Surface electro-elastic Love waves in a layered structure with a piezoelectric substrate and two isotropic layers

Propagation of electro-elastic surface Love waves in a structure consisting of a piezoelectric half-space substrate of crystal class 6, 4, 6 mm or 4 mm and two layers, one of which (adjacent to the substrate) is a conducting material and the second is either a conducting or a dielectric material, is considered. The mathematical model obtained includes all the above crystal classes i.e. the surface wave problems related to all these classes are presented in a single mathematical model. The dispersion equation for the existence of Love surface waves with respect to phase velocity is obtained. Numerical calculations are carried out for three different layered structures. The effect of the second layer on the propagation behaviour of the surface Love wave in the structure is revealed.     

Surface electro-elastic shear horizontal waves in a layered structure with a piezoelectric substrate and a hard dielectric layer

The existence and behaviour of surface electro-elastic shear horizontal waves in a layered structure consisting of a piezoelectric substrate of crystal class 6, 4, 6mm, or 4mm mechanically bonded at its upper surface to an elastic dielectric layer and bounded by an adjacent dielectric medium is considered when the shear bulk wave velocity in the elastic layer is greater than or equal to that in the substrate. The dispersion equation for the existence of the surface electro-elastic SH waves with respect to the phase velocity is obtained which includes all the above crystal classes i.e. the surface wave problems related to all these classes are presented in a single mathematical model. The investigation of the solutions of the dispersion equation is carried out and all the possible cases of the behaviour of the surface electro-elastic SH wave depending on the electro-mechanical coefficients of the layered structure are revealed.     

Analysis of non-axisymmetric wave propagation in a homogeneous piezoelectric solid circular cylinder of transversely isotropic material

A study concerning the propagation of free non-axisymmetric waves in a homogeneous piezoelectric cylinder of transversely isotropic material with axial polarization is carried out on the basis of the linear theory of elasticity and linear electro-mechanical coupling. The solution of the three dimensional equations of motion and quasi-electrostatic equation is given in terms of seven mechanical and three electric potentials. The characteristic equations are obtained by the application of the mechanical and two types of electric boundary conditions at the surface of the piezoelectric cylinder. A novel method of displaying dispersion curves is described in the paper and the resulting dispersion curves are presented for propagating and evanescent waves for PZT-4 and PZT-7A piezoelectric ceramics for circumferential wave numbers m = 1, 2, and 3. It is observed that the dispersion curves are sensitive to the type of the imposed boundary conditions as well as to the measure of the electro-mechanical coupling of the material.     

Effects of covering layer thickness on Love waves in functionally graded piezoelectric substrates

An analytical approach is used to investigate the effects of covering layer thickness on the propagation behavior of Love waves in functionally graded piezoelectric materials (FGPMs) covered with a dielectric layer. The piezoelectric substrate is polarized in the direction perpendicular to the wave propagation plane, and its material parameters change continuously along the thickness direction. The dispersion equations for the existence of Love waves with respect to phase velocity are obtained for electrically open and shorted cases, respectively. A detailed investigation of the effects of the covering dielectric layer thickness on dispersion curve, phase velocity, group velocity, and electromechanical coupling factor is carried out. Numerical results show that for a given FGPM, the covering dielectric layer thickness affects significantly the fundamental mode of Love waves but has only negligible effects on the high-order modes. The changes in phase velocity, group velocity, and electromechanical coupling factor due to the change of gradient coefficient of FGPMs could be approached approximately by changing the thickness of the covering dielectric layer, which imply a potential factor for designing new-type surface wave devices with FGPMs.     

The dispersion of shear wave in multilayered magnetoelastic self-reinforced media

In this paper, we study the propagation of shear waves in a magnetoelastic self-reinforced medium using finite difference technique. Dispersion equation has been deduced for the case when (n ? 1) layers lie over a half space. It is observed that the obtained dispersion equation is in assertion with the classical Love wave equation for both the cases when a single and double layer lies over a half space. The stability condition for the used finite difference scheme and the expression for the phase and group velocity have been derived. The dispersion curve for different values of magnetoelastic coupling parameter, phase and group velocity variation for different values of stability ratio has been depicted by means of graphs.     

