• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.121-123
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• 2007

Energy harvesting from the vibration through the piezoelectric effect has been studied for powering the wireless sensor node. As piezoelectric unimorph cantilever structure can transfer low vibration to large displacement, this structure was commonly deployed to harvest electric energy from vibrations. Piezoelectric unimorph structure was composed of small stiff piezoelectric ceramic on the large flexible substrate. As there is the large Young's modulus difference between the flexible substrate and stiff piezoelectric ceramic, flexible substrate could not homogeneously transfer the vibration to stiff piezoelectric ceramic. As a result, most piezoelectric ceramics had been broken at the certain point. We measured and analyzed the stress distribution on the piezoelectric ceramic on the cantilever.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.918-923
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• 2008

Since crack detection for laminated composites in-service is effective to improve the structural reliability of laminated composites, it have been tried to detect cracks of laminated composites by various nondestructive methods. An electric potential method is one of the widely used approaches for detection of cracks for carbon fiber composites, since the electric potential method adopts the electric conductive carbon fibers as reinforcements and sensors and the adoption of carbon fibers as sensors does not bring strength reduction induced by embedding sensors into the structures such as optical fibers. However, the application of the electric method is limited only to electrically conductive composite materials. Recently, a piezoelectric method using piezoelectric characteristics of epoxy adhesives has been successfully developed for the adhesive joints because it can monitor continuously the damage of adhesively bonded structures without producing any defects. Polymeric materials for the matrix of composite materials have piezoelectric characteristics similarly to adhesive materials, and the fracture of composite materials should lead to the fracture of polymeric matrix. Therefore, it seems to be valid that the piezoelectric method can be applied to monitoring the damage of composite materials. In this research, therefore, the feasibility study of the damage monitoring for composite materials by piezoelectric method was conducted. Using carbon fiber epoxy composite and glass fiber composite, charge output signals were measured and analyzed during the static and fatigue tests, and the effect of fiber materials on the damage monitoring of composite materials by the piezoelectric method was investigated.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.508-514
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• 2022

Piezoelectric composite films which are enabled by inorganic piezoelectric nanomaterials-embedded polymer, have attracted enormous attention as a sustainable power source for low powered electronics, because of their ease of fabrication and flexible nature. However, the absorption of applied stress by the soft polymeric matrices is a major issue that must be solved to expand the fields of piezoelectric composite applications. Herein, a flexible and porous piezoelectric composite (piezoelectric sponge) comprised of BaTiO₃ nanoparticles and polydimethylsiloxane was developed using template method to enhance the energy conversion efficiency by minimizing the stress that vanishes into the polymer matrix. In the porous structure, effective stress transfer can occur between the piezoelectric active materials in compression mode due to direct contact between the ceramic particles embedded in the pore-polymer interface. The piezoelectric sponge with 30 wt% of BaTiO₃ particles generated an open-circuit voltage of ~12 V and a short-circuit current of ~150 nA. A finite element method-based simulation was conducted to theoretically back up that the piezoelectric output performance was effectively improved by introducing the sponge structure. Furthermore, to demonstrate the feasibility of pressure detecting applications using the BaTiO₃ particles-embedded piezoelectric sponge, the composite was arranged in a 3 × 3 array and integrated into a single pressure sensor. The fabricated sensor array successfully detected the shape of the applied pressure. This work can provide a cost-effective, biocompatible, and structural strategy for realizing piezoelectric composite-based energy harvesters and self-powered sensors with improved energy conversion efficiency.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.266-284
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• 2010

Piezoelectric materials have become the most attractive functional materials for sensors and actuators in smart structures because they can directly convert mechanical energy to electrical energy and vise versa. They have excellent electromechanical coupling characteristics and excellent frequency response. In this article, the research activities and achievements on the applications of piezoelectric materials in smart structures in China, including vibration control, noise control, energy harvesting, structural health monitoring, and hysteresis control, are introduced. Special attention is given to the introduction of semi-active vibration suppression based on a synchronized switching technique and piezoelectric fibers with metal cores for health monitoring. Such mechanisms are relatively new and possess great potential for future applications in aerospace engineering.

