RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFETIME OF MULTILAYER CERAMIC ACTUATOR AND TEMPERATURE

The lifetime characteristics of the multilayer ceramic actuator (MCA) with applied DC of unipolar AC voltage at various temperatures are investigated. The relationship between the logarithm of the lifetime and the reciprocal of absolute temperature for the MCA with applied DC voltage showed linear characteristics similar to the Arrhenius type. The relationship between logarithm of lifetime and logarithm of applied DC voltage also showed linear characteristics. The lifetime decreases as the applied voltage increases. For an applied unipolar AC voltage of 50 Hz, the lifetime characteristic of MCA was similar to that obtained with DC voltage.