This paper focuses on the characterization of hysteresis exhibited by piezoelectric materials at moderate to high field levels. For soft materials in which dipoles are easily reconfigured, the hysteresis loop is observed to be rotationally symmetric about the zero field, zero polarization point and symmetric models can be employed. In harder materials, however, the loops are no longer rotationally symmetric which necessitates the development of commensurate characterization techniques. The model considered here is based upon the quantification of reversible and irreversible changes in polarization due to bending and translation of domain walls pinned at inclusions inherent to the materials. The performance of the model is illustrated through comparison with PZT4 data.
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