• Ceramist
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.82-95
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• 2019

Piezoelectric materials can directly convert mechanical energy to electrical one, and vice versa. Research on piezoelectric materials and devices has a long history, and now many relevant products are available in a wide range of applications such as medical, military, industrial, home appliance, and mobile electronics. One of the major research trends now is not only to further improve the physical properties of the piezoelectric materials, but also to reduce the size of the piezoelectric devices. This review focuses on the development of piezoelectric thin films that can enhance the performance of microtransducers.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.214-225
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• 2023

Piezoelectric actuators, which utilize piezoelectric crystals or ceramics, are commonly used in precision positioning applications, offering high-speed response and precise control. However, the use of low-performance ceramics and expensive single crystals is limiting their versatile use in the actuator market, necessitating the development of both high-performance and cost-effective piezoelectric materials capable of delivering higher forces and displacements. The use of textured Pb (lead)-based piezoelectric ceramics formed by so-called templated grain growth method has been identified as a promising strategy to address the performance and cost issue. This review article provides insights into recent advances in texturing Pb-based piezoelectric ceramics for improved performance in actuation applications. We discussed the relevant issues in detail focusing on current challenges and emerging trends in the textured piezoelectric ceramics for their reliability and performance in actuator applications. We discussed in detail focusing on current challenges and emerging trends of textured piezoelectric ceramics for their reliability and performance in actuator applications. In conclusion, the article provides an outlook on the future direction of textured piezoelectric ceramics in actuator applications, highlighting the potential for further success in this field.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2019

Piezoelectric energy harvesting technology is attracting attention, as it can be used to convert more accessible mechanical energy resources to periodic electricity. Recent developments in the field of piezoelectric energy harvesters (PEHs) are associated with nanocomposites made from inorganic piezoelectric nanomaterials and organic elastomers. Here, we used the $BaTiO_3$ nanoparticles and piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymeric matrix to fabricate the nanocomposites-based PEH to improve the output performance of PEHs. The piezoelectric nanocomposite is produced by dispersing the inorganic piezo-ceramic nanoparticles inside an organic piezo-polymer and subsequently spin-coat it onto a metal plate. The fabricated organic-inorganic piezoelectric nanocomposite-based PEH harvested the output voltage of ~1.5 V and current signals of ~90 nA under repeated mechanical pushings: these values are compared to those of energy devices made from non-piezoelectric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers and supported by a multiphysics simulation software.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.371-377
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• 2019

A flexible piezoelectric energy harvester(f-PEH) that converts tiny mechanical and vibrational energy resources into electric signals without any restraints is drawing attention as a self-powered source to operate flexible electronic systems. In particular, the nanocomposites-based f-PEHs fabricated by a simple and low-cost spin-coating method show a mechanically stable and high output performance compared to only piezoelectric polymers or perovskite thin films. Here, the non-piezoelectric polymer matrix of the nanocomposite-based f-PEH is replaced by a P(VDF-TrFE) piezoelectric polymer to improve the output performance generated from the f-PEH. The piezoelectric hybrid nanocomposite is produced by distributing the perovskite PZT nanoparticles inside the piezoelectric elastomer; subsequently, the piezoelectric hybrid material is spin-coated onto a thin metal substrate to achieve a nanocomposite-based f-PEH. A fabricated energy device after a two-step poling process shows a maximum output voltage of 9.4 V and a current of 160 nA under repeated mechanical bending. Finite element analysis(FEA) simulation results support the experimental results.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.419-439
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• 2018

Piezoelectric materials are essential parts of the electronics and electrical equipment used for consumer and industrial applications, such as ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers, sensors, actuators, transformers, and resonators. In this review, the development of piezoelectric materials and the figures of merit for various electromechanical applications are surveyed, focusing on piezoelectric crystals, i.e., the high-performance relaxor-$PbTiO_3$-based perovskite ferroelectric crystals and nonferroelectric high-temperature piezoelectric crystals. The uniqueness of these crystals is discussed with respect to different usages. Finally, the existing challenges and perspective for the piezoelectric crystals are discussed, with an emphasis on the temperature-dependent properties, from cryogenic temperatures up to the ultrahigh-temperature usage range.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.232.2-232.2
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• 2015

Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) is a powerful method to characterize inversed piezoelectric effects directly using conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) tips. Piezoelectric domains respond to an applied AC voltage with a characteristic strain via a contact between the tip and the surface of piezoelectric material. Electroactive piezoelectric polymers are widely investigated due to their advantages such as flexibility, light weight, and microactuation enabling various device features. Although piezoelectric polymers are promising materials for wide applications, they have the primary issue that the piezoelectric coefficient is much lower than that of piezoelectric ceramics. Researchers are studying widely to enhance the piezoelectric coefficient of the materials including nanoscale fabrication and copolymerization with some materials. In this report, nanoscale electroactive polymers are prepared by the electrospinning method that provides advantages of direct poling, scalability, and easy control. The main parameters of the electrospinning process such as distance, bias voltage, viscosity of the solution, and elasticity affects the piezoelectric coefficient and the nanoscale structures which are related to the phase of piezoelectric polymers. The characterization of such electroactive polymers are conducted using piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM). Their morphologies are characterized by field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and the crystallinity of the polymer is determined by X-ray diffractometer.