New piezoelectric material can perform in extreme conditions

The new ceramic materials - a combination of bismuth, iron, titanium and potassium oxides developed by Ionix Advanced Technologies - are to be incorporated into condition monitoring devices that provide capabilities not obtainable with current devices.

Initial applications are expected in systems that have to withstand temperatures up to 500^oC.

Dr Tim Comyn, Ionix CTO explained that monitoring of variables in a gas turbine, for example, allows operators to run such systems leaner and more efficiently.

‘As you run more on the ragged edge you need more sensitivity and more sensors to be able to react to things more frequently,’ he said.

The new materials are compatible with existing manufacturing methods for piezoelectric ceramics and can be mass-produced at similar cost to current materials, such as PZT (lead zirconate titanate).

‘If you compare our material to PZT….we’re about half the sensitivity of that but we’re able to address these much higher temperatures,’ said Comyn. ‘There are other high temperature systems available. There are some high temperature materials that have come out of the US, which include things like Scandium…it’s more expensive than platinum and its only extracted in certain places in the world, so there’s a security of supply issue.’