The usefulness of most high technology devices such as cell phones, computers, and sensors is limited by the storage capacity of batteries. In the future, these limitations will become more pronounced as the demand for wireless power outpaces battery development which is already nearly optimized. Thus, new power generation techniques are required for the next generation of wearable computers, w...

We report the piezoelectric properties of ZnO nanowires (NWs) obtained by using a nanoindenter with a conductive boron-doped diamond tip. The direct piezoelectric effect was measured by performing nanoindentations under load control, and the generated piezoelectric voltage was characterized as a function of the applied loads in the range 0.2-6 mN. The converse piezoelectric effect was measured ...

Despite the significant potential of organic piezoelectric materials in the electro-mechanical or mechano-electrical applications that require light and flexible material properties, the intrinsically low piezoelectric performance as compared to traditional inorganic materials has limited their full utilization. In this study, we demonstrate that dimensional reduction of poly(vinylidene fluorid...

The intrinsic hysteresis behavior of piezoelectric material limits the tracking control accuracy of the actuators. This paper describes a tracking control method for piezoelectric actuators based on the combination of feedforward and feedback loops. The hysteresis of piezoelectric actuators is linearized in feedforward loop with an inverse hysteresis model based on a neural network. The number ...

Energy harvesting is the process of foraging electrical energy from energy sources available in the environment. This paper reviews energy harvesting technology using PZT as the specific piezoceramic material with its modules to determine the capacitance for optimal energy-storage in piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting (VEH) systems . It reviews various applications of piezoelectric energ...

Polar tweed was discovered in mechanically stressed LaAlO3. Local patches of strained material (diameter ca. 5 μm) form interwoven patterns seen in birefringence images, Piezo-Force Microscopy (PFM) and Resonant Piezoelectric Spectroscopy (RPS). PFM and RPS observations prove unequivocally that electrical polarity exists inside the tweed patterns of LaAlO3. The local piezoelectric effect varies...

In this chapter, the indirect Trefftz collocation method is applied to solve the inverse Cauchy problem of linear piezoelectricity. The static analysis of coupled fields in 2D piezoelectric solids is considered. The piezoelectric material is modelled as a homogenous, linear elastic, linear dielectric and transversal isotropic. The T-functions are obtained by the Stroh formalism. The inverse Cau...

The method to obtain electrical equivalent models of piezoelectric materials used in energy harvesting road traffic environment is presented in this paper. The experimental results are processed in order to determine the optimal topological structure and technology of the semiconductor elements used in the input stage of the power harvesting system. The non regulated power supply model under va...

This study analyses the possibility of reprocessing used poly(vinylidene fluoride), PVDF, maintaining the main properties critical for its use in piezoelectric sensor/actuator applications. The influence of multiple reprocessing cycles of PVDF on crystallinity and ß-phase content fundamental for its electroactive behaviour, was studied. Nine reprocessing cycles were completed and it was found t...

Tonpilz acoustic transducers for use underwater often include a stack of piezoelectric material pieces polarized along the length of the stack and having alternating polarity. The pieces are interspersed with electrodes, bonded together, and electrically connected in parallel. The stack is normally much shorter than a quarter wavelength at the fundamental resonance frequency so that the mechani...