Parametric Analysis and Optimization of Radially Layered Cylindrical Piezoceramic/Epoxy Composite Transducers.

Jianjun Wang,Lei Qin,Weijie Li,Weibin Song

doi:10.3390/mi9110585

Abstract

Radially layered cylindrical piezoceramic/epoxy composite transducers have been designed by integrating the excellent performance of piezoelectric/polymer composites and the radial radiation ability of cylindrical configurations, which are promising in developing novel ultrasonic and underwater sound techniques. Our previous study has explored the effects of the external resistance on the electromechanical characteristics of the transducer, and obtained some valuable findings. To clearly understand the electromechanical characteristics of the transducer and to guide the device design, in this paper, parametric analysis was performed to reveal the effects of multiple key factors on the electromechanical characteristics. These factors include material parameters of epoxy layers, piezoceramic material types, and locations of piezoceramic rings. In order to better analyze the influence of these factors, a modified theoretical model, in which every layer has different geometric and material parameters, was developed based on the model given in the previous work. Furthermore, the reliability of the model was validated by the ANSYS simulation results and the experimental results. The present investigation provides some helpful guidelines to design and optimize the radially layered cylindrical piezoceramic/epoxy composite transducers.

Highlights

Piezoelectric ultrasonic and underwater sound transducers, by virtue of their excellent electromechanical properties, have been widely applied in medical imaging [1,2,3], non-destructive testing [4,5], underwater communications [6,7], and so on
Through designing and optimizing various connectivity patterns, such as 1-3 type [10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18], 2-2 type [3,19,20,21], these transducers can be used in high-frequency, high-power, and high-temperature applications [9]
A new type of radially layered cylindrical piezoceramic/epoxy composite transducer was developed by integrating two concentric axially polarized piezoceramic rings into cylindrical epoxy matrixes, which is expected to be utilized in developing novel ultrasonic and underwater sound techniques [52]. This preliminary study mainly focused on studying the effects of the external resistance on the electromechanical characteristics of the transducer, which lacked of clear understanding on the influences of other key factors, including material parameters of epoxy layers, piezoceramic material types, and locations of piezoceramic rings

Summary

Introduction

Piezoelectric ultrasonic and underwater sound transducers, by virtue of their excellent electromechanical properties, have been widely applied in medical imaging [1,2,3], non-destructive testing [4,5], underwater communications [6,7], and so on. A new type of radially layered cylindrical piezoceramic/epoxy composite transducer was developed by integrating two concentric axially polarized piezoceramic rings into cylindrical epoxy matrixes, which is expected to be utilized in developing novel ultrasonic and underwater sound techniques [52]. This preliminary study mainly focused on studying the effects of the external resistance on the electromechanical characteristics of the transducer, which lacked of clear understanding on the influences of other key factors, including material parameters of epoxy layers, piezoceramic material types, and locations of piezoceramic rings.

Basic Equations

Solution

Validation

ANSYS Numerical Simulation

Effect of Material Parameters of Epoxy Layers