Publications

Initial temperature effects on the dielectric properties of PZT 95/5 during shock compression

Setchell, Robert E.; Montgomery, Stephen M.; Cox, David E.; Anderson, Mark U.

A strong electric field can be generated when the shock-induced depoling current from a normally poled PZT 95/5 sample is passed through a large resistive load. The portion of total depoling current that is retained on the sample electrodes to account for capacitance is governed by the dynamic dielectric properties of both unshocked and shocked material. Early studies used measured load currents from single samples to assess models for dielectric response. In more recent studies, we used shock-driven circuits in which multiple PZT 95/5 elements were displaced both parallel and perpendicular to the shock motion. This allowed both load and charging currents to be measured for individual elements that are subjected to shock compression and release at different times. In the present study, these techniques have been utilized to examine dielectric properties in PZT 95/5 samples at initial temperatures from -56 to 74 °C. Significant changes in permittivity with temperature are observed in both unshocked and shocked samples. Measured currents show a complex dielectric response which can only be partially predicted using a simple dielectric relaxation model. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.