Numerical approach for axisymmetric piezoceramic geometries towards fluid control applications

Piezoceramics have been increasingly popular and utilized for the purpose o f micro-actuation. The choice of material internal poling directions for su ch geometries depends upon the type of actuation desired in each applicatio n. There are no generalized analysis procedures that have been developed to be able to predict the response of such actuator geometries. In this work, a finite element model has been developed to analyse axisymmetric piezocer amic actuators with arbitrary internal poling. The finite element methodolo gy is verified by demonstrating favourable agreement between the numerical results obtained in this study with the results published for an inkjet pri nter application. In addition, the design of a piezoceramic nozzle is inves tigated with both single-layer and stacked axisymmetric piezoceramic geomet ries. Such piezoceramic nozzles and orifices can be effectively employed in various sensitive fluid control applications.