Piezo Stack Research Articles

Characteristics of a novel elliptical ultrasonic vibration-assisted turning device

ABSTRACT 2D Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Turning (2D-UVAT) is a proven method to improve the traditional turning process. This process utilises bi-axial vibrations to enhance the smoothness of the machined surface and to suppress cutting temperature and cutting force. This study investigates the effects of employing a novel non-resonant vibration module, called the RNO vibrator, on the surface roughness, cutting temperature, and cutting force of aluminium alloy 6061-T6 machined using 2D-UVAT technique. The RNO vibrator operates by harnessing flexural hinges to disseminate and amplify the actuated vibrations originating from two orthogonal piezo actuator stacks. This vibrator was designed from a simple bar concept, expecting minimal adjustment on the tool post during installation. The experimental evaluation of the RNO vibrator’s performance was conducted by varying key machining parameters, including spindle speed, depth of cut, feed rate, and vibrational frequency. The study reveals that the introduced RNO vibrator substantially enhances machining quality by diminishing surface roughness and cutting temperature, while concurrently reducing cutting forces. Under the given conditions, the machined workpieces had a surface roughness between 0.41 and 1.25 µm and a cutting temperature ranging from 153.36°C to 180.5°C, while the cutting force was low, typically between 35.3 N and 145.5 N. The vibrator works better at high frequency, particularly at 20 kHz. Eventually, the study suggests that the RNO vibrator has a promising performance as a vibration module for the 2D-UVAT process.

Improvements on the FANTASIO set-up and new spectroscopic results concerning the Ar-H2O van der Waals complex in the 2OH overtone region

We present a series of improvements of the FANTASIO experimental set-up that couples a supersonic expansion to a cavity ring-down spectrometer originally reported by M. Herman, et al., Mol. Phys. 105, 815 (2007). In particular, the implementation of a new pulsed slit valve of 80 mm in length is detailed. The design is based on a powerful piezo stack actuator. Schlieren imaging is used to verify the homogeneity of the molecular beam and the quality of the pulsed slit performance. The ability to form weakly bound van der Waals complexes is assessed using the cavity ring-down spectrometer and a new chirped-pulse Fourier transform microwave spectrometer with the 12–18 GHz operating range. The water hexamer and heptamer were observed using this microwave spectrometer. Following enhancements and an extended laser coverage of the CRDS in the 2OH region, we observed and analyzed seven sub-bands of the Ar-H216O van der Waals complex, along with one sub-band of the much less abundant Ar-H218O isotopologue.

Active vibration control of gearbox housing using inertial mass actuators

Reducing carbon emissions is a primary goal in the global effort to combat climate change. Decreasing the weight of a vehicle improves efficiency and significantly reduces emissions. One of the main contributors to the vehicle’s weight is the gearbox. However, this approach presents a challenge as lightweight transmission systems experience higher vibrations and noise emission levels. In this paper, an economical active vibration control system is developed to control the vibration levels of an automotive gearbox housing. The gearbox’s mounting points are targeted to reduce the transmitted vibrations to the car cabin. The active control system aims to target high-frequency vibrations between 1000 Hz and 5000 Hz. A compact piezoelectric inertial mass actuator is designed and tested on a gearbox-constructed setup that simulates the vibrations and noise similar to a commercial automotive transmission system. The developed test-rig is excited by a piezo stack actuator at the input shaft. Filtered-x least mean square algorithm is implemented on a high-speed microcontroller, and the vibration levels are significantly reduced using the active system. An average reduction of approximately 8.5 dB is achieved between 1000 Hz and 1500 Hz, an average reduction of approximately 14 dB is obtained between 1500 and 2000 Hz, and an average reduction of 10.8 dB is attained between 2500 and 5000 Hz.

A rigid and compact piezoelectric motor with high output efficiency.

