This book addresses students, researchers as well as industry professionals in the
fields of engineering sciences, material sciences, and physics. The author aims at
providing information that is important to obtain a deep understanding of piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The book additionally contains selected applications and recent developments (e.g., simulation-based material characterization), which are of great interest to science and industry.
At the beginning, we will study fundamentals of piezoelectric sensors and
actuators. The fundamentals include physical basics, the principle of the piezoelectric effect and piezoelectric materials. One focus of the book relates to reliable characterization of sensor and actuator materials by combining numerical simulations with appropriate measurements. Moreover, an efficient phenomenological
modeling approach for the large-signal behavior of ferroelectric materials will be
presented which facilitates the operation of piezoelectric actuators. A further focus
lies on piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers because they are most commonly used in
applications like ultrasonic imaging and parking sensors. In this context, a nonreactive measurement approach will be detailed that allows sound field characterization in various media.
The book also deals with piezoelectric sensors and transducers in the large
application area of process measurement technology. For example, we will discuss
conventional piezoelectric sensors for mechanical quantities (e.g., force) as well as
sensor devices for fluid flow measurements. The final part of the book concentrates
on piezoelectric positioning systems and motors.