Study of resonance fatigue properties of piezoelectric ceramics using new fatigue testing system

To better understand the material damage of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics, fatigue tests have been carried out using a newly proposed testing system. The material damage was evaluated with the change in sonar intensity from the ceramics, where a sensing control was operated using a condenser microphone system. This testing system produces cyclic loading with a wide range of fatigue frequencies: 1 Hz–72 kHz. The influence of fatigue frequency on the fatigue properties of a PZT ceramic has been investigated, and it appeared that the fatigue strength is not linearly correlated with the fatigue frequency. The reason for this is due to the resonance caused by the oscillation. Thus, the fatigue frequency can change the severity of sample vibration. The extent of sample vibration is associated with the sonar intensity from the ceramic, which is linearly related to the crack growth rate. Details of the resonance fatigue properties have been systematically examined.