2015

APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOE LECTRICITY

Sakti Prasanna Muduli
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELE CTRICITY 2

APPLICAT IONS OF PIEZOELECTRI CITY

Sakti Pr. Muduli

Government College of Engineering, Keonj har

Piezoelectricity is a concept of conversion of mechan ical energy to electrical energy and vice versa, not by any
electromag netic principle but by the process of Polarization. Piezoelectric effect was first discovered in the year
of 1880 but the application regarding piezoelectricity starts in 20th century. Now-a-days piezoelectric materials
are regarded as smart materials due to the am azing property. Including some natur al occurring crystals
(Quartz, Rochells salt, Topaz), artificial cry stals and polymers also show piezoelectric property. Piezoelectric ity
is found in useful applicatio ns such as the production and detec tion of sound, generation of high voltages,
electronic frequency g eneration. Due to plenty availabili ty of materials and wide ranges of applications in fields
such as sensor s, transducers, motor, speaker, ultrasonic techniques, digital oscilla tor, this is a material concept
for a dvance technologies. This not only provides a wide range of applications but also a large field of research
for modern technologies s uch as piezo accelerometer, ener gy harvesting, in biomedical sensors ect.
Piezoelectricity is not limited to advance technology but also in daily life equipments such as L PG gas lighter,
general quartz clock, buzzers in alarm and l oud speakers, microphones.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 3

CONTENTS

Introduction to piezoelectricity

Cause of piezoelectricity

Discovery and History

Types of piezoelectric materials

Application fields

As a high voltage source

Sensors

Actuators

As frequency standard

Sonic and Ultrasonic applications

Motor

Mechanism of some applications

LPG lighter

Quartz clock and Crystal Oscillator

Piezoelectric trnasformer

Piezoelectric Accelerometer

Energy harvesting

Conclusion

References
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 4

INTRODUCTION TO PIEZOELECTRICITY

The conversion of mechanical energy into electrical one is generally achieved by means of electromagnetism
(elecrto-magnetic induction). But there are other physical phenomena that can also convert mechanical energy into
electricity directly, one of which is piezoelectricity.

Piezoelectric Effect is the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied
mechanical stress and reverse process is also possible.

The word piezoelectricity is derived from a Greek word pizo or piezein which means to squeeze or press.

Hence the piezoelectric effect exists in two domains.

Direct piezoelectric effect: Converts mechanical stress to emf

Reverse piezoelectric effect: Converts electrical energy to mechanical compression or expansion

These two effects are described in the figure bellow

Figure 1
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 5

First figure shows the direct piezoelectric effect; i.e when a piezoelectric material is subjected to mechanical stress,
the voltmeter connected to its other two surface shows +ve deflection, hence electro motive force(emf) is
generated.

Second one shows the reverse piezoelectric effect; i.e when voltage is applied on two opposite surfaces of a
piezoelectric material that shows expansion.

Polarity of emf according to type of force:

The polarity emf generated across to surfaces of a piezoelectric material depends upon the type of force it is
subjected to; i.e force is compressive or tensile. The following figures explain detail about it.

Figure 2 Figure 3

In figure 2 shown above, when a compressive force(squeezed) is applied to a piezo electric material, emf produced
is +ve in nature. Remaining the connection same if the material is subjected to a tensile force(stretched) then the
polarity will be opposite.

Recent technlogies are all based upon automation and automation is incomplete without sensors, tranducers and
actuarors. Many pressure sensors, microphones are using this piezoelectricity as the basis. Hence this is
animportant topic to discuss about the applications of pizoelectricity.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELE CTRICITY 6

CAUSE O F PIEZOELECTRIC ITY

Piezoelectric effe ct is formed in crystal having no centre of symmetry. To understand the whole mechanism we hav
e to first know about the centre of sym metry. To explain this, we have to look at the individual molecules th at
make up the crystal. Each molecule has polarization, one end is more negatively charged and the other end is
positively charged, and is called a dipole. This is a result of the atoms that make up the molecule a nd the way the
molecules are shaped. The polar axis is an imaginary line t hat runs through the centre of thos e dipoles.

