Dynamic electromechanical behavior of single-crystal α-quartz

Electrical response from dynamic compression tests on x-cut single crystal α-quartz specimens at strain rates of 103 s−1 reveal nonsimilar stress-charge behavior during damage evolution. Specifically, when quartz is undergoing extensive and irreversible dynamic brittle fracture under a compressive stress impulse of up to 1.8  GPa, the effective piezoelectric stress coefficient (d) exhibits approximately a 24% increase from loading to unloading. The experimental results are examined in the framework of the theory of linear piezoelectricity in order to understand the role of increasing crack density and crystal orientation on electroelastic properties.