By means of experimental tools, we have studied the effect of lead zirconate titanate volume fraction introduced in polyamide-6/lead zirconate titanate composites on dielectric, piezoelectric, mechanical, and structural properties. As the first result, we found that the insertion of lead zirconate titanate particles makes the dielectric permittivity of the polyamide-6 matrix increases from 10 to 95.8. The dielectric property studies reveal that under an electrical field of 1 kV the remnant polarization is also increased from 0.17 to 0.4, this behavior is related to both the increase of volume fraction of lead zirconate titanate from 20% to 40% and the piezoelectric coefficient changes proportionally with that of volume fraction of lead zirconate titanate. Furthermore, piezoelectric activity increases with lead zirconate titanate particle size at a range where there is a lower order of magnitude. Finally, the uniform dispersion of the ceramic lead zirconate titanate particles in polyamide matrix has been confirmed by scanning electron microscopy analysis. The performances reached by polyamide-6/lead zirconate titanate composites open new horizons for energy harvesting and actuators.

Recent directions in electromechanical conversion have explained the features of using electrostrictive polymers as will create new opportunities in sensing and energy harvester devices. At present time, the investigations of using electrostrictive polymer are starting to display its potential in energy harvesting area. However, the control of electromechanical losses is a major problem for electrostrictive polymers efficiency. The aim of this work is the identification of electromechanical conversion losses by electrostrictive polymers using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis. These losses are due mainly to the variation of the electrical and mechanical parameters exciting the electrostrictive polymer. In order to estimate this dissipated energy, an evaluation by FFT has been performed. In this context, an analytical model will be detailed and the theoretical results will be compared with the experimental results. Good agreements have been found between the two approaches.

The field of power harvesting has experienced significant growth over the past few years due to the ever-increasing desire to produce portable and wireless electronics with extended lifespans. The present work aims to introduce an approach to harvesting electrical energy from a mechanically excited piezoelectric element and investigates a power analytical model generated by a smart structure of type polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) that can be stuck onto fabrics and flexible substrates. Moreover, we report the effects of various substrates and investigates the sticking of these substrates on the characterization of the piezoelectric material.