In a mono-crystal the polar axes of all of the dip oles lie in one direction. The crysta l is said to be symmetrical
because if you were to cut the crystal at any point, the resultant polar axes of the two pieces would lie in the same
direction as the original. Figure 4

In a poly-crystal, th ere are different regions within the material that have a different polar axis. It is asymmetrical.
Figure illustrates this concept. Figure 5

Fig.4 Symmetric pola r axis Fig.5 Asymmetric polar axis

Mechanism:

Normally, the charges in a piezoelectric crystal are exactly balanced, even if they're not s ymmetrically arranged.

The effects of the c harges exactly cancel out, leaving no net charge on the crystal faces
If crystal is squeezed, the charges are forced to be out of balance.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 7

Now the effects of the charges (their dipole moments) no longer cancel one another out and net positive and
negative charges appear on opposite crystal faces. By squeezing the crystal, a voltage is

produced across its opposite facesand that's piezo electric effect. The above four processes are shown in the
figures bellow;

Figure. 6,7,8,9

If the material is compressed, then a voltage of the same polarity as the poling voltage appears between the
electrodes. If stretched, a voltage of opposite polarity appears.

Conversely, if a voltage is applied the material deforms. A voltage with the opposite polarity as the poling voltage
causes the material to expand, and a voltage with the same polarity causes the material to compress.

If an AC signal is applied then the material will vibrate at the same frequency as the signal.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 8

DSCOVERY AND HISTROY

Piezoelectric effect was first proven in 1880 by the French Physicist brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie. They
combine their knowledge of Pyroelectric effect and the crystal structure of respective materials. Pyroelectric effect
describes the generation of electric potential in response to temperature change. Among the materials showing
Pyroelectricity, Quartz, Rochells salt, Tourmaline, Topaz shows the piezoelectricity most.

Fig. 10 Pierre Curie Fig. 11 Jacques Curie

Curies did not predict the converse or reverse piezoelectric effect. In 1881 Gabriel Lippmann mathematically
deduced this concept and Curie brother confirmed it.

The first application of piezoelectricity was SONAR, i.e ultrasonic submarine detector. That technology used
transducers having quartz crystal. This was the time of first-world war. After the success of SONAR, record player,
ultrasonic transducers for measurement of viscosity and elasticity were used. During second-world war United-
states, Russia, Japan discovered a new class of synthetic materials those having better
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 9

piezoelectric effect than naturally occurring materials such as quartz. Then ceramic piezoelectric materials were
produced and developed.

One significant example of the use of piezoelectric crystals was developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories. Following
first-world war, Frederick R. Lack developed the AT cut crystal, a crystal that operated through a wide range of
temperatures. Lack's crystal didn't need the heavy accessories previous crystal used, facilitating its use on aircraft.
This development allowed Allied air forces.

TYPES OF PIEZOELECTRIC MATERIAL

The interesting thing about Piezoelectricity is both natural and synthetic materials are available. Here is the list of
piezoelectric materials given bellow.

Naturally occurring materials:

Non-biological Biological material

1) Quartz(SiO2) 1) Dry Bone

2) Berlinite (AlPO4) 2) Tendon
3) Sucrose (table sugar) 3) Silk
4) Rochelle salt 4) Wood
5) Topaz(Al2SiO4(F,OH)2) 5) Enamel
6) Tourmaline-group minerals 6) Dentin
7) Lead titanate (PbTiO3) 7) DNA

Synthetic materials:

Synthetic Crystals
Gallium orthophosphate (GaPO4)

Langasite (La3Ga5SiO14)

B) Synthetic Ceramics C) Lead-free Ceramics

APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 10

1) Barium titanate (BaTiO3) 1) Sodium potassium niobate

2) Lead zirconate titanate ((K,Na)NbO3)
3) Potassium niobate (KNbO3) 2) Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3)
4) Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) 3) Sodium niobate (NaNbO3)
5) Lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) 4) Bismuth titanate(Bi4Ti3O12)
6) Sodium tungstate 5) Sodium bismuth titanate

Zinc oxide (ZnO)

Some nano-structured semiconductor crystal having non central symmetry (such as the Group III-V and II-VI
materials, due to polarization of ions under applied stress and strain e.g GaN, InN, AlN and ZnO). ZnO is the most
used material in the recent field of piezoelectricity.

