Laminated piezopolymer plates for torsion and bending sensors and actuators

A set of piezopolymer devices has been developed based on a composite laminate theory for piezoelectric polymer materials. By using different combinations of ply angles and electrode patterns, a piezopolymer/metal shim plate structure was built that exhibited both bending and torsion deformation under an applied electric field. A set of torsion-beam sensor structures was also built that could distinguish between bending and torsion or between different vibration modes. These devices were based on a general theory of piezoelectric laminates. The experimental results agreed quite closely with the theoretical predictions. These integrated sensor-actuator devices may find application in the control of microactuators or may be used for modal control of larger continuous structures. © 1989, Acoustical Society of America. All rights reserved.