Excitation of acoustic waves from cylindrical polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film confined in a concentric wall

Abstract

This paper investigates acoustic wave radiation from cylindrical polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film mounted inside a concentric wall with a small air gap. In such a structure, propagation is allowed only in the gap between the film and the wall surface, and the wave propagates in the axial direction of the cylinder. The radiation impedance of the cylindrical transducer inside the concentric wall has been calculated using a one-dimensional propagation model. After calculating the mechanical impedance of the cylindrical PVDF film, the generated acoustic wave has been calculated as a function of frequency with various air gaps between the PVDF film and the wall. It has been found that the excited acoustic wave becomes stronger for a narrower air gap and shows a maximum at a specific air gap. This phenomenon has been explained as the match between the transducer impedance and the radiation impedance of the air gap. When the gap is too small, the radiation impedance exceeds the transducer's mechanical impedance, the acoustic wave radiation decreases with the decreasing gap, and the resonance frequency increases due to loading by the imaginary part of the excessive radiation impedance. All these theoretical results have been experimentally confirmed.