Investigation of the Piezoelectric Charge Coefficients at Varying Temperatures

Structural health monitoring allows the status of structures or components to be assessed using sensors. This method is widely used in the evaluation of the state of engineering structures, especially aviation and space engineering. Sensors used in structural health monitoring are called piezoelectric wafer active sensor (PWAS) as they can actively interrogate. PWAS is smaller in size and weight, more inexpensive in comparison to the conventional ultrasonic transducers. PZT 5A piezoelectric ceramic sensors are widely used in engineering applications. Theoretical and experimental studies are important to predict the dynamic behavior of PWAS correctly. Varying environmental conditions cause the material properties of the piezoelectricceramic sensor to change. One of the most important parameters in the studies in which the temperature effect is taken into account is the piezoelectric charge coefficients. In this study, the piezoelectric charge coefficients of PZT 5A piezoelectric ceramic sensors are derived from the temperature-dependent function for varying temperatures. These functions will be useful to devolop analytical models that take into account temperature effects.