Thick-Film Based Piezoelectric Material Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) Performance Measurement Using Berlincourt Method

Lead Zirconate Titanate or PZT is a high performance piezoelectric material which is able to generate charges when a proportional amount of stress is applied on the material. It has the potential to be used to fabricate micro-power generator for powering low power electronic devices as well as smart structure to be function as sensors and actuators. One of the indicators for comparing the performance of the smart materials is the piezoelectric charge constant, d33. In this paper, the d33 of PZT fabricated in the form of thick-films were measured using Berlincourt Method whereby a standard dynamic force is applied to the materials and the resultant value of charges is recorded and compared over a period of time after the thick-films were polarized. The value is compared between clamped and unclamped samples which show a difference of about 45 % as a result of clamping effect. The experiment results also show that the thick-film PZT processed at 950 C and polarized at 220 V with a thickness of about 120 um has a piezoelectric charge constant of 82 pC/N

Substrate-free thick-film lead zirconate titanate (pzt) performance measurement using Berlincourt method

Lead Zirconate Titanate or PZT is a high performance piezoelectric material which is able to generate charges when a proportional amount of stress is applied on the material. It has the potential to be used to fabricate micro-power generator for powering low power electronic devices, on top of already existence sensors and actuators. One of the indicators for comparing the performance of the smart materials is the piezoelectric charge coefficient, d33. In this paper, the actual d33 of PZT fabricated in the form of substrate-free thick-films were measured using Berlincourt Method whereby a standard dynamic force is applied to the materials and the resultant value of charges is recorded and compared over a period of time after the thick-films were polarized. The d33 values are compared between substrate-based and substrate-free specimens show a difference of about 45 % as a result of clamping effect contributed by d31. The experiment results also show that the thick-film PZT processed at 950 °C and polarized at 220 V with a thickness of about 120 μm has a piezoelectric charge coefficient of 82 pC/N

Effect of Chemical Treatment on Thermal Properties of Jute Fiber Used in Polymer Composites

In recent years, natural fibers, such as jute has gained significant research interest in order to fabricate fiber reinforced polymer composites. Chemical treatments are generally carried out on the raw fibers for making composites with improved properties. From a composite manufacturing point of view, it is important to understand how the treatments can affect the thermal properties of the jute fiber. In the present research, the effects of rot-retardant, fire-retardant and water-retardant treatments on thermal properties of the jute fiber were investigated. Fiber samples were collected from the middle portion of whole jute fiber. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis were subsequently conducted on the jute fiber for thermal characterization. The results demonstrated a lower thermal decomposition temperature in the case of fire-retardant treated jute fiber but higher residue at above 400 °C, as compared to the raw and other treated fibers. In general, it was found that chemically treated fibers absorbed less heat, in contrast to the raw jute fiber and heat flow became negative in all cases of the treated fibers. This study provides important information about the thermal properties of the treated jute fibers for manufacturing polymer-based composite materials

Effects of Filler Hybridization on the Mechanical Properties of NR/SBR/EPDM Rubber Blends

Hybridization of active fillers is one of the techniques utilized to enhance rubber properties. This study highlights the effects of filler hybridization on the mechanical properties of an industrial applied natural rubber/styrene butadiene rubber/ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (NR/SBR/EPDM) Rubber Mat compound reinforced by non-black fillers. Initially, three different rubber compounds were prepared; i) calcium carbonate (CaCO3)-filled NR [CaCO3NR] as reference sample, ii) precipitated silica (PSi)-filled NR/SBR/EPDM [PSiBR], and iii) calcined clay (ClCy)-filled NR/SBR/EPDM [ClCyBR]. From these compounds, composites of NR/SBR/EPDM were prepared. The ratio of PSi:ClCy was varied to study the effects of filler hybridization. CaCO3 was added for cost advantage industrially and its level was fixed. It was found that inclusions of ClCy and PSi individually and their hybridizations show higher tensile and tear strengths than the reference sample. Particularly, the largest improvement was found with the amount of ClCy which is higher than PSi. A ratio of PSi:ClCy in this particular range (1:2 to 2:3), seems to provide the optimum packing factor for good interaction between the fillers. SEM analysis suggests that better dispersion and packing of fillers due to size and shape of hybrid fillers play an important role in improving the composite properties

Physical, mechanical and thermal properties of jute and bamboo fiber reinforced unidirectional epoxy composites

A detailed investigation of physical, mechanical and thermal properties of jute and bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy resin unidirectional void free composites was carried out. The composites were prepared by using vacuum technique. Scanning electron microscopic analysis, tensile and flexural testing and thermogravimetric analysis were performed in order to evaluate surface morphology, mechanical properties and thermal behavior of the unidirectional composites respectively. The relationship between theoretical and experimental values was figured out using rules of mixture. The analytical results showed good agreement with the experimental results. Comparing jute and bamboo fiber reinforced unidirectional composites, it is observed that bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites showed good results in terms of tensile strength, while jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites had higher Young\u27s modulus values. Bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites showed good flexure strength in the longitudinal distribution. On the other hand, jute fiber reinforced epoxy composited had better flexural strength with transverse fiber distribution in the composites. Fiber distribution was not uniform for both bamboo and jute fiber reinforced unidirectional epoxy composites. Scanning electron microscopic analysis showed that morphological changes took place depending on the fiber orientation in epoxy composites. It is also observed from thermogravimetric analysis that jute fiber reinforced epoxy composites had better thermal behavior compared to bamboo fiber reinforced epoxy composites

