The new P-878 DuraAct Power piezo patch transducer from PI Ceramic uses an operating voltage of only -20 to 120 V; with this, it is the only one of its kind on the world market.
As all previous DuraAct transducers, the P-878 can be used as piezo actuator, sensor or energy harvester. The active layer of the patch transducer consists of a multilayer piezo element that is embedded in a fiber reinforced plastic with a patented method. For displacement, the DuraAct Power uses the d33 effect. The composites are manufactured with a bubble-free injection method. Their polymer coating simultaneously serves as electrical insulation and as mechanical preload, which makes the P-878 bendable.
d33 Effect: What Is Behind DuraAct Power?
Previous all-ceramic transducers require high driving voltages of 250 to 1000 V. They use lateral contraction of the piezo element when applying the electrical voltage, the so-called transversal or d31 effect. In contrast, DuraAct Power multilayer patch transducers use the longitudinal or d33 effect, which describes an elongation parallel to the electric field E and the polarization direction of the piezo actuator. The d33 piezoelectric deformation coefficients for the longitudinal effect are considerably higher than the d31 coefficients for the transversal effect, consequently the attainable displacement is higher too.
PI Ceramic in Brief
Since 1992, PI Ceramic has been developing and manufacturing piezo ceramic materials and components for standard and OEM solutions: Piezo components, ultrasonic transducers, actuators, and system solutions. The PICMA® multilayer actuator technology, which received an award for its reliability, is one of many innovations of PI Ceramic. PI Ceramic, a subsidiary of PI (Physik Instrumente), is located in Lederhose, Thuringia, Germany.
This story is reprinted from material from PI, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.