Nicholas Horn 1

Piezoelectricity
Nicholas Horn
Arch 509.001
Spring Semester 2009
Professor Timothy Brown

Abstract

Piezoelectricity is the ability of a material to create an electric charge across its surface

when the material is compressed or stretched. Piezo comes from the Greek piezein, meaning to

squeeze or press. (APC, 2002) Piezoelectric technology has been all around us for decades, it is

in many house hold items and without it many modern technologies would not be able to

function. It is used in sonar, microphones, ultrasound and most recently is being used to harness

kinetic energy from people’s movement and sound to generate electricity. (APC, 2002)

Early History

The Piezoelectric effect was first observed by Carolus Linnaeus and Franz Aepinus in the

mid 18th century. They found that certain materials, such as crystals and some ceramics, would

generate electric charges in the presence of a temperature change. (Wikipedia, 2009) This was

later to be found that the temperature change was causing the material to expand and contract

creating the same result as if the material had been compressed. René Just Haüy and Antoine

César Becquerel were the first to make the connection that the compression of a material lead to

an electric charge. Both René Just Haüy and Antoine César Becquerel subsequently attempted to

research the phenomena further but were unsuccessful. (Wikipedia, 2009) It was not until 1880

by the brothers Pierre Curie and Jacques Curie would successfully scientifically demonstrate the

piezoelectric effect in a laboratory setting. (APC, 2002) They were the first to begin to

understand the physics and mathematical theory behind the phenomena. They found that it was
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the crystal structure of the materials that was responsible for the piezoelectric effect. They were

able to demonstrate and observe the piezoelectric effect in many crystal materials such as

tourmaline, quartz, topaz, cane sugar, and Rochelle salt. (Safari, Panda, Janas, n. d.) For many

years the work of Jacques and Pierre Curie would not find much use in practical application,

however, one specific use of the piezoelectric effect would help Marie Curie (Pierre’s wife)

doctoral work. Marie's doctoral work, made use of a sensitive piezoelectric electrometer (an

instrument for measuring electric charges) constructed by Pierre and his brother Jacques. (Safari,

Panda, Janas, n. d.) Other than this one use the phenomena remained a laboratory curiosity. It

was not until World War I that it found its first practical applications. The technology was used

to “generate ultrasound signals (by applying a high-frequency alternating current to make a

crystal vibrate) for early sonar.” (Wikipedia, 2009) Later in World War II the technology was

used to make impact-triggered detonators for bombs dropped from aircraft: striking the ground

triggered a spark that ignited the explosives inside. (Wikipedia, 2009)

Theory

The process of the piezoelectric effect occurs in materials when piezoelectric materials

are compressed along certain axes produce a measurable voltage on the material’s surface. The

charge arises when the materials that have no axis of symmetry are squeezed: the center of the

positive charge in the materials' ions is slightly separated from the centre of the negative charge.

This creates an electric field, which can be measured on opposite faces of the materials.

Similarly, applying an electric field across the faces induces the ions to move, and so deforms the

crystal. (APC 2002) This makes piezoelectric materials very useful for a variety of functions. It

only takes a very small amount of deformation to piezoelectric materials in order to create a

measurable voltage. (Yang, 2005) The reason piezoelectric materials work is due to their crystal
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structure how the positive and negative electric charges within the material are organized. There

are many different types of crystal structures: Triclinic, Monoclinic, Orthorhombic, Tetragonal,

etc. In many ways they are similar to the structure of magnets in that the electric charges are

poled and symmetrically distributed, however piezoelectric materials are not magnetic. As stated

before a piezoelectric material will generate an electric charge when compression is applied, this

forces the previously symmetrically oriented charges within the material to become disorganized

and not polarized resulting in an electric charge. The reverse process is also possible when a

piezoelectric material is subjected to direct current (DC) electricity. When this happens the

material will deform and the electric charges within the material will become polarized. (See

