Development, characterization and application of piezoelectric ceramic material

ABSTRACT

This study aims to develop a piezoelectric (PZT based) ceramic material that will be used as a vibration sensor to help detect structural failures. Its application will be made with the help of an electronic prototyping platform (arduino). The ceramic powder was prepared by mixing oxides (PbO, ZrO2 and TiO2), respecting the defined composition, being Pb(Zr_0.55Ti_0.45)O₃. The powders were calcined at 850°C for 2h and pressed in tablet form, which were then sintered at 1150°C for 2h. Structural (XRD and Raman), microstructural (SEM, EDS and WDS) and dielectric characterization tests were performed after the development and characterization of the ceramic material, which was applied with the aid of an arduino. The results of XRD demonstrated the formation of the desired PZT phases, the Raman spectroscopy confirmed the rhomboid phase of the material, presenting its characteristic modes in the expected parameters. In SEM analysis a significant increase in the average grain size was observed when compared to the average particle size of the calcined sample. The EDS assay identified the reagents present in the material, the WDS assay presented the average of the percentages of each reagent identified at different points of the sample. In the test of dielectric properties, it was found that the maximum dielectric constant for PZT is 12.693 at a Curie temperature of 366.13°C, which confirms the predicted stoichiometry and that the material presents itself in the rhombohedral phase. The application was made with the aid of the Arduino, where the sensor presented the ability to emit an electrical voltage in response to mechanical pressure. Given the results, the material produced presents potential to be used as a sensor for structural failure detection.

Keywords
Piezoelectric; ferroelectric; PZT; sensor; dielectric