Actuation performance of embedded piezoceramic transducer in mechanically loaded composites

The performance of embedded piezoceramic transducers (PZTs) used as Lamb wave generators was investigated in this paper. The composite specimens with a PZT embedded in the mid-plane were subjected to tensile and compressive monotonic loading as well as tension-compression fatigue loading. Both the static and fatigue tests revealed the large working range of embedded PZTs, despite the presence of damage observed by microscopy. The Lamb wave response remained unchanged after a large number of fatigue cycles; around 50 000-100 000 cycles at strain levels of +/-0.20%. At larger numbers of cycles, the changes in terms of amplitude and frequency in the Lamb wave response were believed to be associated with increasing matrix cracking in the specimens.