A novel approach for nanoscale imaging and characterization of the orientation dependence of electromechanical properties-vector piezoresponse force microscopy (Vector PFM)-is described. The relationship between local electromechanical response, polarization, piezoelectric constants, and crystallographic orientation is analyzed in detail. The image formation mechanism in vector PFM is discussed...

Whereas ultrasound application has been emerging, the need of reliable transducer to comply with that purpose is also aroused. Multi-resonance transducer using lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric ceramics (PZT) was designed several years ago for dual Doppler and B mode use. As polymer material being popular in medical ultrasound, there are chances to combine it with former piezoelectric mater...

The output of a piezoelectric nanogenerator based on ZnO nanowire is largely affected by the shape of nanowire. In order to obtain mechanically stable nanogenerator with high performance, the investigation of mechanical and electrical characteristics related to the nanowires and materials used in nanogenerators are of great interest and significance. This paper presents the various behavior of ...

The increasing development of smart materials, such as piezoelectric and shape memory alloys, has opened new opportunities for improving repair techniques. Particularly, active repairs, based on the converse piezoelectric effect, can increase the life of a structure by reducing the crack opening. A deep characterization of the electromechanical behavior of delaminated composite structures, acti...

While active fiber composites (AFC) based upon solid cross-section piezoelectric fibers are very useful for anisotropic activation of composites, they require high voltages and are constrained to non-conductive matrix materials. AFC’s based upon hollow cross-section piezoelectric fibers have shown promise to lower operating voltages and broaden the choice of possible matrix materials. This pape...

We investigate the time-harmonic piezoelectric system (a system coupling the elasticity system with the full Maxwell's equations) in polyhedral domains of the space. Existence and uniqueness results of weak solutions are proved in different cases. We describe the corner and edge singularities of that system and deduce some regularity results. 1. Introduction. Smart structures made of piezoelect...

The search for electroceramic materials with enhanced ferro-pyro-piezoelectric properties and revealing the perovskite type structure has been the objective of a significant number of manuscripts reported in the literature. This has been usually carried out by proposing the synthesis and processing of new compounds and solid solution series. In this work, several methods to obtain ferro-pyro-pi...

The development of a method for integrating highly efficient energy conversion materials onto stretchable, biocompatible rubbers could yield breakthroughs in implantable or wearable energy harvesting systems. Being electromechanically coupled, piezoelectric crystals represent a particularly interesting subset of smart materials that function as sensors/actuators, bioMEMS devices, and energy con...

Tissue engineering often rely on scaffolds for supporting cell differentiation and growth. Novel paradigms for tissue engineering include the need of active or smart scaffolds in order to properly regenerate specific tissues. In particular, as electrical and electromechanical clues are among the most relevant ones in determining tissue functionality in tissues such as muscle and bone, among oth...