Effect of nano- and micro- reinforced agents on dry sliding wear of polyester composites

Dry sliding wear of polyester hybrid composites containing carboxylic functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) and microparticles, silica (SiO2) was studied at different sliding distances. An attempt has been made to produce uniform dispersion of nano- and micro- particles in the test samples by ultrasonication. The tribological properties of the hybrid composites were performed by using pin-on-disc (POD) tester against grey cast iron countersurface. The dry sliding wear tests were carried out under pressure-velocity (pv) condition of 0.4 MPa and 4 m/s for total sliding distance of 28800 m and at an interval of every sliding distance of 3600 m, wear properties and behavior were studied. The samples containing 10 wt.% silica (microparticles) with and without CNT always show increase in coefficient of friction at the expense of wear rate. However, samples containing only CNT have the lowest wear rate with the increase in coefficient of friction. Sliding distance studies also provide the information on wear rates which were ever changing at different sliding distances whereas average coefficient of friction did not vary throughout the tests. SEM observations of wear surfaces showed different wear morphologies when reinforcement (CNT or SiO2) incorporated into the composites either alone or in combination

On The Use Of Nano Fibrillated Kenaf Cellulose Fiber As Reinforcement In Polylactic Acid Biocomposites

In this study, nano fibrillated kenaf cellulose (NFKC) derived from kenaf fiber after varying chemico-mechanical treatments were introduced into poly lactic acid (PLA) as reinforcements to improve the mechanical and morphological properties of the biocomposites. The new strategy was aiming to realize the synergistic effects of chemical treatment and mechanical fibrillation process parameters (blending speed and time) for yielding nanofibers and its reinforcement effects on the properties of biocomposites. The yield percentage of the NFKC was determined using centrifugal method and the NFKC fibers with PLA pellet were hot pressed to form NFKC-PLA composites. The distribution and dispersion morphologies of NFKC in NFKC-PLA composites were observed by using optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The reinforcing effect on the mechanical properties of NFKC-PLA composite was investigated by tensile strength test. Average length and diameter of fibrillated fibers were decreased with the concurrent increase of blending speed and time. The maximum increase in tensile strength of 59.32% and elongation of 100% were observed for NFKC-PLA composite with NFKC yielded at a blending speed and time of 15000 rpm and 15 minutes as compared to pure PLA. The tensile properties indicated that the strength and modulus were improved with increased nanofiber contents

Prediction and Optimization of Compressive Load of a Green Composite Material from Natural Fiber Using Statistical Approach

In the area of technological advancement, environmental awareness are always drawing the attention of the scientists for eco-friendly and recyclable products. Different kinds of composite materials are available in the world fabricated from different materials. Natural composite fabricated from natural fiber are attracted the researchers because of their unique characteristics like bio-degradable, availability, non-toxic nature etc. In this study, a new composite materials of epoxy matrix reinforced with three different fillers (banana fiber, jute fiber and jute fabricate bio-degradable polythene) have been prepared by die molding process. Different cylindrical block have been made using different types of fiber size with equal weight ratio and different weight ratio of fiber and epoxy resin. The center composite design protocol along with the response surface method has been adopted for compression testing of composite materials. A quadratic model has been proposed to predict the compressive load of the molded green composite materials within five levels of the two process parameters. Statistical tools are used for best fitting of the developed quadratic model and desirability analysis is coupled with it in order to find out the optimum process condition for which maximum compressive load is achieved. It has been observed that grain size more than 1 mm and the weight ratio between fiber and resin close to 50% shows the better compressive strength for this particular composite material within this experimental limit

Effect of Sliding Velocity on Wear Behavior of Magnesium Composite Reinforced with SiC and MWCNT

AbstractThis paper investigates the tribological characteristics of magnesium (Mg) composites prepared by powder metallurgy route. Attempt was made to identify the effect of filler types (i.e. micro-sized silicon carbide (SiC) particles and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)) on Vickers hardness, specific wear rate and coefficient of friction of magnesium composite. Experiment was conducted under dry sliding condition using a pin-on-disc configuration against a grey cast iron counterbody at a constant load of 40N with different sliding velocities (0.5, 1.5 and 3.5 m/s) at sliding distance of 5000 m. Throughout this work, hardness value increased with the addition of SiC and MWCNT. The coefficient of friction and specific wear rate varied with the sliding velocities, hence indicating that different wear mechanisms are taking place at different sliding velocities. The coefficient of friction at the highest sliding velocity of 3.5m/s was independent of filler types. However, the incorporation of MWCNT minimized the specific wear rate of the composite at sliding velocity of 3.5m/s