Solid Freeform Encapsulation of 1-3-0 PZT Composites

Two types of encapsulated lead zirconate titanate (PZT) composite hydrophones have been built and tested: a straight walled 1-3-0 PZT composite design and a curved wall 1-3-0 PZT design. The solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technique was used to construct the polymer encapsulation for the two prototype designs.In the 1-3 composites soft PZT bars are embedded in a polymer matrix with a surrounding air gap. The polymer encapsulations were fabricated on a SFF stereolithography machine in order to enclose the gap and the PZT. Air gaps between the polymer and the PZT were shown to increase the hydrostatic piezoelectric response (d _h) by absorbing the lateral hydrostatic stress. Because of the small percentage of PZT, these composites had a low density (neutral buoyancy), low dielectric constant, and, therefore, a lower dielectric constant, and a corresponding higher hydrostatic voltage coefficient, g _h.The curved-wall composite design decoupled the PZT component more effectively from the lateral pressure, and thereby improved upon the direct piezoelectric effect. The large cap surface and the curved-wall further improved the amplification of the mechanical loading on the PZT element. The effective hydrostatic charge coefficient d _h, reached about 1100 pC/N which amplified the d ₃₃ coefficient, and greatly enhanced the d _h g _h figure of merit.