We introduce a novel piezoelectric stepper motor featuring high compactness, rigidity, and any direction operability. Here, not only is the structure of high novelty but also the working principle very simple. The piezo stacks unit is sandwiched between two spring finger pieces, with almost equal clamping forces applied between the top of the piezo stacks' unit and the spring finger piece. Applying individual driving signals to each of the five piezo stack pairs, causing deformation one by one in the same direction, followed by simultaneous recovery in the reverse direction, enables movement of the frame part. The optimized clamping force of the piezoelectric stack units and spring fingers ensures maximum output force. The motor's operational capability at low threshold voltages, specifically 8V for downward movement and 10V for upward movement, confirmed its efficacy in both vertical and horizontal directions. The motor's operational capability at a low threshold voltage of 10V confirmed its efficacy in both vertical and horizontal directions. At room temperature, step size ranges from 0.3 to 7.4 µm at 20Hz frequency and varying driving voltage from 10 to 180V. It has a maximum travel range of about 5mm and can lift a maximum load of 220g in an upward direction, so the maximum output force generated by this motor is 2.2 N. The compact and rigid design is capable of building an atomically resolved scanning probe microscope, and its working ability has the potential to use the cleavage of different types of samples in limited space environments, such as the small-bore superconducting magnet and low temperature.

A design of tuned mass damper with piezoelectric stack energy harvester and two-stage force amplification frame

The paper deals with a novel tuned mass damper (TMD) with an energy harvester consisting of a combination of piezo stacks and two-stage force amplification frames connected in series with TMD springs (TMD-2sPSFAFs). The governing equations of 2sPSFAF are established first, followed by those of TMD-2sPSFAF. It will be demonstrated that the reduced order model of the series combination of 2sPSFAF and TMD spring is an equivalent piezo stack energy harvester. Using the optimal results according to the fixed point theory, the conditions for selecting stiffnesses of piezo stacks and TMD spring are obtained. Next, a numerical examination of the electromechanical system reveals that the voltage amplitude curve has a fixed point independent of TMD spring stiffness. Furthermore, an effective stiffness of the TMD spring would be found to ensure that the peaks of mechanical magnification and voltage amplitude curves are of equal heights.

Feasibility Study on Active Structural Attenuation: Addressing Multiband Vibration in Automotive Vehicles on 2D Asymmetric Structures with a Faulty Horizontal Actuator

This work presents a study on the modeling, analysis, and control of asymmetric source structures, which focuses on a multi-directional active mounting system that aims to consider the location and orientation of an actual automotive powertrain mount. An active mount was created by connecting a PZT (piezo-stack) actuator with a rubber grommet. Additional force necessary for every mount was determined by using forces caused by harmonic stimulation and the control input has the capability to reduce vibrations by engaging in detrimental opposition against the input. In addition, the vibration in the horizontal direction can be reduced with the adjustment of variables that can be modified via the dynamic interconnection of the source frame. This study especially evaluated the effectiveness of vibration reduction without a horizontal active component and determined the feasibility of control. Through sequences of simulated outcomes, it was demonstrated that the implementation of this asymmetric, bi-directional (both horizontally and vertically) active mount may effectively reduce stimulation oscillations. Additionally, a numerical validation was performed to reduce the vibrations generated by the modulation. It was accomplished by observing the system’s response utilizing a digital filter with a normalized least mean square method. The simulations of adaptive digital filters demonstrated that the efficacy of control diminishes when faced with intricate noise and signals, while the attenuation trend stays unaltered.

Piezo stack energy harvesters with protection components for railway applications

Piezo stack energy harvesting from railway vibrations shows substantial potential for powering wireless sensor networks responsible for monitoring railway infrastructure. Nevertheless, assuring the safety and durability of these energy harvesters in the condition of the dynamically fluctuating railway vibrations remains a considerable challenge. In this paper, we present two innovative protection methods designed for piezo stack energy harvesters with a frequency up-conversion mechanism. These methods involve the incorporation of ring-type and circular stoppers within the resonant system and the utilisation of proposed impact protection components within the impact system. Two distinct harvesters incorporating the proposed protection components, Harvester Types I and II, are designed to align with their respective operating acceleration targets, which are determined based on the amplitudes of railway vibration acceleration. Finite element modelling is used to guide the design process, involving the evaluation and selection of various design parameters aligned with the acceleration target and stress limits. The protection mechanisms’ effectiveness and impact on energy harvesting performance have been validated through experimental testing under measured rail vibration signals, and their performance has been further assessed through stress analyses. Harvester Type I operates seamlessly within a 5 g threshold, effectively mitigating the increase in maximum output acceleration and stress beyond this limit. In contrast, Harvester Type II efficiently dissipates excess energy, enabling the harvester to operate at a 15 g acceleration while reducing the rate of acceleration and stress growth. The results demonstrate that both proposed harvesters provide effective protection from unexpected railway vibration overloads. This research makes a significant impact on the practical, real-world implementation of piezo stack energy harvesters operating within the dynamic environment of railway vibrations.

