Piezoelectricity: Characterization

Piezoelectric materials develop an electric charge when mechanical stress is exerted on them. This electrical response upon mechanical stimulation is known as direct piezoelectric effect. Conversely, an applied electric field produces a proportional strain in these materials. The mechanical response to electrical stimulation is called the converse piezoelectric effect. The Curie brothers demonstrated the piezoelectric effect in crystals of quarz, tourmaline, topaz, cane sugar and Rochelle salt during mid 18th century. Pierre Langevin in 1917 demonstrated the first application of piezoelectric crystal in ultrasonic submarine detector. Since then, these materials are used in many applications viz. piezo buzzer, piezoelectric fuel injection system, piezoelectric acceleration sensor, ultrasonic parking sensor, piezoelectric motors, ultrasonic cleaning bath, piezoelectric inkjet printer head, piezoelectric hard disk drive positioning, piezoelectric igniter to name a few. Natural crystals that possess piezoelectric properties were used extensively during initial stages of development. However, with growing demand for materials with increasing applications, manmade piezoelectric ceramics become industrial standard. Barium titanate, lead zirconate titanate, potassium dihydrogen phosphate are some examples of manmade piezoelectric ceramics. Of late, piezoelectric materials play a vital role in smart structures applications. The effectiveness of piezoelectric materials in various applications is assessed through characterization. These materials are characterized in terms of material properties viz. piezoelectric coefficients, dielectric coefficients, elastic coefficients, coupling coefficients etc. Thus, it is very essential to understand these material properties and their utilization in applications.
This e-book is dedicated in explaining understanding of characteristics of piezoelectric materials, their origin and nature and mathematical representation of piezoelectric material behavior, development of piezoelectric material properties and their applications in vibration damping, energy harvesting and structural health monitoring.

Dr. Nilanjan Mallik, is currently working as Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has more than 18 years of research and teaching experience at undergraduate as well as post graduate levels. He received Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2005 in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, India and received Master of Technology degree in 2000 in Machine Design specialization in Mechanical Engineering from Viweswaraiah Technological University, Karnataka, India and Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1998 in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, West Bengal, India. His research fields are smart materials and structures involving piezoelectric materials, shape memory alloys, optical fiber sensors, electro- and magneto-rheological fluids and nanostructures, smart composites, finite element method, exact solution techniques and related fields. Dr. Mallik was recipient of prestigious BOYSCAST fellowship of Department of Science and Technology, India in the year 2006-07. Under this fellowship scheme he worked as visiting researcher in the Nanoworld Laboratory, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA and received outstanding researcher award for conducting research on spinning carbon nanotubes into threads in the year 2008. He published research in international peer reviewed journals and in proceedings of international and national conferences. He also presented research findings in international and national conferences. He also published a number of books and book chapters. He made one invention disclosure with co-inventors of Nanoworld laboratory. He delivered many invited expert talks in other Institutes on special topics and conducted many short-term courses on specialized topics for faculty and students.