Practical aspects of piezoelectric ceramic load cells

Abstract

A lead-zirconate-titanate disc, with a double electrode system, has been used as a sensing element in a piezoelectric ceramic load cell. Variations in output voltage at a fixed excitation frequency, and also the shift in resonant frequency with respect to change in load, have been measured. It is shown that the maximum sensitivity and optimum performance is achieved when the disc is made to vibrate in the radial mode at a frequency lower that the resonant frequency of the unloaded disc. The effects of various parameters on the performance of loadcell are also discussed, along with linearity, temperature stability and repeatability.