Development of a piezo stack – Laser doppler vibrometer sensing approach for characterizing shear wave dispersion and local viscoelastic property distributions

Laser Doppler vibrometry and wavefield analysis have recently shown great potential for nondestructive evaluation, structural health monitoring, and studying wave physics. However, there are limited studies on these approaches for viscoelastic soft materials, especially, very few studies on the laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV)-based acquisition of time–space wavefields of dispersive shear waves in viscoelastic materials and the analysis of these wavefields for characterizing shear wave dispersion and evaluating local viscoelastic property distributions. Therefore, this research focuses on developing a piezo stack-LDV system and shear wave time–space wavefield analysis methods for enabling the functions of characterizing the shear wave dispersion and the distributions of local viscoelastic material properties. Our system leverages a piezo stack to generate shear waves in viscoelastic materials and an LDV to acquire time–space wavefields. We introduced space-frequency-wavenumber analysis and least square regression-based dispersion comparison to analyze shear wave time–space wavefields and offer functions including extracting shear wave dispersion relations from wavefields and characterizing the spatial distributions of local wavenumbers and viscoelastic properties (e.g., shear elasticity and viscosity). Proof-of-concept experiments were performed using a synthetic gelatin phantom. The results show that our system can successfully generate shear waves and acquire time–space wavefields. They also prove that our wavefield analysis methods can reveal the shear wave dispersion relation and show the spatial distributions of local wavenumbers and viscoelastic properties. We expect this research to benefit engineering and biomedical research communities and inspire researchers interested in developing shear wave-based technologies for characterizing viscoelastic materials.

A new stick-slip type piezoelectric actuator based on asymmetric diamond-shaped flexure hinge structure

A new stick-slip type piezoelectric actuator based on asymmetric structure is proposed. The actuator uses a stator with the asymmetric diamond-shaped structure, and the structure size is determined by finite element simulation. First, the structure and working principle of the proposed actuator are introduced. The elongation deformation of the piezo stack is transferred to the driving tip by the used asymmetric diamond-shaped hinge. This produces a diagonal movement on the driving tip, with the lateral motion used for driving and the longitudinal motion used for pressing the slider, respectively. Then, the statics analysis of the proposed piezoelectric actuator is performed by finite element simulation. The simulated displacements of the driving tip under different structures are obtained, and then the structure size is determined. Finally, an experimental system is established to study the performance of the proposed piezoelectric actuator. The experimental results show that the maximum output velocity of the proposed actuator is 5.26 mm/s. The maximum output force is 1.9N when the locking force is 2N and the drive frequency is 660 Hz.

Energy harvesting using lead-free multilayer piezo stacks based on 0.95(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.05(BaTiO3) piezoceramics through the addition of ZrO2

This paper explores the feasibility of utilizing lead-free multilayer piezo stacks, particularly focusing on Zr-doped 0.95(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-0.05(BaTiO3) piezoceramics, for energy harvesting. Various lead-free BNT-BT disk samples with different Zr concentrations undergo structural, microstructural, and electrical characterizations. The results illustrate that Zr-doping improves piezoelectric constitutive parameters, notably at a 2.0 mol% concentration. Electromechanical tests were conducted on multilayer piezo stacks, involving variations in electric load, mechanical load, frequency, and number of stacked disks. These tests demonstrate the ability of the multilayer transducer to produce up to 1.5 V (peak) under particular conditions: a 250 Hz frequency, a 10 N mechanical load, and an open circuit electric load, utilizing a stack comprising 5 disks. Employing an analytical mathematical model, an effective d33eff of the system is determined, yielding values ranging from 588 to 625 pC/N for a stack composed of 5 disks. These findings highlight the considerable potential of lead-free multilayer piezo stacks in energy harvesting applications, offering crucial insights for the development of sustainable and eco-friendly energy solutions.

