Effect of Polymeric Additives on the Rheological Behavior of PZT Pastes for Extrusion Fiber Processing: Optimization by Taguchi Method

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

2 School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

This study investigates the rheological behavior and microstructural characteristics of Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) fibers fabricated via extrusion. Using commercial soft PZT powder, polymeric additives, and an organic solvent, paste formulations were optimized through a Taguchi experimental design. The optimal composition, 5 wt.% PVB, 0.5 wt.% DBF, 0.8 wt.% SA, and 70 wt.% solid loading, achieved a viscosity of 15548 mPa·s, enabling stable extrusion. Increasing the DBF content to 2.5 wt.%, further enhanced flowability, reducing the required force and yielding a microstructure with significantly reduced surface porosity—from approximately 25% to 5.5%. After sintering at 1250 °C for 2 hours, the fibers exhibited a crack-free, homogeneous microstructure with uniformly distributed grains, as confirmed by SEM and EDAX analyses.
These findings demonstrate that precise control of paste formulation and processing parameters enables the production of high-quality PZT fibers suitable for piezoelectric applications, highlighting the industrial potential of the proposed method.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Materials Forming
Volume 12, Issue 4
2025
Pages 4-19

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