Image-1) It should be noted that when the electric current is applied to piezoelectric materials

the deformation is very small, usually only a fraction of a millimeter. The reverse is also true;

the force needed to create an electric charge from a piezoelectric material is very small. (APC

2002)

Mathematical Description

Pi = dijk sjk (Direct Effect)

eij = dkij Ek (Converse Effect)

“Pi is the polarization generated along the i- axis in response to the applied stress sjk, and dkij is

the piezoelectric coefficient. For the converse effect, eij is the strain generated in a particular

orientation of the crystal on the application of electric field Ei along the i-axis.” (Safari, Panda,

Janas, n. d.)

(See Image-1)

Material Types
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In the early days of the technology only natural crystals were known to have the

piezoelectric effect. Many natural occurring materials express the piezoelectric effect. Some of

these materials include: quartz, cane sugar, rochelle salt, topaz, bone, tendon, wood, enamel and

dentin. (APC 2002) However, natural materials have their drawbacks including cost of the

material, refinement and limited ability to refine the raw material into usable sizes and shapes.

Advances in technology lead to the use of synthetic piezoelectric materials. The most common

synthetic piezoelectric materials are ceramics. Piezoelectric ceramics have perovskite crystal

structures and contain a metal ion usually titanium or zirconium. The contents of these elements

along with its tetragonal crystal structure give the ceramic its piezoelectric capability. (APC

2002) Piezoelectric ceramics have become the standard for industrial use. They are hundreds of

times more sensitive than natural piezoelectric materials, and can be produced in large quantities

and are more consistent in performance. They are also preferred because they can be produced

in different shapes and sizes making them adaptable to a variety of uses and functions.

Piezoelectric ceramics are also preferred because of their durability. They, like all type of

ceramics, are very strong. They are also chemically inert and weather well. This also makes

them particularly useful in a variety of climates and can be exposed to moderate weather and

humidity. Piezoelectric ceramics are produced by mixing fine powders of metal oxide (titanium

or zirconium) with organic binders and are then heated and put into molds and fired. The molds

can be a variety of shapes depending on the desired use. Common shapes can include rods, disks

and plates. After the shapes have been created the material has the necessary components of a

piezoelectric material, but in order for it to work properly it still needs its crystal structure to be

polarized. This is achieved by exposing the material to a strong DC electric field. After this
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process the material will retain the polarized structure until it is deformed, or compressed. After

the compression is released the polarization returns. (APC 2002)

Applications

Piezoelectric motors

Although much attention gets paid to the fact that piezoelectric materials can generate

electricity many applications have been made using the reverse piezoelectric effect. When

electric energy is applied to the material the material will deform. This deformation is very

predicable and will occur in the axis of the polarization. (APC 2002) Therefore, in

manufacturing piezoelectric ceramics you can create rods that deform in along the long axis and

act like a piston. (See Image-2) This creates very small motors that can be used for a variety of

purposes. Some types of piezoelectric motors and their applications include:

- the travelling-wave motor used for auto-focus in reflex cameras

- Inchworm motors for linear motion

- rectangular four-quadrant motors with high power density (2.5 watt/cm3) and speed ranging

from 10 nm/s to 800 mm/s.

- Stepping piezo motor, using stick-slip effect.

(Wikipedia, 2009)

Actuators

Piezoelectric actuators work similar to piezoelectric motors. As an electric current is

passed through the piezoelectric material small changes in the width of the crystal structure are

made. The amount of deformation can also be controlled with the amount of electric energy

applied to the material. Since the deformations are so small, within micrometers precision, they

are excellent in uses that require very small amounts of movement. They have been used as tools
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for micro precision placement and for micro adjustments in lens for microscopes. ((Mason,

1981)

Sensors:

Detection of pressure variations in the form of sound is the most common sensor

application, e.g. piezoelectric microphones (sound waves bend the piezoelectric material,

creating a changing voltage) and piezoelectric pickups for electric guitars. A piezo sensor

attached to the body of an instrument is known as a contact microphone. One of the first

practical uses of piezoelectric sensor technology was the development of sonar during WWI.

