Nonlinear electromechanical fields and localized polarization switching of 1-3 piezoelectric/polymer composites

This paper examines the nonlinear electromechanical response of 1-3 piezoelectric/polymer composites. The piezocomposites contain square or circular piezoelectric rods in an epoxy matrix. Experiments were conducted to measure the displacement versus electric field curves, using the device specimen of the 1-3 piezocomposites. Three dimensional finite element analysis was also carried out to study the electromechanical fields in the 1-3 piezocomposites by introducing a model for polarization switching. Comparison was then made between simulation and experiment.