Effect of thermomechanical coupling on the scaling behavior of low-frequency hysteresis of PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ ceramics

The dependence of the low-frequency hysteresis of Pb[Zr_0.52Ti_0.48]O₃ ceramics upon coupled thermomechanical effect was experimentally examined based on the framework of power-law scaling. A new scaling relation was found to account for the observed hysteresis behavior under controlled temperature and mechanical compression while the strength and frequency of the electric field were kept constant. In the newly developed scaling relation, additional power functions of the stress are introduced and coupled with the electrical and thermal terms to describe the observed coupling effect. As a result, the difference in the hysteresis area between the stress-free state and the stressed state depends not only on the electromechanical coupling, but also on a newly introduced thermomechanical coupling term. This new scaling relation was confirmed by the experimental observations. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]