Effect of BNT on piezoelectric and energy storage characteristics of piezoelectric ceramics and its application in underwater acoustic transducer

Aiming at the problems such as the reduction of monitoring accuracy of ultrasonic transducer under the influence of self-heating and detection environment. In this paper, Bi, Ni and Ti elements are incorporated into manganese doped piezoelectric ceramics. xBi(Ni_1/2Ti_1/2)O₃–(1 − x)[0.05Pb(Mn_1/3Sb_2/3)–0.95Pb(Zr_0.48Ti_0.52)O₃] ceramics were synthesized by solid-phase sintering method. The relationship between BNT content and ceramic energy storage and piezoelectric properties was established, and a series of underwater acoustic transducers were prepared using the ceramic material as a sensitive element. The results show that the introduction of BNT reduces the volatilization of P_b, promotes the grain growth, increases the piezoelectric and energy storage characteristics, and enhances the temperature stability. d₃₃ is greater than 270 pC/N in the range of 150 °C. The prepared underwater acoustic transducer has a high emission response of about 167 dB at 100 °C. The transducer has a broad application prospects for detecting corrosion damage in high temperature oil storage tanks and other facilities.