Mechanical stress or strain —drives→ Flexoelectric effect

Conditions

• the required strain gradient may be generated mechanically (e.g. bending) or by spatially non-uniform thermal expansion; uniform strain alone does not produce bulk flexoelectric polarization in a centrosymmetric dielectric
• coefficients are small in bulk (nC/m) and useful only at the nanoscale or in thin films

Constitutive relation

P = μ · ∇ε

Evidence · 2

1. [1]
   P. Zubko, G. Catalan, A. K. Tagantsev. Flexoelectric effect in solids (2013)

   Annual Review of Materials Research 43, 387–421 · doi:10.1146/annurev-matsci-071312-121634 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
2. [2]
   S. Iwakiri, Y. Miyata, T. Mori. Observation of universal thermopolarization effect in insulators (2026)

   arXiv:2605.17224 (17 May 2026), National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba · arxiv.org/abs/2605.17224 · record

Matrix cells this relation feeds

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

Uses of this claim

• Flexoelectric vibration harvesterdemonstrated · 5 steps
• Thermal-expansion flexoelectric thermopolarizationobserved · output not delivered · 5 steps

• Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work3/3 established · extends a recorded pathway
• Pressure gradient → Elastic deformation → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work5/5 established · extends a recorded pathway
• Mechanical vibration → Resonant vibration → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work5/5 established · candidate
• Temperature gradient → Marangoni effect → Pressure gradient → Elastic deformation → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work6/7 established · weakly supported
• Chemical potential difference → Combustion → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · candidate
• Electric potential difference → Peltier effect → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · same energy form
• Electric potential difference → Ettingshausen effect → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · same energy form
• Bulk fluid flow → Flow-induced vibration → Mechanical vibration → Resonant vibration → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · extends a recorded pathway
• Bulk fluid flow → Flow-induced vibration → Mechanical vibration → Elastic deformation → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · extends a recorded pathway
• Bulk fluid flow → Ocean wave motion → Pressure gradient → Elastic deformation → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · extends a recorded pathway
• Incident radiation flux → Photothermal absorption → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · candidate
• Radiative imbalance with the sky → Radiative sky cooling → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · candidate
• Surface energy difference → Marangoni effect → Pressure gradient → Elastic deformation → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work6/7 established · weakly supported
• Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fission → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work7/7 established · candidate
• Nuclear binding-energy difference → Nuclear fusion → Temperature gradient → Thermal expansion → Mechanical stress or strain → Flexoelectric effect → Separated surface charge → Electrical work5/7 established · candidate

Cite this claim

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). claim claim:flexo-drives: Mechanical stress or strain —drives→ Flexoelectric effect. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/claim/flexo-drives

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