Hysteresis and the nonlinear equivalent piezoelectric coefficient of MFCs for actuation

The hysteretic behavior and nonlinearity of the equivalent material coefficient of macro fiber composites (MFC) under staircase input conditions are investigated using the Preisach model. Based on a database of first order reversal curves, formulas are derived to predict the hysteresis of strain output and nonlinearity of the equivalent piezoelectric coefficient of MFCs. Formulae are verified by comparing the predicted strains with the measured strains of three MFC specimens, which are driven by a random sequence of staircase voltage inputs. The coefficients obtained by the formulae and experimentation coincide. Further results indicate that the equivalent piezoelectric strain coefficient depends greatly on the value of drive voltage across the entire input range, and the coefficient is asymmetric across the negative and positive input ranges. Deflection testing of an MFC composite cantilever demonstrates the importance of taking the nonlinearity of the equivalent piezoelectric coefficient into consideration in the application of actuation.