Reliability of Pb(Mg, Nb)O3-Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 multilayer ceramic piezoelectric actuators by Weibull method

Expected lifetime and reliability of multilayer ceramic actuators were considered. 5 · 5 · 5 mm sized multilayer ceramic actuators with 60 ceramic sheet layers embedded internal electrodes were selected in this experimental analysis. Specially selected rectified AC bias was applied to the multilayer ceramic actuators to remove heating during charging and discharging process. Sixteen sets of multilayer ceramic actuators under the different experimental conditions were tested for statistical analysis. Weibull function method was employed to calculate mean time to failure. Arrhenius model and power law model were considered to simulate experimental data. From the experimental data and theoretical consideration, equation of expected lifetime was estimated. 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.