Electrostrictive materials, hard ceramics and soft polymers, have been used as precision actuators in many engineering applications. This study is to examine bang–bang control performance of a hybrid Plexiglas beam laminated with polymeric electrostrictive (RTV 270) actuator and piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensor layers using both analytical and experimental techniques. Materia...

This study reports on a self-powered mechanoluminescent flexible film that converts human movement into green, yellow, and white light that are visible to the naked eye. The film is simply a highly porous composite material that was prepared using a piezoelectric polymer and ZnS luminescent powders. The highly effective mechanoluminescence capabilities stem from both the film's porous structure...

Conventional sensors, such as proximeters and accelerometers, are add-on devices usually adding additional weights to structures and machines. Health monitoring of flexible structures by electroactive smart materials has been investigated over the years. Thin-film piezoelectric material, e.g. polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymeric material, is a lightweight and dynamic sensitive material appe...

using piezoelectric patches the stress concentration around a hole on a plate under tension is reduced and controlled. to attain the reduction in stress two placements for piezoelectric patches is investigated. the first location is top/bottom of the hole with compression induced strain and the second is left/right of the hole with tension induced strains to control the stress flow. the result ...

0167-9317/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier B.V. A doi:10.1016/j.mee.2011.02.080 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0 832 295726; fa E-mail addresses: [email protected], simopetro In this work the micro-fabrication of flexible MicroElectroMechanical transducers based on the piezoelectric effect is reported. We developed the technological protocol to realize a piezoelectric transducer composed...

the output of a piezoelectric nanogenerator based on zno nanowire is largely affected by the shape of nanowire. in order to obtain mechanically stable nanogenerator with high performance, the investigation of mechanical and electrical characteristics related to the nanowires and materials used in nanogenerators are of great interest and significance. this paper presents the various behavior of ...

We present a viscometric affinity biosensor that can potentially allow continuous multi-analyte monitoring in biological fluids like blood or plasma. The sensing principle is based on the detection of viscosity changes of a polymeric solution which has a selective affinity for the analyte of interest. The chemicomechanical sensor incorporates an actuating piezoelectric diaphragm, a sensing piez...

Light is a readily available and sustainable energy source. Transduction of light into mechanical work or electricity in functional materials, composites, or systems has other potential advantages derived from the ability to remotely, spatially, and temporally control triggering by light. Toward this end, this work examines photoinduced piezoelectric (photopiezoelectric) effects in laminate com...