Measurement of flexoelectric effect in lead zirconate titanate ceramics

Abstract

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics is usually used as a piezoelectric material. However it has characteristics of not only piezoelectricity but also flexoelectricity. Piezoelectricity is a phenomenon that electric polarization is induced by strain, and flexoelectricity is the one that the polarization is induced by strain gradient. In this study, flexoelectricity in poled soft PZT ceramics is measured. In order to eliminate influence of piezoelectricity, PZT ceramic thin plates are subjected pure bending using four-point bending experimental mechanism. Strain gradient along the direction of thickness in the plate is caused by the bending motion. Electric charge between two electrodes which is set on the center of the plate surface is measured under quasi-static sinusoidal load. Even though the polarization for piezoelectric effect is eliminated by the experimental setup, the influence of piezoelectric effect still remains since polarization by piezoelectricity is much larger than the one by flexoelectricity. So the influence of piezoelectricity is eliminated using qualitative difference between piezoelectricity and flexoelectricity for poling direction. Eventually, flexoelectric coefficient of the order of 10-5 C/m is measured. Copyright © 2011 by JSME.