Efficiency of piezoelectric cantilever benders in actuator and sensor mode

Abstract The paper investigates the efficiency of typical piezoelectric cantilever benders both in actuator and in sensor mode. Piezoelectric actuators and sensors are finding an increased interest in many engineering applications like energy harvesting, shape morphing of structures, and structural health monitoring. Their performance depends on both their structural configuration and also on the material composition. Typical piezoelectric benders consist of one or two piezoelectric layers, with or without a non-piezoelectric (elastic) layer. In this work, different configurations of unimorph, bimorph, and triple-layer cantilevers are numerically simulated and tested both in actuator and in sensor mode under static loads, assuming linear behavior. Two widely used piezoelectric materials are employed, PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) and PVDF (Polyvinylidene Difluoride). The numerical simulations were conducted in APDL and in ANSYS software, and the results are validated against analytical solutions from the literature. The results show that, in the actuator mode, the PZT was the best material for the benders, with the bimorph cantilever (in-parallel connection) being the most effective configuration. In the sensor mode, the PVDF performed best, while the bimorph cantilevers, connected either in-series, or in-parallel, were the most efficient. These findings provide insights into optimizing piezoelectric cantilever bender designs for various applications.