Some Polymers (PVDF- Polyvinylidene fluoride) and some organic nano structures also show this property.

Barium titanate was the first piezoelectric ceramic discovered.

Lead zirconate titanate is the most common piezoelectric ceramic in use today.

APPLICATION FIELDS

Due to the intrinsic characteristics of piezoelectric materials, there is a wide range of applications such as sensors,
actuators, crystal oscillator, ultrasonic application, piezo-motor ect. Sensors and actuators have great importance in
instrumentation and automotive sectors. Crystal oscillator is used in almost all microprocessor based systems.
Before 2010 demand of piezo electric devices was very high but material productions are not significant. Now
piezoelectronics is experiencing the fastest growth. Here some of the applications fields and respective examples
are explained. Some of the examples are explained later in detail.

As High Voltage Power Source:

Some piezoelectric substances like quartz can generate potential differences of thousand volts, during sufficient
mechanical stress is applied. This high voltage pulse can be used to generate spark, micro scale energy
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 11

harvesting, piezoelectric transformer. Following are some examples of uses-

LPG stove Lighter and Cigarette lighter

II. Energy harvesting in micro scale (New concept)

III. Piezoelectric transformer (New concept)

From the above uses Lighter Mechanism and Energy harvesting are explained later in detail.

Advantages:-

This method of creating spark doesnt require any power source like battery.

High voltage pulse can be generated without any electrical instrument.

Disadvantages:-

Only the disadvantage is that voltages only can be produce in form of pulses.

Sensors and Actuators:

Piezoelectric materials can be used to convert pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain or force direct to electrical
emf. Hence the above parameters can be sensed or measured by means of such materials. Piezoelectric sensors are
versatile tools for the measurement of various processes. They are used for quality assurance, process control and
for research development in many industries. Generally after 1950 piezoelectric effect was started to be used as
sensors and transducers. Some of the examples of piezo sensors are given below-

High precision piezoelectric microphones II. Electric guitar pickup

III. Piezoelectric micro balance (very sensitive chemical and biological sensors)

Electronic drum pad VI. Pressure sensors

VII. Accelerometer (New concept)

APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 12

VIII. In automobile Engine Management Systems(Knock sensor, Vibration sensor)

An actuator is the mechanism by which a control system acts upon an environment. Actuator operated by a source
of energy typically electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure and converts that energy to
motion. In piezoelectric actuators converse effect is used. By applying voltage the material changes its shape and
this concept can be used to provide pressure in micro scale at very high precision than hydraulic and pneumatic
pressure. We can use this technology to control operating of small nozzles (ink jet printer), micro scale movement.
The advance version of piezoelectric actuator is amplified piezoelectric actuator. These dont require any lubricants.
Some examples-

Loud speaker (voltage causes the vibration of piezoelectric polymer film)

II. In high precision microscope for movement of lenses III. Inkjet printer (to drive the ejection of ink towards paper)

X ray shutter

VI. Camera lens movement

Advantages:

Accuracy is very high than other sensors.

Construction is easy.

Actuators dont need lubricants due to absence of moving parts.

Disadvantages:

The actuators may require voltages of 100v range.

Only micro scale movement is possible.

As Frequency standard:

Some piezoelectric crystals like quartz vibrate in a defined natural frequency when pulse is applied. They use both
direct and reverse piezoelectric effect. As the result of vibration they provide reverse pulse. The mechanism can be
used to mark the time and hence can be used as frequency standard.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 13

General quartz clock

Crystal oscillator to provide reference clock pulse to microprocessor based devices.

Mechanism of quartz clock is explained latter.

Sonic and ultrasonic applications:

By providing voltage pulse of high frequency to a piezoelectric material film it vibrates in frequency providing sonic
and ultrasonic sound wave which can be used for

Underwater submarine detection II. Ultrasound in medical technology III. Metal fault detection

For receiving that ultrasonic wave piezoelectric transducers are used too.

