Investigation of Some Structural and Mechanical Properties of Ba 0.5 Ca x Sr 0.5−x TiO 3 Ceramics

Ba0.5CaxSr0.5-xTiO3 (BCST) ceramics, where x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4, were prepared by the conventional solid state reaction technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of BST perovskite phase structure besides some calcium oxide peaks for samples with high Ca content, x. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results confirmed the XRD results, i.e., as x increased, the average grain size decreased. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis verified the increase of the amount of Ca element with increasing of its content. Mechanical properties such as ultrasonic attenuation, longitudinal wave velocity, and longitudinal elastic modulus were studied by an ultrasonic pulse echo technique at 2 MHz frequency. Investigations of ceramic microstructures and mechanical properties showed their dependence on composition. Increasing of Ca content resulted in a decrease in bulk density and ultrasonic attenuation and an increase in porosity, velocity, and modulus. High temperature ultrasonic studies showed, in addition to Curie phase transition, three or more relaxation peaks and its origin was investigated.