement paste. And the porosity of composite reduces with the increasing of ceramic/cement ratio. Moreover, the influence of pore structure on the mechanical and dielectric properties of composite are discussed in detail. A monotonic decreasing of material properties of composite with total intruded pore volume is found.

Dielectric and Piezoelectric Properties of 2—2 Cement Based Piezoelectric Composite

Cement-based piezoelectric composites with 2—2 connectivity were fabricated from lead magnesium niobate—lead zirconate—lead titanate (PMN) and sulfoaluminate cement by a dice-and-fill technique. The influences of PMN volume fraction and frequency on the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composite were analyzed. The results indicated that with increasing the PMN volume fraction, both the piezoelectric strain factor d33 and the relative dielectric factor εr of the composite increased, while the piezoelectric voltage factor g33 decreased. The dielectric resonance peaks, antiresonance absorption peaks, and the dielectric loss peaks of the composites commonly appeared around 200 kHz. With increasing the PMN volume fraction, both the dielectric resonance peaks value and the antiresonance absorption peaks value increased, while the dielectric loss peaks value decreased. At the high frequency zone, the relative dielectric factor εr and dielectric loss tan δ of the composite changed smoothly with increasing frequency.

Piezoelectric and bonding properties of a cement-based composite for dental application

A cement-based piezoelectric composite was introduced as real-time health monitoring systems to dentin. Lithium sodium potassium niobate and zinc polycarboxylate cement were mixed and made piezoelectric under different poling conditions. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope confirmed the component and microstructure of the cement. The bonding force of the composites was compared to that of pure cement by analysis of variance. The optimum poling method was determined and the influencing factors of piezoelectric coefficient were discussed.

Properties 0–3 PZT–Portland cement composites

Smart structural composites are multifunctional structural materials which can perform functions such as sensing strain, vibration reduction and are essential because of their relevance to mitigation and structural vibration control. Cement-based piezoelectric composites have been developed as smart structural composites. The goal of this work is to produce cement-based piezoelectric composites using lead zirconate titanate (PZT) and Portland cement (PC) with xPZT–(1 − x)PC (where x = 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9). The composites were pressed together and cured in 100% RH curing chamber for 3 days before measurements. Dielectric constant ( ɛ r) at room temperature and piezoelectric coefficient ( d 33) of the 0–3 piezoelectric PZT–Portland cement composites with different PZT content were investigated. The results show these composites have ɛ r and d 33 values of up to 536 and 87 pC/N, respectively, and there is a good potential for the application of these cement-based piezoelectric composites in civil engineering.

Piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of 0–3 ceramic/cement composites

The sulphoaluminate cement and a piezoelectric ceramic, 0.08Pb(Li1∕4Nb3∕4)O3·0.47PbTiO3·0.45PbZrO3[P(LN)ZT], were used to fabricate 0–3 cement based piezoelectric composites. The piezoelectric, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of the composites were mainly investigated. The results indicate that the piezoelectric strain factor d33 increases as the P(LN)ZT volume fraction increases, which follows the cube model well. The dielectric constant εx and dielectric loss tan δ show similar trends with the d33. In the frequency range of 40–100 kHz, the dielectric constants of the composites decrease sharply, which is mainly attributed to interfacial polarization in the composite. Above 200 kHz, the cement-based piezoelectric composites exhibit good dielectric-frequency stability. Hysteresis measurements indicate that the composites exhibit typical ferroelectric hysteresis loops at room temperature. The remanent polarization Pr and the coercive field Ec of the composites increase as the P(LN)ZT volume fraction increases. Meanwhile, the remnant polarizations Pr shows little asymmetric characterization.

The study of poling behavior and modeling of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites

This paper states the study on poling characteristic of cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composites. The experimental results are presented. The electromechanical coupling coefficient k t is introduced to index the polarization behavior of composites under different poling conditions. A mechanism on molecular level is proposed to explain the macroscopically measured results and a first order model is developed to reveal the simple relationship between dipole domains and macroscopically measured parameters. And first order model is used to illuminate dependence of poling temperature and applied voltage on polarization procedure of composites. The model prediction is proved to consistent with the experimental results very well.

