The Effect of Electrode Pattern on the Behavior of Piezoelectric Actuators in a Circular Diaphragm Structure

Abstract

The relationship between electrical loading and the deflected behavior of circular composite plates relies on the piezoelectric properties of the material, thickness of each layer, edge conditions, and the electrode pattern used. In particular, this study examines the effect of electrode pattern on the resulting deflection of circular actuators. An analytical model is presented with which to optimize the electrode pattern, and then experimental results are obtained to validate the model. Four sets of clamped unimorph circular diaphragm actuators, with different `regrouped' electrode patterns and piezoelectric coverage, are tested. According to analytical and experimental results, it is shown that a factor of five increase in diaphragm deflection can be obtained with regrouping. This increase in transverse deflection allows optimization of volumetric displacement, which can enable minimization of the device to provide some advantages in space-limited applications.