Nonlinear electromechanical analysis: a constitutive theory for perovskite type ferroelectrics

A constitutive theory is established in this paper to describe the nonlinear electromechanical behavior of perovskite type ferroelectrics subjected to external stress and external electric field. In the proposed theory, each domain is considered as an inclusion. The Helmholtz free energy and Gibbs free energy of a constituent element, that are derived by using micromechanics approaches, are functionals of the orientation distribution function (ODF) that depicts the domain distribution patterns. By applying the internal variable theory and expanding ODF in Fourier series, the yielding condition, the evolution of ODF, and the constitutive relation are obtained. In terms of the simplification of the constitutive relation, theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results. There is an agreement between the theoretical and the experimental results, indicating that the theory is reasonable and applicable. It should be pointed out that the constitutive model proposed in this paper is restricted to ferroelectric materials exhibiting transformation from cubic to tetragonal only.