Wave propagation in transversely isotropic porous piezoelectric materials

Wave propagation in porous piezoelectric material (PPM), having crystal symmetry 6 mm, is studied analytically. Christoffel equation is derived for the propagation of plane harmonic waves in such a medium. The roots of this equation give four complex wave velocities which can propagate in such materials. The phase velocities of propagation and the attenuation quality factors of all these waves are described in terms of complex wave velocities. Phase velocities and attenuation of the waves in PPM depend on the phase direction. Numerical results are computed for the PPM BaTiO₃. The variation of phase velocity and attenuation quality factor with phase direction, porosity and the wave frequency is studied. The effects of anisotropy and piezoelectric coupling are also studied. The phase velocities of two quasi dilatational waves and one quasi shear waves get affected due to piezoelectric coupling while that of type 2 quasi shear wave remain unaffected. The phase velocities of all the four waves show non-dispersive behavior after certain critical high frequency. The phase velocity of all waves decreases with porosity while attenuation of respective waves increases with porosity of the medium. The characteristic curves, including slowness curves, velocity curves, and the attenuation curves, are also studied in this paper.     

Effect of rotation on Rayleigh waves in piezothermoelastic half space

The present paper deals with the study of rotation effect on the characteristics of Rayleigh waves propagating in a homogeneous, transversely isotropic piezothermoelastic half space in the framework of linear theory including Coriolis and Centrifugal forces. The medium is subjected to stress free, thermally insulated, electrically shorted/charge free boundary conditions and is rotating about an axis perpendicular to its plane. Characteristics of surface waves propagating in thermoelastic piezoelectric solids and their dependence upon various geometric and physical parameters are derived. After deriving secular equations in closed form and isolated mathematical conditions, the effect of rotation on dispersion curves and attenuation profiles is studied. The specific loss factor and relative frequency shift are also obtained in case of open and closed circuit electric surface conditions. Finally, in order to illustrate and verify the analytical results, numerical solution of various secular equations and other relevant relations are derived for cadmium selenide (6 mm) class material. The analysis shows that the rotation sensitivity at long wavelengths (in the vicinity of the surface) is substantially greater than those at short wavelengths (deep into the half space). The study is very helpful in the development of rotation sensors and other piezoelectric devices.     

Propagation and localization of two-dimensional in-plane elastic waves in randomly disordered layered piezoelectric phononic crystals

Two-dimensional in-plane wave propagation and localization in the disordered layered piezoelectric phononic crystals with material 6 mm are investigated taking the electromechanical coupling into account. The electric field is approximated as quasi-static. The analytical solutions of elastic waves are obtained. The 6 × 6 transfer matrix between two consecutive unit cells is obtained by means of the mechanical and electrical continuity conditions. The expressions of the localization factor and localization length in the disordered periodic structures are presented by regarding the variables of the mechanical and electrical fields as the elements of the state vector. The numerical results of the localization factors and localization lengths are presented for two kinds of disordered piezoelectric phononic crystals, i.e. ZnO–PZT–5H and PVDF–PZT–5H piezocomposites. It is seen from the results that the incident angle of elastic waves and the thickness of the piezoelectric ceramics have significant effects on the wave localization characteristics. For different piezoelectric phononic crystals, the effects of the incident angle are very different. Moreover, with the increase of the disorder degree, the localization phenomenon is strengthened.     

Propagation of Bleustein–Gulyaev wave in 6 mm piezoelectric materials loaded with viscous liquid

The influence of a viscous liquid on acoustic waves propagating in elastic or piezoelectric materials is of particular significance for development of liquid sensors. Bleustein–Gulyaev wave is a shear-type surface acoustic wave and has the advantage of not radiating energy into the adjacent liquid. These features make the B–G wave sensitive to changes in both mechanical and electrical properties of the surrounding environment. The Bleustein–Gulyaev wave has been reported to be a good candidate for liquid sensing application. In this paper, we investigate the potential application of B–G wave in 6 mm crystals for liquid sensing. The explicit dispersion relations for both open circuit and metalized surface boundary conditions are given. A numerical example of PZT-5H piezoelectric ceramic in contact with viscous liquid is calculated and discussed. Numerical results of attenuation and phase velocity versus viscosity, density of the liquid and wave frequency are presented. The paper is intended to provide essential data for liquid senor design and development.     

