Effects of loading contact on electric-power generation of lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric ceramic plate

To better understand the generation of electric power for piezoelectric PbZrTiO₃ (PZT) ceramic plate (ϕ25 mm), an attempt was made to investigate experimentally and numerically electric- power generation characteristics during cyclic bending under various loading fixtures (ϕ0–ϕ20 mm), i.e., different contact areas. Increasing the load-contact area on the PZT ceramic leads to a nonlinear decrease in the generated voltage. Decreasing contact area basically enhances the generated voltage, although the voltage saturates during loading when the contact area is less than ϕ5 mm. A similar voltage is generated for ϕ0 and ϕ5 mm, which is attributed to strain status (ratio of compressive and tensile strain) and material failure due to different stress distribution in the PZT ceramic. On the basis of the obtained electric generation voltage, suitable loading conditions are clarified by loading with the ϕ5 mm fixture, which generates a higher voltage and a longer lifetime of the PZT ceramic. From this approach, it is appeared that the area contact with the area ratio of 0.04 (ϕ5 mm/ϕ20 mm) is suitable to obtain the high efficiency of the electric voltage.