Mechanical induced electrical failure of shock compressed PZT95/5 ferroelectric ceramics

A comparative experimental study of shock compressed Pb0.99(Zr0.95Ti0.05)0.98Nb0.02O3 (hereafter referred to as PZT95/5) ferroelectric ceramics within different insulation materials were performed in this study. It was found that the insulating materials play a significant role in the electrical failure behavior of PZT95/5 ferroelectric ceramic. The electrical breakdown behavior of PZT95/5 ferroelectric ceramics within epoxy resin was observed to aggravate at low temperature −55 °C. Porous PZT95/5 ferroelectric ceramic was found to exhibit lower failure probability than its dense counterpart. Electrical failure of PZT95/5 ferroelectric ceramics under shock wave was found to be an extrinsic behavior and a tentative explanation was proposed based on the mechanical compressive stress-induced cracks initiation by epoxy resin.