Love waves in functionally graded piezoelectric materials

To investigate the features of Love waves in a layered functionally graded piezoelectric structure, the mathematical model is established on the basis of the elastic wave theory, and the WKB method is applied to solve the coupled electromechanical field differential equation. The solutions of the mechanical displacement and electrical potential function are obtained for the piezoelectric layer and elastic substrate. The dispersion relations of Love waves are deduced for electric open and short cases on the free surface respectively. The actual piezoelectric layer–elastic substrate systems are taken into account, and some corresponding numerical examples are proposed comparatively. Thus, the effects of the gradient variation about material constants on the phase velocity, the group velocity, the coupled electromechanical factor and the cutoff frequency are discussed in detail. So the propagation behaviors of Love waves in inhomogeneous medium is revealed, and the dispersion and the anti-dispersion are analyzed. The conclusions are significant both theoretically and practically for the surface acoustic wave devices.     

Propagation behavior of Love waves in a functionally graded half-space with initial stress

The propagation behavior of Love waves in a functionally graded material layered non-piezoelectric half-space with initial stress is taken into account. The Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) technique is adopted for the theoretical derivations. The analytical solutions are obtained for the dispersion relations and the distributions of the mechanical displacement and stress along the thickness direction in the layered structure. First, these solutions are used to study the effects of the initial stress on the dispersion relations and the group and phase velocities, then the influences of the initial stress on the distributions of the mechanical displacement and shear stresses along the thickness direction are discussed in detail. Numerical results obtained indicate that the phase velocity of the Love waves increases with the increase in the magnitude of the initial tensile stress, while decreases with the increase in the magnitude of the initial compression stress. The effects on the dispersion relations of the Love wave propagation are negligible as the magnitudes of the initial stress are less than 100 MPa. Some other results are obtained for the distributions of field quantities along thickness direction. The results obtained are not only meaningful for the design of functionally graded structures with high performance but also effective for the evaluation of residual stress distribution in the layered structures.     

Wave propagation in a piezoelectric rod of 6 mm symmetry

The wave propagation in a piezoelectric rod of 6 mm symmetry is investigated by applying a 3-D piezoelectric elastic model. A self-adjoint method is introduced to solve this problem, this method avoids calculating the generalized eigenvalue equation, it completely draws the dispersion curves in the forms of Quasi-P wave, Quasi-SV wave and Quasi-SH wave under the self-adjoint boundary condition, and it can evaluate the dispersion curves of all kinds of boundary conditions. As an example, the dispersion curves of PLT-5H are completely drawn, we also found the Quasi-SV wave has standing wave phenomenon in the PLT-5H rod. In addition the relation of dispersion curves among different boundary conditions is discussed, and an experiment method is introduce to decide the dispersion curves for another boundary conditions.     

Interaction between a screw dislocation and a viscoelastic piezoelectric bimaterial interface

The complex variable method is employed to derive analytical solutions for the interaction between a piezoelectric screw dislocation and a Kelvin-type viscoelastic piezoelectric bimaterial interface. Through analytical continuation, the original boundary value problem can be reduced to an inhomogeneous first-order partial differential equation for a single function of location z = x + iy and time t defined in the lower half-plane, which is free of the screw dislocation. Once the initial, steady-state and far-field conditions are known, the solution to the first order differential equation can be obtained. From the solved function, explicit expressions are then derived for the stresses, strains, electric fields and electric displacements induced by the piezoelectric screw dislocation. Also presented is the image force acting on the screw dislocation due to its interaction with the Kelvin-type viscoelastic interface. The derived solutions are verified by comparing with existing solutions for the simplified cases, and various interesting features are observed, particularly for those associated with the image force.     

Amplification of acoustic waves in piezoelectric semiconductor plates

Two-dimensional equations for coupled extensional, flexural and thickness-shear motions of thin plates of piezoelectric semiconductors are obtained systematically from the three-dimensional equations by retaining lower order terms in power series expansions in the plate thickness coordinate. The two-dimensional equations are specialized to crystals of 6 mm symmetry and are simplified by thickness-shear approximation. Propagation of thickness-shear waves and their amplification by a dc electric field are analyzed.     