Sonar was developed in France by Paul Langevin and was used to detect submarines. (Mason,

1981) Other sensors include microphones. Piezoelectric microphones can either be contact or

non contact microphones. Some can be used for musical purposes to detect and then amplify the

sound. Other types of vibration sensors can be used to detect or even generate energy from

sound. The generation of electricity from sound will be expanded on later. Other types of

vibration sensors are used to simply detect vibrations that could be detrimental to equipment or

structures. For example, engineers use them in engines to detect vibrations that could cause

problems. “The principle of operation of a piezoelectric sensor is that a physical dimension,

transformed into a force, acts on two opposing faces of the sensing element. Depending on the

design of a sensor, different "modes" to load the piezoelectric element can be used: longitudinal,

transversal and shear.” (Wikipedia, 2009) These sensors could have practical applications in the

field of architecture and construction. They could be used to study stress or strain on building,

wind, and other external forces. This could help indicate the breakdown or even failure of

components of a building due to external strain. This technology is widely used in a variety of

engine technology measure and monitor vibrations. (Machine Design, 2006) Another aspect of
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vibration sensors is that they can also have a vibration dampening effect (Mason, 1981); because

they also generate small amounts of energy from their vibration dampening, they would do two

things at once, reduce vibration and generate electricity. This could also be used in an

architectural application in the future. For example, it could be used to reduce the vibration

experienced by a passing EL train in downtown Chicago, and then use the electric energy

generated by the vibration of that passing train to help power the building. Even though the

amounts of energy would be relatively small it is free, and would be otherwise wasted and

unused.

Piezoelectric senor technology as has been developed to create wireless strain sensors for

tracking damage on Navy helicopters. The U.S. Navy gave the company MicroStrain INC, a

S750,000 Small Business Innovation-Research contract to develop a wireless sensor for their

helicopters. “Piezoelectric materials generate power for the sensor by converting cyclic strains

to DC power, so the sensors operate indefinitely on rotating helicopter components without

batteries. By continuously monitoring strains on rotating components, the sensors can record

operational loads, compute metal fatigue, and estimate remaining component life.” The sensors

are self-contained and run their own “data-compression and fatigue algorithms,” this information

is then sent wirelessly to receivers onboard the helicopter and is downloaded later to engineers

and maintenance personal. (Machine Design, 2006) As stated before this could also be

employed to monitor venerable components in and on buildings as well, such as the curtain wall

system on a high-rise.

Generators

Piezoelectricity can generate very high voltages. The amount of pressure needed to

distort a piezoelectric ceramic element by 0.05mm can generate nearly 100,000 volts, however
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the current is very small. (Livewire, 2006) This amount of voltage is enough to create an electric

spark to ignite gas in an oven, grill or pocket lighter. The key factors involved in the amount of

energy produced by a piezoelectric material have to do with the stress on the element. “This is

the ratio of the applied force to the surface area of the element. When the composition of the

ceramic, the volume of the ceramic element, and the applied force are constant, the element that

has the smallest surface area will generate the most electrical energy.” (APC 2002)

Very high amounts of electric energy can be achieved with piezoelectric elements when

the amount of stress applied to the piezoelectric material is very high or very frequent. For

example, “a 2-kN force properly applied to a cubic-centimeter sized quartz crystal produces over

12.5 kV.” (Repas, 2008) The amount of energy will increase linearly with the amount of stress

applied to it, so the more pressure you put on the piezoelectric material the more power you will

get out of it. This has implications for uses in what as become called “energy

harvesting.”(Livewire, 2006) The idea being that energy from people walking, cars driving,

trains rolling on a track or people dancing on a dance floor can be captured via the piezoelectric

effect when devices are placed in the ground beneath the impact of the activity.

