Fabrication and testing of high performance acoustic emission sensor with Ta-Doped lead zirconate titanate

The piezoelectric and dielectric properties of ceramics containing Pb(Zr_0.54Ti_0.46) O₃ + 0.2 wt.% Cr₂O₃ + x wt.% Ta₂O₅, where x = 0.0 to 5.0, were investigated for the development of a high performance acoustic emission (AE) sensor. The experimental results indicated that the specimen containing 2.0 wt.% Ta₂O₅ showed the superior piezoelectric and dielectric properties: electromechanical coupling factor = 68.5 %; piezoelectric constant = 467 × 10⁻¹² m/V; mechanical quality factor = 84; and relative dielectric constant = 1731. Also, the AE sensor with the specimen containing 2.0 wt.% Ta₂O₅ showed the best sensor performance with the highest signal intensity of the tested AE sensors with 7.53 V, which was improved by 212 % in comparison to that of the AE sensor using the specimen without Ta₂O₅ doping. The improvement in performance of the AE sensor could allow for the reliable diagnosis in real-world applications for the protection of the system against thermal and mechanical disturbances.