Fundamental Understanding of Piezoelectric Strain Sensors

This paper investigates the behavior of piezoelectric elements as strain sensors. Strain is measured in terms of the charge generated by the element as a result of the direct piezoelectric effect. Strain measurements from piezoceramic (PZT) and piezofilm (PVDF) sensors are compared with strains from a conventional foil strain gage and the advantages of each type of sensor are discussed, along with their limitations. The sensors are surface bonded to a beam and are calibrated over a frequency range of 5-500 Hz. Correction factors to account for transverse strain and shear lag effects due to the bond layer are analytically derived and experimentally validated. The effect of temperature on the output of PZT strain sensors is investigated. Additionally, design of signal conditioning electronics to collect the signals from the piezoelectric sensors is addressed. The superior performance of piezoelectric sensors compared to conventional strain gages in terms of sensitivity and signal to noise ratio is demonstrated.