Piezoelectric motor:

Although piezoelectricity was a known concept Ultrasonic piezoelectric motor was a completely new concept
during 21st century. A piezoelectric motor or piezo motor is a type of electric motor based upon the change in
shape of a piezoelectric material when an electric field is applied. Piezoelectric motors make use of the converse
piezoelectric effect whereby the material produces acoustic or ultrasonic vibrations in order to produce a linear or
rotary motion due to friction. Different types of motors such as Speed and precision motor, Stepper motor, low
speed and high torque motor have respective different designs and principle of operation but basic mechanism is
same as described above. These motors are very small in size as shown in the figure
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 14

Figure 12 Figure 13

Figure 12 shows a very small size rotary piezo motor figure 13 is of a valve control motor; it is also very small in size.

Piezoelectric motors are used in sigh precision rotation and linear movement such as

Movement of camera lens II. Rotation of radar

III. Very small scale valve control

IV. Laser movement in case of biomedical modern operations

Advantages:

Negligible effect from external magnetic or radioactive fields, and also no generation of these fields

High resolution and high accuracy

Rapid response, dynamic range of 4kHz

Wide range of angular steps and angular velocities

Scalable customizable design

Disadvantages:

Necessity for a high frequency power supply

Large scale devices are impossible

APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELE CTRICITY 15

MECHANISM OF SOME APPLICA TIONS

There is a wide r ange of applications of piezoelectri city in the fields of domestic, industrial, automobile,
biomedical, laborato ry, aerospace engineering ect. Some of the applications are categorised and listed above but
in this section mechanism of some common applications and some emerging new technologies which are going to
be develop ed in future are described.

1. Mechanism of LPG Stove lighter

Fig. 14
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 16

Many years ago Neanderthal man used stones to get spark and then used spark to light fire and cook his hunting. It
was the first step towards mans progress and prosperity. In present days we are using LPG stoves in our kitchen.
Even wonder that a small force of thumb can produce a spark easily to light the fire on stove.

Even we dont require a match box which may have the possibility of limited stick, weather condition and not the
spark but a fire comes, which may be dangerous near LPG. So we use a simple lighter. There are also electric
lighters which use battery power for spark generation; but battery has limited power so we get limited times of
spark and we need to change the battery within certain periods. Hence all the battery lighters are replaced by
piezoelectric lighters.

Outside of gas lighter there is a bottom and that bottom is attached to a hammer & spring. On the other end of the
lighter there is a Piezo-ceramic crystal.

When the bottom is pressed, first the hammer is moved away from the crystal and the spring gets charged. When
the bottom is pressed beyond a limit, the spring is discharged with releasing the hammer.

Soon the hammer hits the piezo-ceramic crystal and a high voltage of about 800v is generated across the crystal.

One wire from one crystal end and a metallic rod connected on the other end. There is a small gap between the rod
end and open terminal of wire.

Due to high voltage, air breakdown occurs and spark is produced. That lights up the gas coming outside from the
tank.

The ceramic, used, is PTZ (Lead Zirconate Titanate), which has very low cost and high sensitive.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 17

Figure 15

Piezoelectric spark producers are small devices (1 inch), used both in LPG lighters and cigarette lighters. In cigarette
lighters a single switch works for both spark production and gas release and as the result fire glows. Spark occurs
once but fire exists till the switch is pressed. Following is the different parts of a cigarette lighter and a piezoelectric
spark producer:
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 18

Fig. 16 Fig. 17

The internal structure of the small spark generator is shown in fig.

Now automatic LPG cooking stoves are also available in which spark generator is already present.

Advantages:

Very safe to use

Doesnt require any battery or stone

It is reliable.

Works for many years

Mechanism of Quartz clock:
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 19

Fig. 18

Time is the only dimension that controls everything in this world. There is no start and end point of time scale. But
we have assumed or marked the years, months and days. For us sunrise, sunset, movement of moon ect are time
scales. But in a day we need a clock to track the time accurately. From starting days of civilisation man try to track
time with many concepts such as sun clock, sands of time (hour glass). Then comes mechanical clock and pendulum
clock; but they shows many problems. Then quartz clock came. We know that quartz is a piezoelectric material.
Before the mechanism of quartz clock we should know about the history of quartz clock-

1927 First quartz clock was built by Warren Marrison & J W Horton at Bell Telephone laboratory.

1967 First European Quartz clock for consumers by Astrochone

1969 First Quartz wrist watch by Calibrer, Japan

During 1980 due to development of solid state digital electronics it was possible to make compact and inexpensive
quartz clock.

