Experimental Determination of the Complete Set of Constants for a Polarized Piezoceramic Using a Single Ring-Shaped Specimen

We discuss various methods for experimental determination of the complete set of constants for a polarized piezoceramic using a single ring-shaped specimen. A simulated calculation of the complete set of constants for PZT4 piezoceramic was performed in ANSYS, a finite-element software package. Additional data was obtained by measuring the second overtone of the radial vibrations in the ring. The constants were determined to within 1% or less. The study included the impact of Q-factor on measurements of the piezoceramic constant. We showed that when the piezoceramic constants are calculated via equation, the resonance frequencies must be determined using the peak complex admittance independent of the Q values. Experiments were performed using PKP-12 piezoceramic, and the piezoceramic coefficients were calculated for three standard piezoelement sizes using the resonance/antiresonance method, and for a single ring-shaped sample using the method developed in this paper. The results obtained using these different methods were found to be consistent. The thickness resonance was studied using a method specifically developed to measure this resonance.