PIEZOELECTRIC COMPOSITES WITH 3-1-1 CONNECTIVITY.

This paper describes the structure and properties of a particular class of composite material, in which piezoelectric ceramic rods are embedded in an inert matrix which is reinforced with glass fibres to form a hydrostatically sensitive material suitable for use in sonar transducer arrays. In these composite materials, the active piezoelectric properties of the ceramic phase are complemented by the mechanical and structural properties of other phases. With such materials, underwater sonar systems may be envisaged which consist of large areas of acoustically sensitive tiles instead of an arrangement of discrete transducer devices.