Present days all the clocks, we are using, that may be digital, analog, wrist watch, wall clock, are quartz clocks.

Here is the figure showing internal parts of a quartz wrist watch.

APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 20

Fig. 19

Battery

Electric stepping motor

Microchip

Circuit connects microchip to other components

Quartz crystal oscillator

Crown screw for setting time

Gears turn hour, minute, and second hands at different speeds

Tiny central shaft holds hands in place

Mechanism:
Chemically, quartz is a compound called silicon dioxide (SiO2), and is a piezoelectric material. Clocks use Quartz
crystal oscillator, which looks like a simple circuit component as capacitor or resistor but its internal structure is
somewhat different as shown in the figure 20 and 21.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 21

Fig. 20 Fig. 21

Quartz crystal inside the oscillator is bifurcated like a tuning fork. The amazing cause that why quartz, not other
piezoelectric crystal, is used in clock is when an electric pulse is applied, the crystal vibrate in a constant
frequency that is 32,768Hz = 215Hz. Because of reverse piezoelectric effect it also generates electric pulse of same
frequency. As the frequency is the power of two, that can be easily converted to 1Hz frequency digitally. 1Hz
frequency is required to drive the second hand of a clock. Overall mechanism is as described below

Battery provides current to input microchip circuit

Input microchip circuit makes quartz crystal (precisely cut and shaped like a tuning fork) oscillate (vibrate) 32768
times per second.

Output microchip circuit detects the crystal's oscillations and turns them into regular electric pulses, one per
second.

Electric pulses drive miniature electric stepping motor. This converts electrical energy into mechanical power.
Electric stepping motor turns gears.

Gears sweep hands around the clock-face to keep time.

The above is the mechanism of how an analog watch works. But mechanism digital clock is not different. In digital
clock the output of second
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 22

micro chip is given to seven segment display and counters are used for minute and hour calculation.

A question may arise in our mind that why the clock gain or lose time. Quartz crystal has a constant vibration
frequency of 32,768Hz, but this may vary up to 0.06Hz due to temperature change. Due to this reason clock gains
or lose small time.

Clock is not the only application of crystal oscillator, but all most every digital system requires a frequency standard
to run hence they also use crystal oscillator of different size and different frequency rating. Some of them and the
internal structure is shown below

Fig. 22 Fig. 23
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 23

Piezoelectric transformer:

We all are acquainted with the term Transformer, which is a static piece of device that step up, down or keep
same value of voltage or current keeping the frequency constant by the principle of electromagnetic induction.
Generally there are two windings in a common transformer named primary & secondary and their no of turns are
according to our requirement. Both windings are electrically isolated but connected magnetically through the core.

Piezoelectric transformers are an alternative to wire wound magnetic transformers. They behave differently and
have a number of advantages, e.g., they are lighter and smaller, and they have excellent electrical isolation and no
magnetic stray flux. For these reasons they have been used as high voltage generators in CCFL (Cold Cathode
Fluorescent Lamp) backlighting inverters for LCD (Liquid Crystal

Display) of Laptop computers as the crystal units dont have light itself. Piezoelectric transformers also can be step
up and step down. The design of piezoelectric transformer was first given by Dr. Rosen in 1950. Generally in this
purpose the material used is barium titanate-based ceramics. There are different modes of piezo effect as shown

Fig. 24 Fig. 25

Fig 24 Longitudinal mode piezoelectric element. The direction of the operating stress, T, is parallel to the
polarization direction.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 24

Fig.25 Transverse mode piezoelectric element. The direction of the operating stress, T, is perpendicular to the
polarization direction

Mechanism:

Unlike magnetic transformers that based on electromagnetic energy transfer, piezoelectric transformers exchange
electric potential with mechanical force. A typical multi-layer PZT(Piezoelectric transformer) with longitudinal-
mode geometry is shown in Figure 26.

