Actuation performance and heat generation of shear-bending actuator based on BiScO3-PbTiO3 ceramics from 25 to 300 °C

The actuation performance and heat generation of the shear-bending mode actuator based on BiScO3-PbTiO3 (BS-PT) ceramics were investigated at different temperatures and under different magnitudes of applied electric field at different frequencies. The displacement of the actuator increased with the thermal and electric loadings initially, reached the maximum, and then decreased. The maximum displacement was sensitive to the coercive field of the used piezoelectric ceramics, and about 17.5 μm under an applied electric field of 5 kV/cm at 300 °C, three times higher than that measured at room temperature. The heat generation of the actuator at the frequency of 1 Hz was almost negligible, whereas it increased seriously with the measuring frequency and the magnitude of the applied electric field. These results indicated that the shear-bending actuator based on BS-PT ceramics could generate large displacement at 300 °C without serious heat generation at low frequencies.