Piezoelectric material properties characterization

What you’ll learn

• What piezoelectic material characterization does: How impedance measurements are turned into material properties
• How to use it in Allsolve: Upload measurement data, enter disc dimensions, and add as a new material
• Input requirements: CSV format, valid ranges, and sample constraints
• Output properties: Which values are predicted and which come from a reference PZT dataset

Piezoelectric material properties characterization predicts piezoelectric material properties from electrical impedance measurements of a disc-shaped piezoelectric sample.

The feature uses a pre-trained neural network to estimate elastic, piezoelectric, dielectric, and damping properties that can be used directly in piezoelectricity simulations in Quanscient Allsolve.

For general material setup — adding materials, configuring settings, and editing properties — see Working with materials.

Prerequisites

A circular, disc-shaped geometry is recommended, as the model is trained for circular disc samples measured under conditions that match the training data. Results for other geometries or measurement setups may be less accurate.

Opening the tool

1. Open a project and go to the Physics section.
2. Select next to Materials.
3. From Generate material properties (beta), select Piezoelectric material.

Opening the Piezoelectric material characterization tool from Physics -> Materials

The workflow has three steps:

1. Enter disc dimensions
2. Upload and map impedance measurement data
3. Review generated properties and add them as a new material

Step 1 — Disc parameters

Enter the physical dimensions of the measured disc:

Parameter	Unit	Description
Diameter	mm	Diameter of the disc
Thickness	mm	Thickness of the disc
Weight	g	Mass of the disc

Example disc parameters

Density is computed automatically from weight and dimensions using a cylindrical volume model:

$$\rho = \frac{m}{\pi (d/2)^2 t}$$

where $m$ is mass, $d$ is diameter, and $t$ is thickness.

Step 2 — Impedance measurement data

CSV file format

Upload a comma- or tab-separated CSV file containing three columns:

Column	Unit	Description
Frequency	Hz	Measurement frequency
Impedance magnitude	$\Omega$	Magnitude of the electrical impedance
Impedance phase	degrees	Phase of the electrical impedance

Uploading a CSV file and mapping columns

After uploading, map each required column to the corresponding column in your file. Column names are matched automatically when possible.

All three columns must contain the same number of data rows.

Validation rules

The uploaded data is validated before generation:

Check	Requirement
Impedance magnitude	All values must be greater than 0
Impedance phase	All values must be in the range −90° to 90°
Frequency range	Must cover [1/t, 9000/t] Hz, where t is disc thickness in metres

The required frequency range corresponds to a thickness-normalized grid of 1–9000 Hz·m, which is the range used by the underlying model. Wider coverage generally improves prediction quality.

Validation errors are shown if impedance data does not meet requirements

Measurement tip

Obtain impedance data across as much of the required frequency range as your measurement setup allows, with sufficient resolution around resonance features.

Step 3 — Generated material properties

Click Generate to run the characterization. When complete, review the predicted material properties before adding them to your project.

Click Add as new material to create a material with the generated properties. The new material is added to your project and can be assigned to regions like any other material.

Predicted properties

The model predicts the following material constants from your impedance data and disc geometry:

Property	Symbol	Unit	Material property in Allsolve
Elastic stiffness	$c_{11}$, $c_{12}$, $c_{13}$, $c_{33}$, $c_{44}$	Pa	Elasticity matrix
Piezoelectric stress	$e_{31}$, $e_{33}$	C/m²	Piezoelectric coupling matrix
Relative permittivity	$\varepsilon_{33}^S$	—	Electric permittivity (33 component)
Mechanical quality factor	$Q$	—	Mass and stiffness damping coefficients

Density from the disc measurements is set as the Density property.

Damping coefficients are expressed using the mechanical quality factor $Q$ through the qtoalpha(f, Q) and qtobeta(f, Q) functions, which convert $Q$ into mass and stiffness proportional damping suitable for Solid mechanics and Elastic waves simulations.

See examples of predicted properties in the table below (click to enlarge image). The icon indicates predicted values. The icon marks values fixed from a reference PZT dataset.

Density and Elasticity matrix	Piezoelectric coupling matrix and Electric permittivity	Damping coefficients

Generated vs fixed values

In the preview, predicted values are marked with . Some matrix entries cannot be determined from a disc impedance measurement alone; these are taken from a reference PZT dataset and marked with :

Material property	Fixed entries	Reason
Piezoelectric stress	$e_{15}$	Not identifiable from disc impedance alone
Relative permittivity	$\varepsilon_{11}^S$, $\varepsilon_{22}^S$	Not identifiable from disc impedance alone

The elasticity matrix also includes a derived shear component $c_{66} = (c_{11} - c_{12}) / 2$, computed from the predicted $c_{11}$ and $c_{12}$ values.

Adding the material to your project

After reviewing the generated properties, select Add as new material. The material is created with all predicted and fixed properties, and appears in your project’s Materials list ready to be assigned to regions.

New material with generated properties. Note Orientation toggle that is disabled (set to Z-axis) by default.

Material orientation

The generated material is poled along the Z-axis by default.

If your simulation geometry uses a different poling direction, you must apply a material orientation to align the material coordinate system with your model. This is particularly important for 2D models, where the simulation plane is typically XY and the poling axis will need to be rotated accordingly.

Enable the Orientation toggle on the material and configure the rotation to match your model’s coordinate system.

Limitations

• Sample geometry: The model is designed for disc-shaped samples. Other shapes are not supported.
• Fixed matrix entries: Properties that cannot be extracted from disc measurements use reference PZT values and may not match your specific material in those components.
• Prediction accuracy: Results depend on measurement quality, frequency coverage, and how closely your sample matches the training conditions. Treat outputs as estimates and validate against known data or experiments when possible.
• Third party processing: The feature requires third party services to be enabled for your organization.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Possible cause
Frequency range error	Measurement data does not span the required range for the given disc thickness
Impedance magnitude error	One or more magnitude values are zero or negative
Impedance phase error	One or more phase values fall outside −90° to 90°
Generation failed	Invalid or incomplete input data; check CSV mapping and disc parameters

If generation fails after validation passes, verify that all disc parameters are positive numbers and that the CSV contains numeric values in every mapped column.