Study of 1–3 PZT Fibre/Epoxy Composites with Low Volume Fraction of Ceramics

Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) fibres were prepared by the viscous suspension spinning process (VSSP). Pre-sintered PZT powder mixed with poly (acrylic acid) was spun in a spinnerette to form fibres. The diameter of the fibre was 0.4 mm. The piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties of the single fibre were studied. The piezoelectric coefficient (d33) and the remnant polarization Pr for a single fibre were found to be 490 pC/N and 26 μC/cm2, respectively, which are comparable with that in the bulk sample. The fibres were used to fabricate 1–3 PZT fibre/epoxy composites with low volume fraction of PZT (<0.2). Different theoretical models were used to calculate the piezoelectric coefficient (d33) of the composites and compared with experimental results.