Accurate determination of piezoelectric ceramic constants using a broadband approach

Piezoceramic property values are required for modeling piezoelectric transducers. Most datasheets present large variations in such values. For precise simulations, adjustments are necessary. Recently, the authors presented a methodology to obtain the real part of ten material constants of piezoelectric disks. It comprises four steps: experimental measurements, identification of vibration modes and their sensitivity to material constants, preliminary identification algorithm, and final refinement of the constants using an optimization algorithm. Given an experimental electrical impedance curve of a piezoceramic and a first estimate for the material constants, the objective is to find the constants that minimize the difference between the experimental and numerical curves. Using a new finite element method routine implemented in Matlab, the original methodology was extended to obtain the corresponding imaginary part of all the material constants. Results of sensitivity analysis for the imaginary part and the guidelines to construct an algorithm are presented. This complex model allows adjusting the amplitude over a wide frequency range, as opposed to the models described in the literature. It is applied to 1-MHz APC850 disks with diameters of 10 and 20 mm. The methodology was validated by comparing the numerical displacement profiles with the displacements measured by a laser Doppler vibrometer.