Stress-dependent ferroelectric properties of Pb(Zr1/2Ti1/2)O3–Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramic systems

Effects of compressive stress on the ferroelectric properties of ceramics in PZT–PZN systems were investigated. (1 − x)Pb(Zr_1/2Ti_1/2)O₃(xPb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ or (1 − x)PZT–(x)PZN (x = 0.1–0.5) ceramics were prepared by a conventional mixed-oxide method. The ferroelectric properties under compressive stress of the PZT–PZN ceramics were observed at stress levels up to 170 MPa using a compressometer in conjunction with a modified Sawyer–Tower circuit. It was found that with increasing compressive stress the area of the ferroelectric hysteresis (P–E) loops, the saturation polarization (P_sat), the remanent polarization (P_r), and the coercive field (E_c) decreased. These results were interpreted through the non-180° ferroelectric domain switching processes.     

Comparative studies of dynamic hysteresis responses in hard and soft PZT ceramics

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is a ferroelectric material with very interesting and useful dynamic hysteresis properties. Normally, PZT is doped with donors or acceptors to yield better electrical properties. Soft and hard PZT ceramics are respectively donor- and acceptor-doped PZT, which are commercially available and widely employed in various applications. Previous investigations have mainly been focused on the dynamic hysteresis at room temperature and under stress-free condition. However, when used, these ceramics are normally subjected to stress. More importantly, the ambient temperature is usually not at room temperature. Therefore, this study was to investigate dynamic hysteresis behavior of both hard and soft PZT ceramics with varying compressive stress and temperature. The results clearly revealed the influence of external stress and temperature on the dynamic hysteresis of both types of PZT ceramics. Increasing stress and temperature resulted in a decrease of the hysteresis area of the two types of PZT ceramics.     

Finite Element Analysis for the Treatment of Proximal Femoral Fracture

Dynamic hip screw and gamma nail have been widely used to treat the patients with proximal femoral fractures, but clinical failures of those implants are still to be found. This study developed three-dimensional finite element models to investigate the biomechanical performances of the implants. Two kinds of commercially available implants (dynamic hip screw and gamma nail) and one newly designed implant (double screw nail) under three kinds of the proximal femoral fractures (neck fracture, subtrochanteric fracture, and subtrochanteric fracture with gap) were evaluated. Double screw nail showed better biomechanical performances than dynamic hip screw and gamma nail. Two commercially available implants might provide good biomechanical performances if their designs were modified by using the suggestions of the reports. The finite element models developed in this study could provide the selection information of those implants to surgeons and offer the improved implant designs to engineers.     

Artificial neural network modeling of ceramics powder preparation: Application to NiNb2O6

This paper studied the modeling of the synthesis process of NiNb₂O₆ (NN) powder using an artificial neural network (ANN). The characteristic of interest was the amount of NN phase percentage produced from the synthesis process. Three controlling factors affecting the mentioned characteristic were dwell time, calcined temperature and heating/cooling rate. Design of experiments (DoE) technique was used to analyze the relationship of controlling factors to the amount of NN phase. The results show that calcined temperature is the most important factor affecting the amount of NN phase. The dwell time and heating/cooling rate are less significant on the phase but longer dwell time and higher heating/cooling rate are appreciable for the slightly higher purity. Multiple regression was also used to compare the results and the ANN was found to significantly outperform the regression analysis.     

The physical and mechanical properties of beta‐nucleated polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Polypropylene (PP) and polypropylene/polypropylene‐g‐maleic anhydride/ organomontmorillonite (PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT) nanocomposites were modified with 0.05 to 0.3% (w/w) of the aryl amide β‐nucleator to promote the formation of hexagonal crystal modification (β‐phase) during melt crystallization. The nonisothermal crystallization behavior of PP, PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT and β‐nucleated PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT nanocomposites were studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry. Structure‐property relationships of the PP nanocomposites prepared by melt compounding were mainly focused on the effect and quantity of the aryl amide nucleator. The morphological observations, obtained from scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction analyses are presented in conjunction with the thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of these nanocomposites. Chemical interactions in the nanocomposites were observed by FT‐IR. It was found that the β‐crystal modification affected the thermal and mechanical properties of PP and PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT nanocomposites, while the PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT nanocomposites of the study gained both a higher impact strength (50%) and flexural modulus (30%) compared to that of the neat PP. β‐nucleation of the PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT nanocomposites provided a slight reduction in density and some 207% improvement in the very low tensile elongation at break at 92% beta nucleation. The crystallization peak temperature (T_cp) of the PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT nanocomposite was slightly higher (116°C) than the neat PP (113°C), whereas the β‐nucleation increased the crystallization temperature of the PP/PP‐g‐MA/OMMT/aryl amide to 128°C, which is of great advantage in a commercial‐scale mold processing of the nanocomposites with the resulting lower cycle times. The beta nucleation of PP nanocomposites can thus be optimized to obtain a better balance between thermal and mechanical properties. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011.     

Dielectric and Ferroelectric Properties of Complex Perovskite Ceramics Under Compressive Stress

Dielectric and ferroelectric properties of complex perovskite PZT-PZN ceramic system were investigated under the influence of the compressive stress. The results showed that the dielectric properties, i.e. dielectric constant ( εr ) and dielectric loss ( tan δ), and the ferroelectric characteristics, i.e. the area of the ferroelectric hysteresis loops, the saturation polarization ( P(sat) ), and the remnant polarization (Pr) changed significantly with increasing compressive stress. These changes depended strongly on the ceramic compositions. The experimental results on the dielectric properties could be explained by both intrinsic and extrinsic domain-related mechanisms involving domain wall motions, as well as the de-aging phenomenon. The stress-induced domain wall motion suppression and non-180° ferroelectric domain switching processes were responsible for the changes observed in the ferroelectric parameters. In addition,a significant decrease in those parameters after a cycle of stress was observed and attributed to the stress induced decrease in switchable part of spontaneous polarization. This study clearly show that the applied stress had significant influence on the electrical properties of complex perovskite ceramics.     

Monte Carlo investigation of hysteresis properties in ferroelectric thin-films under the effect of uniaxial stresses

The uniaxial stress dependence of the hysteresis behavior of ferroelectric films was studied. The DIFFOUR model was modified to include the uniaxial stress effect. Both the uniaxial stress and the external electric field were applied on the out-of-plane direction of the films. The polarization was measured with varying the magnitude of the applied stress and the electric field frequency via the dynamics of the polarization reversal in terms of hysteresis. The study was taken by means of Monte Carlo simulations using the spin-flip Metropolis algorithm. From the results, the district dependence of hysteresis behavior on frequency between low frequency and high frequency was prominent. On the other hand, the remanent and the coercivity significantly decreased with increasing applied stresses. Moreover, the areas under the hysteresis loops also decreased indicating smaller magnitude of energy dissipation. The results agree well with related experiments where applicable.