TY  - CONF
T1  - Tensile Strength of Active Fibre Composites - Prediction and Measurement
A1  - Dent,A.C.
A1  - Bowen,C.R.
A1  - Stevens,R.
A1  - Cain,M.G.
A1  - Stewart,M.
Y1  - 2007///
KW  - Active fibre composite
KW  - Composite
KW  - Fibres
KW  - PZT
KW  - Strength
SP  - 69
EP  - 69
JF  - EMF-2007 11th European Meeting on Ferroelectricity
T2  - EMF-2007 11th European Meeting on Ferroelectricity
A2  - Zalar,B.
A2  - Malic,B.
A2  - Bobnar,V.
CY  - Ljubljana, Slovenia
PB  - J. Stefan Institute
N2  - The commercial availability of fine-scale PZT fibres has stimulated novel applications such as the Active Fibre Composite (AFC). The AFC comprises of aligned piezoelectric fibres embedded in a polymer matrix between interdigitated electrodes (IDEs). This composite architecture has been the subject of much research interest, due in part to the possibility of embedding this smart technology into host structures for adaptive shape control and structural health monitoring.
 The electromechanical properties of these devices have been extensively studied, while the structural properties have received little attention. This has hindered adoption of active composites for critical applications such as aeronautical components and civil engineering. Knowledge of the mechanical properties and limits for the AFC, is essential to prevent loss of performance and failure that may weaken the host structure. 
In this work the effect of composite architecture on tensile strength and fracture mechanism was predicted by simple composite theory. Experimentally measured tensile strengths of PZT-5A - epoxy composites were found to contradict the predicted behaviour. It has been shown that the selection of appropriate matrix material is an essential factor in controlling the failure mode of the active composite. Important parameters have been determined to aid the design of high strength active fibre composites.
SN  - 978-961-6303-93-4
Y2  - 2007/09/03/
M2  - Bled, Slovenia
ER  -