Investigation on the Piezoelectric Properties of Cement-Based Piezoelectric Composites Under Triply Minimal Surface Structures

Abstract

This study systematically investigates the piezoelectric performance of cement-based composite materials integrated with triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) piezoelectric ceramic architectures, including Schwarz P and Neovius structures, in comparison with conventional 0-3 and 1-3 connectivity models. Under mechanical loading conditions, finite element analysis was employed to evaluate the average piezoelectric coefficients, voltage coefficients, and potential outputs of composites with varying piezoelectric ceramic volume fractions. Key findings reveal that the Neovius structure exhibits superior performance: at a 20% ceramic volume fraction, its average piezoelectric coefficient reaches 116 pC/N under 15 kN loading, surpassing the 0-3 type by approximately 12-fold. Both Schwarz P and Neovius structures demonstrate approximately 12×higher average piezoelectric coefficients than the 0-3 model, attributed to their continuous charge-transfer pathways and efficient stress distribution enabled by TPMS geometry. Additionally, the piezoelectric voltage coefficients of TPMS-based composites significantly exceed those of traditional 1-3 and 0-3 structures. The potential generation capacity of Neovius composites peaks at 6.7 V under high loading, highlighting their superiority in charge accumulation. The results underscore the critical role of piezoelectric ceramic architecture: the bicontinuous TPMS configurations mitigate phase discontinuity issues, enhancing both mechanical-electrical coupling and energy conversion efficiency. This study provides a novel framework for optimizing cement-based piezoelectric composites toward applications in structural health monitoring, energy harvesting, and smart infrastructure.

Keywords: Cement-based piezoelectric composites；Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS)；Piezoelectric coefficient ；Energy harvesting；Finite element analysis