Fig. 26

Above figure shows a typical longitudinal mode of piezoelectric transformer for the use of CCFL application. Vin is
connected across primary piezo layers and Vout is connected across both primary and secondary materials in
transverse.

An ac voltage is applied to the VIN electrodes, causing mechanical expansion and compression in the thickness
direction.

This displacement on the primary is transferred as a force in the longitudinal or length direction.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 25

Mechanical resonance occurs Due to transverse and longitudinal vibration.

Voltage gain is a function of the PZT is given by

= ()

Where

g() = piezoelectric material coefficient which is a function of vibrational frequency.

Layer is the no of primary piezo layers

Length refers to overall length

Variation of mechanical displacement and stress with respect to overall length are shown in the same figure.

At an instance mechanical stress is +ve in primary side as voltage is applied longitudinal to the layers of piezo
material where as that is negative in rest part because current is drawn in transverse direction.

We know that longitudinal compression causes transverse

expansion. Thats why mechanical displacement is +ve in the middle. We can draw the electrical equivalent circuit
for piezoelectric transformer as shown

Fig. 27

Capacitances Cinput and Coutput are due to the ceramic crystal. Cinput is much greater than Coutput, because
input crystal is layered. Series LRC circuit is due to the mechanical resonance.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 26

This is an example of step up transformer. Using same concept step down transformer also can be designed.
Piezoelectric Transformer can be further modified to be used in DC-DC converter and electronic ballasts for
fluorescent lamps. Advantages of piezoelectric transformer are explained as the comparison with electromagnetic
transformer.

Piezoelectric transformer Electromagnetic Transformer

Use electro-mechanical Use electro-magnetic

principle principle
Smaller in size Comparatively larger
More efficiency Less efficiency
Lower cost Higher cost
Lighter due to no metallic part Heavier due to all metallic
parts
No heating effect Heating effect is present
Lower electromagnetic noise Higher electromagnetic
and stray noise and stray losses
Operating voltage is limited Can be used in both small
and large scale is impossible and large scale
Only sinusoidal smooth wave Any alternating wave can be
is suitable for operation treated
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 27

Piezoelectric accelerometer:

Accelerometer is a device that measures acceleration i.e rate of change of velocity. We can say accelerometer is a
sensor that senses motion of body to which it is attached. Accelerometers have multiple applications in industry
and science. Highly sensitive accelerometers are components of initial navigation system for aircraft and missiles.
Followings are the fields where accelerometers are used

In navigation systems of rockets, aeroplanes, ships ect

Automobile airbag system

Seismometer

Gradiometer (two accelerometers are combined to detect planner surface)

Smart phones, tablet pc, computer, mp3 players(orientation sensors and for gaming)

Modern washing machines

And a lot of industrial applications

An accelerometer developed by Honeywell in the 1980s for use on the space shuttle. Due to such vast applications
of accelerometer, it works as a very important sensor.

Concept behind accelerometer:

Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity. An accelerometer is based on Newtons second law of motion.
That describes that acceleration is caused by the force on the body which is in the same direction of acceleration.
Can be represented by

= -

Accelerometer works on this formula not on the time rate of change of velocity. It can be understood from the
following example. We feel ourselves thumping backward when our driver accelerates suddenly. We experience a
backward force and taking our mass into consideration we
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 28

can calculate acceleration. Every accelerometer works in broadly the same way. There are many types of
accelerometers such as

Mechanical, capacitive, laser, magnetic induction, optical ect

Before going to our topic piezoelectric accelerometer we have to understand the mechanism of a simple
accelerometer. Here mechanisms of mechanical and capacitive accelerometer are explained bellow.

Mechanical:-

They have something like a mass attached to a spring suspended inside an outer casing.

When they accelerate, the casing will move off immediately. But the mass will lag behind and the spring will stretch
with a force that corresponds to the acceleration.

The distance the spring stretches (which is proportional to the stretching force) can be used to measure the force
and the acceleration in a variety of different ways.

Seismometers (used to measure earthquakes) work in broadly this way, using pens on heavy masses attached to
springs to register earthquake forces. When an earthquake strikes, it shakes the seismometer cabinet but the pen
(attached to a mass) takes longer to move, so it leaves a jerky trace on a paper chart.

