Ionix Advanced Technologies Limited has released a video showing the strength of their HPZ piezoelectric materials in relation to conventional Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT).
The video shows a four point bend test which measures the strain to failure of both PZT and one of Ionix’s HPZ piezoelectric materials. Essentially the test looks at the effect on strips of HPZ and PZT when mechanical pressure is applied. The results are impressive with the Ionix HPZ material bending until a level of 0.5% strain to failure, almost 2.5 times the figure for PZT which snapped at 0.21%.
Materials, sensors, and actuators capable of operating in extreme environments
PZT or Lead Zirconate Titanate has dominated the landscape of piezoelectric materials in the past. However PZT has its limitations; slow operating temperature and yield stress, high lead content, and mechanical friability. This limits the use of the material in particular applications such as in aerospace, automotive, chemical plant, oil and gas exploration, and nuclear.
This is where Ionix’s range of piezoelectric materials comes to the foreground as they can operate in extreme environments, withstanding stresses of over 500MPa as well as temperatures up to 450oC. The development of Ionix’s materials will propel piezoelectric applications into new areas, for example the upstream and downstream oil and gas industry, where permanent on-pipe condition monitoring would become possible.
This means that Ionix’s materials and devices have the potential to offer significant cost and energy savings, by allowing more efficient and reliable process and inspection operations in extreme environments, where existing technology is unable to operate effectively