Numerical modelling framework for studying poling effects in architectured piezoelectric structures

Recent advances in manufacturing have enabled the realization of engineered piezoelectric architectures with enhanced functionality and performance, thereby underpinning a new generation of ferroelectric ceramic-based energy harvesters, hydrophones, and precision actuators. This work presents a study of ferroelectric polarization effects in piezoelectric ceramic composite architectures enabled by modern manufacturing methods. A simplified modelling framework is introduced to investigate these effects in porous and lattice structures, including heterogeneities in the ferroelectric ceramic phase, path dependence associated with sequential poling strategies, and the use of corona poling and embedded electrodes. Within this framework, representative volume elements (RVEs) of piezoelectric composites are studied using nonlinear poling simulations based on a semi-microscopic Jiles–Atherton model, followed by a homogenization step. Different methods are evaluated to study variations in piezoceramic properties with remanent polarization and are compared with established, experimentally validated approaches. The nonlinear formulation entails higher numerical cost and is best suited for RVEs exhibiting strong poling-field gradients arising from geometric effects or electric-field path dependence during poling. Material failure is qualitatively assessed, indicating that sharp polarization gradients may induce localized, poling-related stress concentrations in additively manufactured piezoelectric structures. These results highlight that polarization and actuation strategies dictated by electrode architecture must be considered during design, as they can significantly alter the effective piezoelectric tensor of the composite.