Piezoelectric thin films have been widely used in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMSs), such as sensors, actuators, and resonant devices. Electromechanically driven fractures can severely degrade device performance and reliability. In this work, a phase-field damage model is developed for MEMS piezoelectric thin films under coupled electromechanical loading, incorporating pre-existing defects via an equivalent local fracture toughness. Microcracks and micro-voids arising from manufacturing defects are integrated into the model through an effective local fracture toughness, enabling a unified description of their roles in crack initiation and propagation. The proposed model is implemented in ABAQUS by means of a user-defined element (UEL) subroutine and solved using a staggered scheme. Numerical results show that the level of pre-existing defects, the applied electric potential, and the polarization direction all exert significant effects on fracture behavior. As the defect parameter Dc increases from 0 to 0.10, the reaction force decreases from 87.8 N to 86.3 N, indicating reduced fracture resistance due to manufacturing-induced defects. In addition, the reaction force changes from 90.3 N at −500 V to 86.3 N at +500 V, while it decreases from 102.9 N to 87.1 N as the polarization angle β increases from 0° to 90°. These results demonstrate that pre-existing defects and electromechanical loading jointly govern crack evolution in MEMS piezoelectric thin films. The present study provides a useful numerical tool for fracture analysis, reliability assessment, and structural design of MEMS piezoelectric devices containing manufacturing defects.
Chen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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