Compressive creep of PZT ceramics: experiments and modelling

The compressive creep behaviour of a soft PZT has been studied. The effect of polarisation is measured and simulated by means of a viscoplastic-type model. The creep strain is linked to the amount of ferroelectric domains available to 90° ferroelastic switching. A temperature rise is found to reduce the anelastic strain but increase the creep strain itself.