Development of a Fast in Situ Scanning Tunneling Microscope for Studies of Electrocatalyst Surfaces

The atomic-scale understanding of processes at the interface between solid electrodes and liquid electrolytes is of high importance for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (ECSTM) is a key technique for the investigation of these interfaces and as such, it has seen widespread use. However, the image acquisition in a conventional ECSTM is a rather slow process, requiring tens of seconds or minutes per image. To help understand the precise reaction mechanisms of atomic and molecular species at solid-liquid interfaces, their movement and interactions need to be resolved. For this, much higher imaging rates are necessary. High-speed STMs (video STMs) are capable of operating at rates >10 images per second, which is sufficiently fast to observe and quantitatively study a wide range of surface dynamic processes, e.g., surface diffusion and growth [1]. However, this technique has not been widely employed, mainly because of the instrumental requirements.The development of an STM for fast in situ measurements poses a set of challenges, which require a carefully planned implementation. For operation in electrochemical environment, the potentials of both STM tip and sample need to be controlled and electrochemical currents at the tip need to be kept way below the tunneling current. Fast image acquisition requires a scanner with high mechanical stability to avoid the excitation of uncontrolled tip oscillations at its resonance frequencies. Additionally, high-bandwidth measurement and control electronics and a sophisticated control software with fast scan generation and data processing capabilities are essential. No commercial system that is capable of fulfilling these requirements exists up to now. For this reason, all existing video-rate STM studies have been performed with home-built setups that employ highly specialized hardware that is not easy to reproduce.In this contribution, we present a new ECSTM developed and built in our group. The setup is based on a Nanonis SPM controller by SPECS and a custom scanner, bipotentiostat, and coarse approach control that were integrated into this system. We show example data and images to demonstrate the performance of the STM. Furthermore, we reveal the modifications employed to make it capable of video-rate imaging. These include a novel scanner design with two independent piezo stacks for slow and high-speed movements and a custom high-bandwidth preamplifier integrated into the scan head as close as possible to the tip. Fast data acquisition is realized by an FPGA-based control software, which features a user-friendly frontend and a backend with good performance even at high image acquisition rates. This software is designed to run alongside the commercial control software for the slow STM operation so that switching between the slow and fast imaging modes is as frictionless as possible. We will show preliminary test results of the early implementation of the fast imaging mode.[1] O. M. Magnussen, Chem. Eur. J. 2019, 25, 12865.

A statistical analysis of a fuel injection rate waveform by the bosch method according to a piezoelectric injector driving pattern

To drive a diesel piezo injector, the charge and discharge of the current supplied to the piezo stack in the injector are controlled as a pair. The charge and discharge currents expand and contract the piezo stack, respectively. The expansion of the piezo stack causes an increase in the hydraulic pressure that presses the top of the injector needle, which results in the fuel injection. In contrast, the contraction of the piezo stack stops the fuel injection. The charge and discharge currents are controlled by a peak and hold method. The hold current is controlled by PWM (pulse width modulation) control of the driving power supplied to the injector. The duty ratios of the PWM signal used for the hold current control are 10%, 30%, and 100%. The injector driving voltage was 140V. A variety of charge and discharge current waveforms were generated by combining the duty ratio control of the PWM waveform with the driving power source. To measure the time-resolved injected mass under various current waveform conditions, the Bosch method was used in this study. An uncertainty analysis was performed on the Bosch injection rate waveform when it was measured 40 times for each fuel injection condition.

Modeling of Piezo Stack Actuators and Their Application in Active Vibration Control

This paper presents the vibration control of a highly simplified two degree of freedom model of a helicopter. The vibration control study has been performed using both active and passive vibration control schemes. In the case of active vibration control, the feedback mechanism affects the stiffness of the system; whereas in passive vibration control, the absorber mass affects the inertia of the system. The active control is achieved using a combination of piezo stack sensor and actuator mechanism. A finite element model for the piezo stack mechanism has been developed to obtain a relation between deformation, applied/induced potential and externally applied mechanical load. The results of this study indicate that inclusion of sensor and actuator units increases the natural frequency of the system due to increase in stiffness of the system. It is observed that in the case of active vibration control, the frequency response of acceleration of the system is highly sensitive to small variations in the magnitude of gain around its optimum value and insensitive to changes in excitation frequency; whereas in passive vibration control, the frequency response does not exhibit any significant change in the characteristics with respect to the variation in the absorber mass, while it is highly sensitive to changes in operating frequency.