A novel type of transverse surface wave propagating in a layered structure consisting of a piezoelectric layer attached to an elastic half-space

The existence and propagation of transverse surface waves in piezoelectric coupled solids is investigated, in which perfect bonding between a metal/dielectric substrate and a piezoelectric layer of finite-thickness is assumed. Dis- persion equations relating phase velocity to material con- stants for the existence of various modes are obtained in a simple mathematical form for a piezoelectric material of class 6mm. It is discovered and proved by numerical examples in this paper that a novel Bleustein-Gulyaev （B-G） type of transverse surface wave can exist in such piezoelectric cou- pled solid media when the bulk-shear-wave velocity in the substrate is less than that in the piezoelectric layer but greater than the corresponding B-G wave velocity in the same pie- zoelectric material with an electroded surface. Such a wave does not exist in such layered structures in the absence of pie- zoelectricity. The mode shapes for displacement and electric potential in the piezoelectric layer are obtained and discussed theoretically. The study extends the regime of transverse sur- face waves and may lead to potential applications to surface acoustic wave devices.     

Properties of Love waves in layered piezoelectric structures

Love waves propagating in a layered structure with an elastic layer deposited on a piezoelectric substrate are analytically investigated. We present a general dispersion equation that describes the properties of Love waves in the structure. A detailed discussion regarding the dispersion equation is presented, and the parameters for Love-mode sensors are also introduced. The properties of Love waves are illustrated by means of sample results for a layered structure with an SiO₂ layer sputtered on an ST-cut 90°X-propagating quartz substrate. Interestingly, we found that a threshold-normalized layer thickness existed for the fundamental Love mode in such a structure.     

Investigation of two-phase flow pattern,liquid holdup and pressure drop in viscous oil–gas flow

An experimental investigation was carried out on viscous oil–gas flow characteristics in a 69 mm internal diameter pipe. Two-phase flow patterns were determined from holdup time-traces and videos of the flow field in a transparent section of the pipe, in which synthetic commercial oils (32 and 100 cP) and sulfur hexafluoride gas (SF₆) were fed at oil superficial velocities from 0.04 to 3 m/s and gas superficial velocities from 0.0075 to 3 m/s.     

Effect of elastic anisotropy on surface pattern evolution of epitaxial thin films

Stress-induced surface instability and evolution of epitaxial thin films leads to formation of a variety of self-assembled surface patterns with feature sizes at micro- and nanoscales. The anisotropy in both the surface and bulk properties of the film and substrate has profound effects on the nonlinear dynamics of surface evolution and pattern formation. Experimentally it has been demonstrated that the effect of anisotropy strongly depends on the crystal orientation of the substrate surface on which the film grows epitaxially. In this paper we develop a nonlinear model for surface evolution of epitaxial thin films on generally anisotropic crystal substrates. Specifically, the effect of bulk elastic anisotropy of the substrate on epitaxial surface pattern evolution is investigated for cubic germanium (Ge) and SiGe films on silicon (Si) substrates with four different surface orientations: Si(0 0 1), Si(1 1 1), Si(1 1 0), and Si(1 1 3). Both linear analysis and nonlinear numerical simulations suggest that, with surface anisotropy neglected, ordered surface patterns form under the influence of the elastic anisotropy, and these surface patterns clearly reflect the symmetry of the underlying crystal structures of the substrate. It is concluded that consideration of anisotropic elasticity reveals a much richer dynamics of surface pattern evolution as compared to isotropic models.     

Gravity-driven azimuthal flow of a layer of thixotropic fluid on the inner surface of a horizontal tube

The gravity-driven azimuthal flow of a layer of thixotropic paint on the inner surface of a horizontal tube is studied, considering surface tension effects. Using the lubrication theory, it was shown that a non-linear, fourth-order partial differential equation governs the time evolution of the paint layer thickness distribution along the azimuthal coordinate. Three parameters arise in the analysis, namely, the Bond number and two rheology-related parameters. The governing equation is integrated via a second-order accurate finite-difference scheme. The results showed that, in situations where the capillary force dominates (Bo < 1), displacement of the paint after application is very slow. For situations where the gravity force dominates (Bo > 1), an undulation on the interface arises near the tube bottom at sufficiently large times.     

Thermal performance of a carbon fiber composite material heat sink in an FC-72 thermosyphon

This study analyzes the use of a carbon fiber epoxy heat sink for evaporator surface enhancement in a FC-72 thermosyphon. The pin-fin heat sink features 945 small-cross-section (1.27 mm by 0.965 mm) fins fabricated with an integral base plate. These fins have a high thermal conductivity (500 W/m K) along the length of the fin. The influence of heat load, thermosyphon fill volume, and condenser operating temperature on the overall thermal performance is examined. The results of this experiment provide significant insight into the possible implementation and potential benefits of carbon-fiber heat sink technology in two-phase flow leading to significant improvements in thermal management strategies for advanced electronics.