Effect of forming pressures on electric properties of piezoelectric ceramic/sulphoaluminate cement composites

Cement-based piezoelectric composites with 0-3 connectivity are fabricated from 0.08Pb(Li 1/4Nb 3/4)O 3 · 0.47PbTiO 3 · 0.45PbZrO 3(PLN) and sulphoaluminate cement by compressing technique. Piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composites under different forming pressures are measured and investigated. The results show that the composites prepared by compression technique exhibit excellent piezoelectric and dielectric properties. With increasing of forming pressure, the piezoelectric strain coefficient and dielectric constant increase, but the forming pressure has insignificant influence on electromechanical coupling property of the composites. The dielectric constant decreases sharply with increasing frequency from 40 kHz to 100 kHz, which is mainly due to interfacial polarization in the composite and polarization in the cement matrix. At high frequency, the composites show excellent dielectric frequency stability. The composite prepared at high pressure is favorable to the polarization of the ion at low frequency.

Influence of Ceramic Particle Size on Piezoelectric Properties of Cement-Based Piezoelectric Composites

Cement-based piezoelectric composites with 0–3 connectivity pattern were fabricated from lead lithium niobate-lead zirconate-lead titanate (PLN) and sulphoaluminate cement. The influences of PLN particle size on the electromechanical coupling and piezoelectric properties of composites were discussed in detail. The results show that under the conditions of the same PLN content and fabrication technique, the piezoelectric strain factor d 33 and piezoelectric voltage factor g 33 increase with increasing the PLN particle size. When the PLN particle size is larger than 100 μ m, d33 and g 33 are hardly influenced by the PLN particle size. Electromechanical coupling coefficient K p and K t are shown to be independent of the PLN particle size, while mechanical quality factor Q m decreases with increasing the PLN particle size.

Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of piezoelectric ceramic–sulphoaluminate cementcomposites

Using cement as the matrix of piezoelectric smart composites can solve the problem ofmismatch of smart composites and concrete structure in civil engineering. 0–3 cementbased piezoelectric composites were fabricated by a compression technique using PMN andsulphoaluminate cement as raw materials. The influence of the PMN content on thedielectric and piezoelectric properties of the composites was investigated. The temperaturedependence of the dielectric properties of the composites was discussed in detail. The resultsindicate that the dielectric constants are almost constant in the temperature range from−30 to50 °C, which shows excellent dielectric–temperature stability. With increasing PMN content, thepiezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composites increase. The theoretical values ofthe dielectric constants show good agreement with the experimental values for thecomposites.

Cement-based piezoelectric ceramic smart composites

Recent development on cement-based piezoelectric functional composites is introduced. Two internal connectivity patterns relating to the functional ceramic phase, 0-3 and 2-2 types, were adopted in the development. 0-3 Cement-based piezoelectric composites were produced by incorporating different types of piezoelectric ceramic powders into Portland cement matrix. The composite with 0-3 connectivity pattern exhibits slightly better piezoelectric properties, and is suitable to be used as sensors in intelligent structures. The material properties of 0-3 cement-based PZT composites are evaluated both theoretically and experimentally. And 2-2 type cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composite holds both desirable sensing and actuating effect. Moreover, the electric-mechanical response of 2-2 cement-based piezoelectric ceramic composite is tested by MTS system. The results show that it can be used as self-sensing actuator in civil engineering.

Piezoelectric and dielectric properties of piezoelectric ceramic–sulphoaluminate cement composites

0–3 piezoelectric composites with good performances were prepared using a sulphoaluminate cement and PMN ceramic particles. Piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composites with different PMN contents were investigated. The influences of the cement hydration age on the piezoelectric constant of the composites were analyzed. The results indicate that the piezoelectric coefficients and dielectric constants of the composites rapidly increase as the PMN content increases. The piezoelectric characteristics of the sulphoaluminate cement-based piezoelectric composites are very different from those of the piezoelectric ceramics and polymer–ceramic piezoelectric composites. For the latter, the piezoelectric properties decrease with the prolonging of time, while the piezoelectric properties of the sulphoaluminate cement-based piezoelectric composite are improved with increasing the cement hydration age. When the cement hydration age exceeds 8 days, d ¯ 33 tends to be constant.