ABSTRACT
Piezocomposites, composed of a piezoelectric ceramic and a polymer, are promising materials because of their excellent tailorable properties. This chapter introduces other types of composites based on piezoelectric ceramics. There are three types of composite effects: the sum effect, the combination effect, and the product effect. The backgrounds of the piezoelectric dampers and energy harvesting devices are reviewed from the composite application viewpoints. The composite design is mandatory for improving the mechanical and electrical impedance matching, as well as the electromechanical coupling enhancement. The macro fiber composite (MFC) is a revolutionary actuator which was developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. The MFC shows the possibility of the intelligent clothing (IC) with flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting system, aiming at a general power source for charging up portable equipment such as cellular phones, health monitoring units, or medical drug delivery devices.