Fig. 28

Here red ball is a heavy mass, connected to the cashing by a spring, and the cashing is attached to the body of
which acceleration is to be measured. A pen is connected to the heavy ball which traces on a paper.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 29

Capacitive:-

The mechanism is same but there is a spring in the opposite side of the spring. When cashing accelerates, the
heavy mass lags and presses the plate of the capacitor. Change in capacitance can be sensed by ac bridges and
converted to acceleration. Figure3 is as shown below-

Fig. 29

Now we are very much clear about the mechanism of accelerometer.

Piezoelectric accelerometer:-

This is very simple if we replace the capacitor by a piezoelectric material, it is squeezed when cashing accelerates.
The advantage is that it directly provides electric signal which can be converted to acceleration directly.

Fig. 30

More advance piezoelectric accelerometers can be designed using two piezoelectric materials on two sides of the
heavy mass, that is called
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 30

differential accelerometer. Now some industries and gadget companies like apple are using piezoelectric
accelerometer.

Advantages:-

Piezoelectric accelerometers are smaller in size in comparison to mechanical and capacitive accelerometers.

They dont require any bridge circuit or displacement sensor for conversion

These are more sensitive

Energy harvesting using Piezoelectric material:

Human civilisation needs development of technology and development of technology needs more energy
production. The country is regarded as more developed which has more energy (electrical energy) production.
There are many ways of electrical energy production that may be from renewable or non-renewable energy
sources. Renewable energy sources are now being encouraged by govt because they are pollution free. Some of
them are solar, tidal, wind ect. These can be generated either in large or in small scale. When we go for small scale
energy generation battery comes first, but battery is chemical powered and causes harm to our environment.
Although we cant get rid of batteries but we can make its use limited. Hence rechargeable batteries are being used.
Batteries require charging, replacement and other maintenance efforts. For example, in the applications such as
villages, border areas, forests, hilly areas, where generally remote controlled devices are used, continuous charging
of the microcells is not possible by conventional charging methods .So, some alternative methods needs to be
developed to keep the batteries full time charged and to avoid the need of any consumable external energy source
to charge the batteries.

To resolve such problems, Energy harvesting technique is proposed as the best alternative. There exists variety of
energy harvesting techniques but mechanical energy harvesting happens to be the most
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 31

prominent. This technique utilizes piezoelectric components where deformations produced by different means are
directly converted to electrical charge via piezoelectric effect. Subsequently the electrical energy can be regulated
or stored for further use. The proposed work in this research recommends Piezoelectricity as an alternate energy
source. The motive is to obtain a pollution-free energy source and to utilize and optimize the energy being wasted.
We know that when stress is applied on a piezoelectric material, electrical emf is produced.

The output voltage obtained from a single piezoelectric crystal is in milli volt range, which is different for different
crystals. And the wattage is in microwatt range.
So in order to achieve higher voltages, the piezoelectric crystals can be arranged in cascading manner, that is, in
series. The energy thus obtained is stored in lithium batteries or capacitors. This is the working principle behind
piezoelectric energy harvesting system.

At first we have to find out the sources of vibration at which we can put piezoelectric material for electricity
production. Followings are some of sources of vibration

A. Power Generating Sidewalk

The piezoelectric crystal arrays are arranged underneath pavements, sidewalks and other high traffic areas like
highways, speed breakers for maximum voltage generation. The voltage thus generated from the array can be used
to charge the chargeable Lithium batteries, capacitors etc. These batteries can be used as per the requirement.

B. Railway Track

We all must have seen the vibrating rails when train goes on it. This is one of the best examples of source of
vibration. Hence there we can use the piezoelectric energy harvesting concept at stations.

C. Power Generating Boots or Shoes

In United States Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA) initiated a innovative project on Energy
harvesting which attempts to power battlefield equipment by piezoelectric generators embedded in
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 32

soldiers' boots. However, these energy harvesting sources put an impact on the body. DARPA's effort to harness 1-2
watts from continuous shoe impact while walking were abandoned due to the discomfort from the additional
energy expended by a person wearing the shoes.

