Theoretical and experimental research on a disk-type non-contact ultrasonic motor

We developed a disk-type non-contact ultrasonic motor based on B22 vibration mode. The rotors of SU-8 photoresist are fabricated by the UV-LIGA process to control their shapes and thicknesses. So the structures of them are optimized by the experiments. It is found that the revolution speed of disk-type non-contact ultrasonic motor not only depends on the vibration amplitude of the stator, but also the weight and construction of the rotors. The maximum revolution speed of the optimal rotor is 3569 rpm at the input voltage of 20 V and the driving frequency of 45.6 kHz. The exciting principle of traveling wave is presented with theoretical equations. The electric signals applied to the piezoelectric ceramic are designed by the principle. The natural frequency and corresponding vibration mode are calculated and analyzed using finite element method. It is shown that experimental results are in good agreement with simulation, which verifies the effectiveness of the finite element model. Moreover, the levitation distance between the stator and rotor is measured by a CCD laser displacement transducer.     

Thin-disc piezoceramic ultrasonic motor. Part II: system construction and control

Design and performance evaluation of an ultrasonic motor was discussed in [Wen et al., Thin-disc piezoelectric ultrasonic motor. Part I: design and performance evaluation, Ultrasonics]. Higher precision position control of piezoceramic ultrasonic motor depends on mechanical design and servo control of a very precise and adequate metrology. This paper proposes the design of a driving circuit and controller to deal with non-linearities behavior in the model of piezoceramic-driving ultrasonic motor. The performance of the driver and the effectiveness of the proposed controller are demonstrated by command inputs of sinusoidal and step signals. For comparison purpose, the ultrasonic motor is controlled using two methods: i.e., proportional-integral-derivative (PID) and sliding-mode control (SMC). It was proven that SMC would compensate automatically for unmodeled behaviors such as piezoceramic non-linearities and mechanical stick-slip phenomena. Furthermore, SMC scheme has been successfully applied to position tracking to demonstrate the excellent robust performance in noise rejection.     

Thin-disk piezoceramic ultrasonic motor. Part I: design and performance evaluation

The purpose of this study is to gain the knowledge and experience in the design of thin-disk piezoceramic-driving ultrasonic actuator dedicated. In this paper, the design and construction of an innovative ultrasonic actuator is developed as a stator, which is a composite structure consisting of piezoceramic (PZT) membrane bonded on a metal sheet. Such a concentric PZT structure possesses the electrical and mechanical coupling characteristics in flexural wave. The driving ability of the actuator comes from the mechanical vibration of extension and shrinkage of a metal sheet due to the converse piezoelectric effect, corresponding to the frequency of a single-phase AC power. By applying the constraints on the specific geometry positions on the metal sheet, the various behaviors of flexural waves have been at the different directions. The rotor is impelled by the actuator with rotational speeds of 600 rpm in maximum using a friction-contact mechanism. Very high actuating and braking abilities are obtained. This simple and inexpensive structure of actuator demonstrates that the mechanical design of actuator and rotor could be done separately and flexibly according to the requirements for various applications. And, its running accuracy and positioning precision are described in Part II.A closed loop servo positioning control i.e. sliding mode control (SMC) is used to compensate automatically for nonlinearly mechanical behaviors such as dry friction, ultrasonic vibrating, slip-stick phenomena. Additionally, SMC scheme has been successfully applied to position tracking to prove the excellent robust performance in noise rejection.     

Design and construction of shaft-driving type piezoceramic ultrasonic motor

A new approach in design of shaft-driving type piezoceramic ultrasonic motor is proposed. The stator of motor consisted of a commercial available buzzer disk in which a piezoceramic membrane is adhered to a metal sheet. The wave propagation on the metal sheet was generated by extended-shrunk force from piezoceramic oscillation. Driving energy came from the vibration modes by mechanical-electrical oscillation of the metal sheet in corresponding to converse piezoelectric effect using a single-phase AC voltage power. Where the relative elliptic motion was occurred between the bearing seat and rotor in order to kinematical delivery, the rotor being driven was connected directly on the bearing seat to transmit the dynamic power with frictional contact force. In analysis of dynamic features, the system transfer function of admittance and equivalent circuit was obtained. The rotating speed of the prototype motor could be reached as high as 2000 rpm on the driving condition of 72 kHz, +/-10 V(pp), and 0.2 A. The maximum torque was less than 0.003 Nm. It could be utilized in the driver of CD, or the cooling fan in the computer CPU.     

Vibration of piezoelectric elements surrounded by fluid media

In this paper we analyse vibrational characteristics of piezoceramic shells surrounded by acoustic media. Main results are presented for radially polarized piezoceramic PZT5 elements of hollow cylindrical shapes. The coupling in the radial direction between the solid and the acoustic media is accounted for indirectly, via impedance boundary conditions. The model based on such impedance boundary condition approximations offers a robust simplified alternative to a full scale fluid-solid interaction modelling. By using this model, we analyse numerically the influence of the boundary conditions imposed in the axial direction for long, medium, and short (disk-like) piezoceramic elements.     

