Electro-Mechanical Coupling Performances of a Piezoelectric Bimorph

Abstract

The influence of electro-mechanical operation conditions on the actuation capabilities of the piezoelectric bimorph is investigated in this paper. The objective is to compare the performance of the piezoelectric bimorph in different operation conditions and to determine the optimum operating conditions. An experimental set-up is built, and a series of experiments are presented to investigate the static and dynamic characteristics of the bimorph, including tip displacements of the bimorph under different preloads, dynamic response at different drive frequencies, step response and creep. Some properties such as displacement output, force output and hysteresis of the piezoelectric bimorph under different operating conditions are evaluated. Experimental results indicate strong dependence of both elastic and piezoelectric properties of the bimorph on the operating conditions.