Experimental and theoretical determination of 1-3 piezocomposite electroacoustic tensor

We report the development of two methods for determining the effective electroacoustic tensor of 1-3 piezocomposite material, one experimental and one theoretical based on homogenization techniques. The main aim was to compare and validate the results provided by these approaches. The slowness surfaces of bulk wave were computed in the large wavelength domain and were fitted to obtain the effective properties of the composite. Model predictions are discussed and compared with the Smith's model. The experimental method is an inversion technique comparing measurement of transmission coefficient through the piezocomposite plate with the simulated coefficient.The accuracy and stability of the minimization procedure is discussed. Experimental results obtained from two piezocomposite test plates are presented and compared with theory. (c) 2006 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.