Direct Force Generator

Devices for creating electricity from the an applied for have been around for awhile.

However, until recently these devices were used to detect stain and not necessarily to generate

electric power for the power itself. Now this technology is being looked at to generate power

that could be used to power a variety of systems in buildings. “In a typical quartz-based force

sensor, a charge-collection electrode is sandwiched between two quartz-crystal elements. The

quartz elements are oriented to supply the same polarity voltage to the electrode when

compressed, while the opposite polarity is applied to the sensor housing.” (Repas, 2008) What
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makes this unit a little different than a typical quartz-based piezoelectric sensor is that the

assembly in housed “between two mounting disks held together by an elastic, beryllium-copper

stud and then weld-sealed within the enclosure to prevent contamination.” (Repas, 2008) When

an impact force is made on the impact cap the quartz elements generate a voltage which is

directed to the amplifier. Essentially these devices harness the kinetic energy stored in the

weight of the object impacting the sensor. In this particular case this device is for larger impacts

than some devices discussed later; reference POWERLeap and Sustainable Dance Floor which

use the typical weight of a human to generate electricity. Some engineers are researching how

these devices could be placed under train rails, or even streets, and parking garages. (Livewire,

2006) As discussed earlier, the amount of energy generated by piezoelectric devices is linear in

proportion to the amount of compressive force applied to them, therefore trains, and cars could

be productive ways in which to harness large amounts of otherwise wasted energy.

Energy from Heat and Sound

Some researchers are now looking at how piezoelectric devices can use heat exchangers

to turn heat into electricity. Physicists at the University of Utah have begun to develop “small

devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity.” These devices are called

thermoacoustic prime movers. “Thermoacoustic prime movers hold promise for converting

waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy, and cooling computers and radar equipment.”

(Machine Design, 2007) The design of the device is a small cylinder-shaped tube that contains a

material with a large surface area, typically, fibers made from glass, cotton or steel wool. This

material is set between a hot and cold heat exchanger. When heat is applied to one end of the

cylinder tube air moves and produces sound at a single frequency, similar to hitting a musical

note on an instrument. The frequency of the sound produced depends on the length of the
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cylindrical tube, longer tubes will create lower tones, and shorter tubes will create higher tones.

At the end of these tubes the sounds waves impact a piezoelectric element which vibrates and in

turn creates a small electric current.

Because these thermoacoustic prime movers lack moving parts they will require minimal

maintenance and will not breakdown over time. “Researchers say the devices won't create noise

pollution. Smaller versions under development convert heat to ultrasonic frequencies people

cannot hear. Second, sound volume goes down as sound converts to electricity. Finally, sound

absorbers placed around devices easily contain the noise.” (Machine Design, 2007)

These devices could be well suited in cold environments such as Chicago, where the

difference between the indoor and outdoor temperature in winter can be very high. “A 1.5-in.

long, 0.5-in. wide cylindrical resonator produces sound with as little as a 90°F temperature

difference between hot and cold heat exchangers.” (Machine Design, 2007) Although most of

these devices produce sound that would not be very loud “some prototypes produced sound at

135 dB — as loud as a jackhammer.” (Machine Design, 2007) Similar to the impact

piezoelectric devices discussed earlier, the more pressure you put on the piezoelectric element

the more power you can produce. Therefore, with louder sounds you can produce more energy.

Another way to get more power out of the device is to raise the air pressure. Doing this lowers

the temperature difference needed between heat exchangers to produce sound. This would allow

even the heat given off by computer to be to captured and converted into electric energy. This

could impact architecture in terms of cooling loads on buildings with large amounts of

computers. The energy captured could be used to help power fans and other cooling devices on

the computers reducing the amount of cooling energy that would otherwise have to be brought
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into the building. The key is that this technology is taking advantage of a wasted energy.