Modulated orthogonal cutting system realized by piezo stack actuation and linear guide coupling

Modulation-assisted machining (MAM) employs low-frequency feed-direction tool vibration to enhance conventionally continuous cutting processes such as turning, drilling, and boring operations. The development of a suitable tool vibration system is critical for the success of MAM. In this paper, a tool vibration system realized by using piezo stack actuation and linear guide coupling was designed and constructed. The performance of the system was evaluated by conducting orthogonal tube face turning tests on AISI 1045 steel using a range of cutting and modulation conditions. Cutting forces and tool vibration displacement were measured and analyzed. A mechanistic force model based on the variable uncut chip thickness was used to predict the variable primary cutting and feed forces in MAM which showed good agreement with the measured forces. Furthermore, It was found that the vibration amplitude with cutting was reduced when compared to the vibration amplitude without cutting. The reduction in vibration amplitude was predictable as it depends on the feed force and the stiffness of the system. The results indicate good control ability of the tool vibration system across a wide range of cutting and modulation conditions.

Active vibration control for reduction of interior noise caused by R-MDPS of electric power steering in electric vehicle

This paper presents a novel active vibration control (AVC) system for a motor driven power steering (MDPS) system to reduce interior noise in an electric vehicle. The novel control algorithm used for the AVC system is developed based on selection of two reference signals. One is the frequency modulation signal using the rotation speed of motor shaft of MDPS the other one is the band passed signal of acceleration measured on the major path structure identified by the blocked transfer path (BF-TPA). In addition, the piezo stack actuator is used for generation of control force of the AVC system in the frequency over 400 Hz. An MDPS system uses electronic power steering. An MDPS system attached to the rack gear of power steering system is called an R-MDPS. The vibration generated by the R-MDPS is transmitted to the car body through mounts attached onto the car subframe. Panel vibrations of car body are sources of vibroacoustic noise generated inside the car cabin. This vibracoustic noise is a structure-borne noise and causes passenger annoyance. The frequencies of the structure-borne noise measured inside the car cabin are 460 Hz and 920 Hz, which are the rotating frequency of the R-MDPS motor shaft and the second-order harmonic of the rotating speed of the motor shaft. To directly reduce the interior noise inside the car cabin, active noise control (ANC) has been used for the active cancellation of noises with frequencies less than 400 Hz. However, because the frequency of interior noise generated by the operation of the R-MDPS is higher than 400 Hz, AVC was employed in this study for the active cancellation of vibrations transmitted to the car body through the subframe mounts of the car. For application of AVC to the test car, the control force should be known. Therefore, the actuator for generating the control force should be inserted in the mount between the subframe and R-MDPS system. Installing the actuator in the test car is challenging because of the geometry limit of commercial cars. Hence, a test jig composed of an R-MDPS system and the subframe of the test car was developed and set up in the laboratory to study the applicability of AVC to R-MDPS. All investigations of AVC were performed using the test jig in the laboratory. The proposed method was successfully applied to the active cancellation of vibration at a target point on the subframe.

Experimental analysis of the volumetric and thermal efficiency performance of a novel direct piezo-acting CVVT mechanism

ABSTRACT In this study, a specifically designed direct-acting continuously variable valve timing mechanism was used to determine speed optimised valve timings for best volumetric efficiency of an engine. This mechanism basically consists of a piezo stack and a hydraulic magnifier integrated into it. To avoid effects of excessive vibrations on the piezo-stack, the engine was operated in a non-combustion mode. An electric motor was used to power the engine. Some system limitations of the hydraulic magnifier and the piezo-stack were the main challenges to a non-stop operation. A valve lift of approximately 4 mm, obtained with maximum applicable voltage of 600V to the piezo-stack, was referred to for comparison instead of the 7.6 mm original value. Tests were conducted for 30 inlet valve timing combinations at four different engine speeds from 1500 to 3000 rpm with 500 rpm increments. Timing pairs for the best VE were determined. They yielded 11.5% to 19.4% better volumetric efficiencies at 4mm lift than those obtained with the original valve timing of the cold engine. We also predicted 5-11.5% overall efficiency improvement, depending on engine type and operating conditions. Despite some practical challenges, better VE values have been obtained for a specific engine at varied speeds.

