Synthesis of Barium Titanate Piezoelectric Ceramics for Multilayer Actuators (MLAs)

In this paper the characteristics of BaTiO₃ ceramics synthesized by solid state method is presented. In order to receive the monophase ceramics the double activation and calcination were applied. A spray drier was used to granulate the powder of BaTiO₃. Isostatic and uniaxial pressing were applied to manufacture the barium titanate pellets. The properties of fabricated BaTiO₃ ceramics were determined at different stages of production. After the sintering phase, the hardness, the bending strength, the fracture toughness, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of barium titanate sinter were estimated. The BaTiO₃ powder is characterized by spherical grains and the average size of 0.5 μm. The small value of the specific surface area of granulate ensured good properties of material mouldability and finally allowed to receive sinters of high density.