Stress- and strain-relaxation in lead zirconate titanate based ceramics

The stress- and strain-relaxation behavior of lead zirconate titanate based ceramics is studied by using the three-point bending test. The relaxation behavior has been explained based on the domain reorientation mechanism. It is found that the stress relaxation behavior obeys a logarithmic time law. It has also been experimentally confirmed that above the Curie temperature where all the domains disappear, there is no relaxation in the ferroelectric ceramics.