D. Gyms and Workplaces

Researchers are also working on the idea of utilizing the vibrations caused from the machines in the gym. At
workplaces, while sitting on the chair, energy can be stored in the batteries by laying piezoelectric crystals in the
chair. Also, the studies are being carried out to utilize the vibrations in a vehicle, like at clutches, gears, seats, shock-
ups, foot rests.

E. Mobile Keypad and Keyboards

The piezoelectric crystals can be laid down under the keys of a mobile unit and keyboards. With the press of every
key, the vibrations created can be used for piezoelectric crystal and hence can be used for charging purpose. Now
smart phones are coming with touch screens but it can be applied to computer keyboards.

F. Floor Mats, Tiles and Carpets

A series of crystals can be laid below the floor mats, tiles and carpets which are frequently used at public places,
dance clubs. When a bulk of people use this dance floor, enormous amount of voltage is generated which can be
used to power the equipments of the night club.

In Netherlands, Rotterdams new club WATT has a floor that harnesses the energy created by dancers steps.
Designed by Dutch company called the Sustainable Dance club, the floor is based on the piezoelectric effect. As
club goers dance on floor, the floor is compressed by less than half an inch. It makes contact with the piezoelectric
material under it and generates around 2-20 watts of electricity which is being used to lighten up the decorated
floor LEDs.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 33

Output stages of piezoelectric energy harvesting system:

The output of a piezoelectric crystal is alternating signal. In order to use this voltage for low power consuming
electronic devices, it has to be first converted into digital signal.
This is done with the help of AC to DC converter as shown in Fig.31. It shows a simple diode rectifier to convert AC
to DC. This is followed by a capacitor, which gets charged by the rectifier up to a pre-decided voltage, at which the
switch closes and the capacitor discharges through the device. In this way, the energy can be stored in the
capacitor, and can be discharged when required.

Fig. 31

But the energy harvesting capacity of this circuit is not appreciable. Hence, a DC to DC converter is used after
bridge rectifier stage, which has been demonstrated in Fig. 32.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 34

Fig. 32

The addition of DC-DC converter has shown an improvement in energy harvesting.

Cost effectiveness:

The assembly developed using series and parallel combination of piezo-crystals is very cost effective. A single
crystal costs around 23 25 Rupees, and hence the cost of whole assembly is very less. It is very encouraging to get
a good voltage and current at such a low cost at the same time utilizing the waste energy. And piezoelectric
ceramics can be produced in required amounts now.

Use of piezoelectric crystals has being started and positive results are obtained. With further advancement in field
of electronics, better synthesized piezoelectric crystals and better selection of place of installations, more electricity
can be generated and it can be viewed as a next promising source of generating electricity. It may be in micro scale
but we can save electrical energy which is enough for floor LEDs, mobile phone battery charging, blue-tooth sensor
activation ect. At most it is not polluting our environment and not consuming any non-renewable source like fossil
fuel.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 35

CONCLUSION

Piezoelectricity is not a new concept in engineering but it is a revolutionary concept in the field of sensors and
transducers. Now we can find the use of piezoelectricity not only in every individual houses but in many industries,
aeronautics, automobiles ect. There are also some of the concepts those need to be developed such as
piezoelectric accelerometer, motor, underwater acoustic transducers, piezoelectric transformers ect. As
piezoelectricity is a simple concept and materials are easy to produce, Indian industries should take a step towards
it. This is not only related to electrical and electronics but also very much related to mechanical engineering.
Mechanical strain gauges, micro scale displacement sensors, small valve switches, sensitive balance are possible
only due to piezoelectricity. There are some lead free piezoelectric materials which can replace those materials
having lead and hence it will be eco-friendly.
APPLICATIONS OF PIEZOELECTRICITY 36

REFERENCES

BOOKS

J.P. Bentley, Principles of Measurement Systems, Pearson Education

, William D. Callister, David G. Rethwisch, Material Science and Engineering an introduction, Wiley Publication

How it works, The clock, A CBT Publication

K. Krishna Murty, How things work?, Pustak Mahal

WEB

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/quartzclockwatch.html

http://www.mmech.com/transformers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectric_accelerometer

http://www.explainthatstuff.com/accelerometers.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectric_motor