(Machine Design, 2007)

Another key aspect of these thermoacoustic prime movers is that in order for them to

efficiently convert heat to sound and electricity when multiple units are arranges in an array, “the

devices must be "coupled" to produce the same frequency of sound and vibrate in sync.” If they

are not in sync the devices will actually work against one another and not produce as much

electric power. (Machine Design, 2007)

Anther way in which to squeeze more power out of these devices is to create a “resonator

made from a 0.25-in.-diameter steel tube bent to form a ring about 1.3 in. across causes sound

waves to circle through instead of bounce off the ends as in a cylindrical design.” (Machine

Design, 2007) When this is done the devices are two times as efficient as the normal cylindrical

resonators in converting heat into sound and electricity. The reason for this is because the

pressure and speed of the air remain better synchronized with in the tube. (Machine Design,

2007)

The researchers of these devices at the University of Utah plan to use them to produce

electricity from the waste heat at a military radar facility and also at the hot-water-generating

plant. (Machine Design, 2007) “Thermoacoustic prime movers may also serve as a portable

power source on the battlefield to run electronics, as an alternative to photovoltaic cells, or as a

way to generate electricity from heat that now escapes from nuclear-powerplant cooling towers.”

(Machine Design, 2007) These devices have great potential in harnessing otherwise wasted heat.

This is especially interesting in the field of architecture when some buildings actually have to

turn on the air conditioning in the winter because the internal heating loads from human body

heat and electronic equipment is so high. Essentially these devices could create a twofold
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advantage when it comes to energy in building with high internal loads, 1) they would need less

energy to cool the space and, 2) they could actually generate electricity for the building.

Human Power Harvesting

The green movement has placed new emphasis on using the technology to find a

sustainable way to harness energy from everyday movements such as walking on a sidewalk,

moving through a subway or train turnstile or dancing on a dance floor. “In 1996, Massachusetts

Institute of Technology Media Lab doctoral student Thad Starner wrote a paper about, “the

potential for energy harvesting from human activity.”” (Livewire, 2006) Architects have begun

to take notice of the potential energy harvesting: Claire Price the director of the Facility

Architects, a London-based group working on energy harvesting in buildings. The group is

involved in a project to design energy-harvesting floors and stairs for large public spaces. The

potential to create large amounts of energy is great in areas with high traffic. (Livewire, 2006)

This concept has become known as the Crowd Farm. The basic idea is that large mounts of

people moving in dense areas would step on tiles embedded in the floor and these tiles would use

piezoelectric materials to generate electricity that could be captured and used. (Livewire, 2006)

“A prototype of the crowd farm has already been tested in a railway station in Turin, Italy. Also,

a select number of Japanese train stations are currently generating small quantities of electricity

by capturing the motion through turn-styles at the ticket hub as commuters pass through them.”

(Livewire, 2006) The developers of the crowd farm hope to not just draw power from people,

they want to also raise people's awareness of the vast quantities of electricity that they consume

each day in various forms: "We want people to understand the direct relationship between their

movement and the energy produced," stated Thaddeus Jusczyk, co-creator of the MIT's crowd

farm. (Livewire, 2006)

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The potential to generate large amounts of energy with the technology is great. “You can

convert about 3-6 watts per step. The Victoria train station in London has 34,000 people walking

through that space in one rush hour period. There are many kilowatts of energy that we could be

harvesting and putting back into low-power circuits and equipment." This could include audio

equipment, display screens, or about “6.5 million LED lights.” (Livewire, 2006)

Not all examples of energy harvesting are on a large scale. One smaller scale example is

