Lateral resonances in initial stressed 1-3 piezocomposites

A theoretical analysis of the lateral resonances in 1-3 piezocomposites with poling initial stress is conducted using the Bloch wave theory. Based on the linear piezoelectricity theory, theoretical formulations that include initial stress for the propagation of acoustic plane waves are made. Numerical calculations are performed to study the effects of the initial stress on the lateral mode frequencies and the stop band. It is found that lateral mode frequencies increase with the piezoelectricity of the piezocomposites, but decrease with the poling initial stress. The influence of the initial shear stress on the lateral mode frequencies is minimal, and can thus be neglected.

THE EFFECTIVE PROPERTIES OF PIEZOCOMPOSITES, PART Ⅱ: THE EFFECTIVE ELECTROELASTIC MODULI

Since piezoelectric ceramic/polymer composites have been widely used as smart materials and smart structures, it is more and more important to obtain the closed-from solutions of the effective properties of piezocomposites with piezoelectric ellipsoidal inclusions. Based on the closed-from solutions of the electroe- lastic Eshelby's tensors obtained in the part I of this paper and the generalized Bu- diansky's energy-equivalence framework, the closed-form general relations of effective electroelastic moduli of the piezocomposites with piezoelectric ellipsoidal inclusions are given. The relations can be applicable for several micromechanics models, such as the dilute solution and the Mori-Tanaka's method. The difference among the various models is shown to be the way in which the average strain and the average electric field of the inclusion phase are evaluated. Comparison between predicted and exper- imental results shows that the theoretical values in this paper agree quite well with the experimental results. These expressions can be readily utilized in analysis and design of piezocomposites.

Development of a Biomimetic Quadruped Robot

This paper presents the design and prototype of a small quadruped robot whose walking motion is realized by two piezocomposite actuators. In the design, biomimetic ideas are employed to obtain the agility of motions and sustainability of a heavy load. The design of the robot legs is inspired by the leg configuration of insects, two joints （hip and knee） of the leg enable two basic motions, lifting and stepping. The robot frame is designed to have a slope relative to the horizontal plane, which makes the robot move forward. In addition, the bounding locomotion of quadruped animals is implemented in the robot. Experiments show that the robot can carry an additional load of about 100 g and run with a fairly high velocity. The quadruped prototype can be an important step towards the goal of building an autonomous mobile robot actuated by piezocomposite actuators.

Design of a d_(33)-mode piezocomposite electricity generating element and its application to bridge monitoring

The piezoelectric effect is used in sensing applications such as in force and displacement sensors.However,the brittleness and low performance of piezoceramic lead zirconate titanate(PZT) often impede its applicability in civil structures which are subjected to large loads.The concept of a piezocomposite electricity generating element(PCGE) has been proposed for improving the electricity generation performance and overcoming the brittleness of piezoceramic wafers.The post-curing residual stress in the PZT layer constitutes a main reason for the PCGE's enhanced performance,and the outer epoxy-based composites protect the brittle PZT layer.A d33-mode PCGE designed for bridge monitoring application was inserted in a bridge bearing to provide a permanent and simple weigh-in-motion system.The designed PCGEs were tested through a series of tests including fatigue and dynamic tests to verify their applicability for monitoring purposes in a bridge structure.A simple beam example was presented to show the applicability of the proposed bridge bearing equipped with the PCGE for adequately measuring the traffic loads.

Torsional piezocomposite material

Incorporating the merits of both piezoelectric and nonpiezoelectric phases,piezocomposites have been thoroughly studied and extensively applied. Each of the twophases in a 2-2 piezocomposite is self-connected in two dimensions. In a

Analysis of porosity influence on the effective moduli of ceramic matrix PZT composite using the simplified finite element model

The problem of determining the effective moduli of a ceramic matrix piezocomposite with respect to multiscale porosity was considered.To solve the homogenization problem,the method of effective moduli in the standard formulation,the finite element method and the ANSYS computational package were used.Various models of two-phase and three-phase composites consisting of a piezoceramic matrix,elastic inclusions of corundum and pores of various sizes have been investigated.Finite element models of representative volumes of 3–0 and 3–0–0 connectivities were developed.The results of computational experiments showed that effective moduli depend quite significantly not only on the volume fractions of inclusions and pores,but also on the structure and size of pores in comparison with the characteristic sizes of inclusions.