PIEZOELECTRIC TUBES AND TUBULAR COMPOSITES FOR ACTUATOR AND SENSOR APPLICATIONS

Piezoelectric actuators and sensors made with a tubular structure can provide a great agility of effective response in the radial direction. For a radially poled piezoelectric tube, the effective piezoelectric constant in that direction can be tuned to be positive, zero or negative by varying the ratio of the outer radius (R(o)) to the inner radius (r(o)) of the tube. For a suitable ratio of R(o)/r(o), this effective constant can also be changed in sign or set to zero by adjusting the d.c. bias field level for tubes made of electrostrictive materials. Therefore, one can make a piezoelectric transducer with all the effective piezoelectric tensile constants having the same sign. End-capped thin-walled tubes also exhibit an exceptionally high hydrostatic response, and the small size of the tubular structure makes it very suitable for integration into a 1-3 composite which possesses low acoustic impedance and high hydrostatic response.