POWERLeap created by a sustainable designer Elizabeth Redmond. POWERLeap is currently a

scaled down version of the crowd farm concept. Envisioned as a flooring system for high-traffic

areas such as sidewalks, public-transport platforms, and gymnasiums, POWERLeap proposes to

give pedestrians an active role in offsetting their energy consumption. (Triple Pundit, 2007) “I

am calling on all humans,” Redmond says, “to become responsible and sustainable self-

generators for the communal grid.”(Cavanaugh, 2007) Redmond has tested the idea on a

sidewalk in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The design is a series of glass tiles embedded in the sidewalk

with LED lights. When a person walks over the tiles pressure induces the piezoelectric effect in

the ceramic generators and the LED lights light up. (See Image-4) The POWERLeap design

“currently uses 2-inch by 1-inch piezoceramic (lead zirconate titrate) plates with a brass

reinforcement shim and are covered in nickel electrodes for low current leakage. When these

plates are bent the voltage (22 Vpeak) and current (24 microA) is induced and stimulates

momentary electrical energy impulses used to light the LED's inside each tile.” (Redmond n. d.)

Redmond notes that the commercial piezoelectric units she uses in her designs have a low power

output, but they allow her to begin to exhibit the potential of harvesting human energy. The key

she points out is in terms of scale. If you put a few dozen of these units in sidewalks that small

amount of power could be multiplied by thousands of steps.

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Currently Redmond acknowledges that the effect of the project is meant to bring

awareness to possibilities of the technology. Similar technology could be used in creative ways

to light buildings in exciting ways, or on a more practical level, provide emergency lighting for

corridors. The same technology could also be used instead to generate power to be stored for

later use. Redmond is currently in the process of designing a larger version POWERLeap with

the sponsorship of the flooring material manufacturer Mohawk Industries. (Redmond n. d.)

Another group exploring the idea of humans as the generators of their electricity is

Sustainable Dance Club. Located in the Netherlands, this group is interested in how

piezoelectricity can be used in a fun way, generating flashing lights on a dance floor as people

move upon it. They have developed a product called The Sustainable Dance Floor™. “The

energy produced by movement is converted into electricity that makes the dance floor react to

the dancer in an interactive way. The floor provides a unique visual experience on every energy

level, from ‘loading’ and ‘average’, to the maximum level of the evening. (See Image-5) All

visuals are a continuous real-time interaction between the clubbers on the floor, allowing every

individual’s actions to contribute to the collective experience.” (Sustainable Dance Club, 2007)

The design of the floor is a 650x650x195mm unit. Multiple units can be connected to

each other to create a dance floor. The units each generate a small amount of energy that is fed

back to a central “controller” unit that stores the energy and then sends it back to the units where

LED lights light up. (Sustainable Dance Club, 2007) Although this is a fun application of

piezoelectricity, the Sustainable Dance Floor, and POWERLeap, are ideas that could be used for

practical purposes, helping to supplement the power of buildings and their systems, especially

lighting.
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Conclusion

Piezoelectric technology started as a lab curiosity a little over a century ago. Scientists

examined an interesting phenomenon in natural materials but did not see its immediate practical

uses; today it has become an integral part of modern life. It is used in automotive engines, the

music industry, the defense industry, etc, however, one of the newer and more interesting aspects

of piezoelectricity in terms of the architectural profession is that it could help us with our energy

crisis. With a country that has to import much of its fuel, finding new ways to capture energy

and become more environmentally sustainable is essential. As someone who will soon enter the

profession of architecture and is interested in finding new ways to help the sustainable

movement, piezoelectric technology can help architects and city planners develop new ways to

capture energy. The key will be to pickup on the creative ways in how to employ the technology

to capture kinetic energy that would otherwise be wasted.

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Image Index:

Image-1

(Polarizing (poling) a piezoelectric ceramic APC, 2002)

Image-2

(Generator and motor actions of a piezoelectric element APC, 2002)

Image-3

(Repas, 2008)
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Image-4

(Generator and motor actions of a piezoelectric element APC, 2002)

Image-5

(Sustainable Dance Floor, Sustainable DanceClub, 2007)

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References

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ANSI-IEEE 176 (1987) Standard on Piezoelectricity

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