The last two decades have witnessed the proliferation piezoelectric composite transducers for an array of sensor and actuator applications. In this talk, a concise summary of the major methods used in composite making, with special emphasis on Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF), is provided. Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC) and Sanders Prototyping (SP) are two SFF techniques that have been utilized to make a variety of novel piezocomposites with connectivity patterns including (1-3), (3-2), (3-1), (2-2) and (3-3). The FDC technique has also been used to prototype a number of actuators such as tube arrays, spiral, oval, telescoping, and monomorph multi-material bending actuators. It has been demonstrated that SFF technology is a viable option for fabricating piezocomposite sensors and actuators with intricate geometry, unorthodox internal architecture, and complex symmetry. The salient aspects of processing of such composite sensors and actuators are summarized, and structure-processing- property relations are elaborated on.

BIOGRAPHY

Ahmad Safari is a Professor in Department of Ceramic Engineering and a member of the Center for Ceramic Research at Rutgers. He also holds the Donald Jacob chair in applied physics at Rutgers. He received his Ph.D. in Solid State Science from the Pennsylvania State University in 1983. Professor Safari is a Fellow of The IEEE and the American Ceramic Society and a Centennial Fellow of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences of the Penn State. He is the immediate past President of the IEEE-Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control society. He is the recipient of the IEEE- UFFC's the Ferroelectrics Recognition Award-- for his internationally acclaimed contributions to piezoelectric materials and composites. He chaired the 7th US-Japan Meeting on Piezoelectric Materials (1994), and the 10th International Symposium on the Applications of Ferroelectrics (1996). Dr. Safari is the author/co-author of over 400 articles and holds 18 U.S. patents. He has given over 400 plenary, invited, and contributed lectures on his research at national and international meetings. Dr. Safari's main field of interest includes: electroceramic materials for dielectric, piezoelectric and ferroelectric applications, electroceramic and ceramic - polymer composites for transducers, sensors, and actuators, and Layered manufacturing of functional ceramics.

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Ms. Brenda Walker at (973)596-3513 or at brenda.e.walker@njit.edu or
Dr. Edip Niver: at niver@njit.edu, or
Dr. Andrew U. Meyer: at meyer@njit.edu.

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