Abstract
The mechanical integrity of piezoelectric ceramics plays a crucial role in the performance and design of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezo stack actuators especially as PZT actuators become physically larger and are sought to operate under harsher conditions. The reliable design of such systems demands additional consideration of a number of issues that include electro-mechanical coupling as well as strength-size scaling. This study addresses some of those issues through the use of ball-on-ring (BoR) equibiaxial flexure strength tests of two PZT piezo ceramics. The BoR biaxial flexure tests were conducted with two PZT materials under different electric fields. Fracture surfaces and failure initiations were analyzed using optical and scanning electronic microscopy. The effects of electric fields on the two-parameter Weibull distribution are discussed. These results will serve as input data for future probabilistic reliability analysis of multilayer PZT piezo actuators.