Dynamic performance of a membrane-based variable focus lens with a large aperture.

Dynamic performance is one of the most important characteristics of a variable focus lens. However, there are few studies investigating the dynamic response of a membrane-based variable focus lens. In this paper, we present a mathematical model to describe spring-damping phenomena in theory. The first order natural frequencies with different scales were confirmed via finite element analysis. We also built a dynamic response experiment platform with changeable optical apertures, which was driven by a high-speed piezo stack actuator. A photodiode module was placed behind the lens to measure the variation of light luminance as the lens changed, and a laser displacement sensor was used to measure the deformation of the membrane. A series of data was collected with different optical apertures (20mm, 30mm, 50mm) and different pre-stretching ratios (200%, 300%) under different driving frequencies (from 5Hz to 25Hz in every 5Hz step). The experimental results were consistent with the mathematical model, which showed that the first order natural frequency increased as the aperture decreased or the membrane stiffness increased. This frequency-dependent characteristic of the variable focus lens provides a basis for further research on its dynamic performance.

A Miniaturized Piezo Stack Impact Actuation Mechanism for Out-of-Plane Freely Moveable Masses.

We present the prototype and analytical model of a miniaturized impact actuation mechanism, providing a fast out-of-plane displacement to accelerate objects against gravity, allowing for freely moving objects and hence for large displacements without the need for cantilevers. To achieve the necessary high speed, we chose a piezoelectric stack actuator driven by a high-current pulse generator, connected to a rigid support and a rigid three-point contact with the object. We describe this mechanism with a spring-mass model and compare various spheres with different masses and diameters and from different materials. As expected, we found that larger flight heights are achieved by harder spheres, achieving, e.g., approx. 3 mm displacement for a 3 mm steel sphere using a 3 × 3 × 2 mm3 piezo stack.

Development of a Novel Piezoelectric Actuator Based on Stick-Slip Principle by Using Asymmetric Constraint.

In this work, a novel piezoelectric actuator based on the stick-slip principle is proposed. The actuator is constrained by an asymmetric constraint approach; the driving foot produces lateral and longitudinal coupling displacements when the piezo stack is extended. The lateral displacement is used to drive the slider and the longitudinal displacement is used to compress the slider. The stator part of the proposed actuator is illustrated and designed by simulation. The operating principle of the proposed actuator is described in detail. The feasibility of the proposed actuator is verified by theoretical analysis and finite element simulation. A prototype is fabricated and some experiments are carried out to study the proposed actuator's performance. The experimental results show that the maximum output speed of the actuator is 3680 μm/s when the locking force is 1 N under the voltage of 100 V and frequency of 780 Hz. The maximum output force is 3.1 N when the locking force is 3 N. The displacement resolution of the prototype is measured as 60 nm under the voltage of 15.8 V, frequency of 780 Hz and locking force of 1 N.

Design of a Flexible Hinged Piezoelectric Viscous Slip Actuator with Retraction Suppression

In order to solve the displacement regression phenomenon of piezoelectric viscous-slip actuators, this paper proposes a lever-type flexible hinge mechanism that uses two sets of piezoelectric stacks to move the slider in both directions and efficiently suppress the displacement regression phenomenon. First, the overall dimensional parameters of the drive are designed, the device is modeled using 3D software, and the driving principle is analyzed. Then a theoretical model is built based on the lever amplification principle to derive the relevant expressions for the piezoelectric viscous slip actuator under sawtooth wave type voltage signals. The piezoelectric stack is simulated and analyzed with COMSOL Multiphysics to obtain the modal and stress-displacement clouds of the flexible hinges. Finally, a prototype was built for experimental testing, and the slider in the device was able to achieve smooth motion and effectively suppress the displacement regression phenomenon. The input voltage of piezo stack A is 100 V, the input voltage of piezo stack D is 150 V, the input frequency is 212 Hz, the maximum output displacement of single-step drive is 46.6 μm, and the amplification ratio of flexible hinge input to output is 2.59. The piezoelectric viscous-slip actuator was verified to be able to achieve effective drive and suppress back-off.