Lens-focused transducer modeling using an extended KLM model

The goal of this work was to develop an extended ultrasound transducer model that would optimize the trade-off between accuracy of the calculation and computational time. The derivations are presented for a generalized transducer model, that is center frequency, pulse duration and physical dimensions are all normalized. The paper presents a computationally efficient model for lens-focused, circular (axisymmetric) single element piezoelectric ultrasound transducer. Specifically, the goal of the model is to determine the lens effect on the electro-acoustic response, both on focusing and on matching acoustic properties. The effective focal distance depends on the lens geometry and refraction index, but also on the near field limit, i.e. wavelength and source radius, and on the spectrum bandwidth of the ultrasound source. The broadband (80%) source generated by the transducer was therefore considered in this work. A new model based on a longitudinal-wave assumption is presented and the error introduced by this assumption is discussed in terms of its maximum value (16%) and mean value (5.9%). The simplified model was based on an extension of the classical KLM model for transducer structures and on the related assumptions. The validity of the implemented extended KLM model was evaluated by comparison with finite element modeling, itself previously validated analytically for the one-dimensional planar geometry considered. The pressure field was then propagated using the adequate formulation of the Rayleigh integral for both the extended KLM and finite element results. The simplified approach based on the KLM model delivered the focused response with good accuracy, and hundred-fold lower calculation time in comparison with a mode comprehensive FEM method. The trade-off between precision and time thus becomes compatible with an iterative procedure, used here for the optimization of the acoustic impedance of the lens for the chosen configuration. An experimental comparison was performed and found to be in good agreement with such an extension of the KLM model. The experiments confirm the accuracy of such a model in a validity domain up to −12 dB on the pulse-echo voltage within a relative error of 9% between experiment and modeling. This extended KLM model can advantageously be used for other transducer geometries satisfying the assumption of a predominantly longitudinal vibration or in an optimization procedure involving an adequate criteria for a particular application.     

Three-dimensional modelling of micromachined-ultrasonic-transducer arrays operating in water

We report on the 3-D modelling of periodic arrays of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (cMUTs) operating in fluid. Specific developments have been performed to model biperiodic transducer arrays and to take into account radiation into any stratified media at the front-side as well as the back-side of the device. The model is based on a periodic finite-element-analysis/boundary-element-method (FEA/BEM). It is applied to micromachined ultrasonic transducers (MUTs), based on silicon-nitride-circular-membrane arrays on a silicon substrate, and operating in water. The spectrum characteristics of MUTs excited in phase are investigated, showing that very-large-band emission is achievable as previously demonstrated by many authors. However, other contributions are also found, depending on the excitation conditions, that do not radiate in the fluid. These contributions are identified as guided modes that could generate significant cross-talk effects. The origin and the nature of these modes is analyzed to gain insight in the actual operation of MUTs.     

Finite element modelling of a rotating piezoelectric ultrasonic motor

The evaluation of the performance of ultrasonic motors as a function of input parameters such as the driving frequency, voltage input and pre-load on the rotor is of key importance to their development and is here addressed by means of a finite element three-dimensional model. First the stator is simulated as a fully deformable elastic body and the travelling wave dynamics is accurately reproduced; secondly the interaction through contact between the stator and the rotor is accounted for by assuming that the rotor behaves as a rigid surface. Numerical results for the whole motor are finally compared to available experimental data.     

Signal enhancement in Rayleigh wave interactions using a laser-ultrasound/EMAT imaging system

Enhancement of signal amplitudes from Rayleigh wave interaction at solid surface features has been investigated when signals were detected by an in-plane electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). A laser-ultrasound system was used to inspect surface-breaking slots, serving as artificial defects. Nd:YAG laser pulses were delivered onto a metal surface via an optical fiber and focused to a line source by a cylindrical lens. An in-plane EMAT receiver detected transient surface acoustic waves. A-scan signals and B-scan images from surface defects revealed increased signal amplitude up to 2.8+/-0.3 depending on the distance of the transducer from a slot. An explanation is based on the interaction of the EMAT sensor with the Rayleigh wave. A supporting computer model was derived to show that experimental signal enhancements were consistent with numerical predictions.     

A theoretical study of ultrasonic wave transmission through a fluid-solid interface

This article develops a model for the study of the transient ultrasonic waves radiated by a transducer in a liquid and transmitted into a solid through a plane interface. The method is an extension to the transient case, of the angular spectrum method previously developed for the monochromatic case. It is based on the decomposition of the ultrasonic field, in impulse plane waves. The radiated waveform is calculated at any point in the field by a simple summation of these impulse plane waves, where the propagation delay and the refraction have been taken into account. These plane waves are, first of all, delayed by an amount of time corresponding to the travel time up to the considered field point. The transmission through the plane interface is taken into account by using Snell refraction laws and transmission coefficients. In the obtained results all the waves previously described by other authors are highlighted: direct wave, edge waves, head waves as well as subsurface waves with a clear resolution between compression and shear waves.     

Acoustic detection of invisible damage in aircraft composite panels

The wing and body panels of modern commercial and military aircraft often consist of a three-layer structure in which two thin skins of fibre-reinforced composite or of aluminium are held apart by a much thicker core consisting of a honeycomb structure made from either folded paper-like material impregnated with aramid resin or from thin, folded aluminium sheet. A major maintenance inspection problem arises from the fact that impact by a heavy soft object has the potential to deflect the skin and damage the core, after which the skin can return to its original shape so that the defect is nearly invisible. This paper gives details of an acoustic inspection system that can reveal such damage and provide information on its nature and size using a hand-held “pitch-catch” device that can be scanned over the suspected area to produce a visual display on a computer screen. The whole system operates in the frequency range 10-30 kHz and embedded programs provide optimal examination procedures.     

Mode-splitting and quasi-degeneracies in circular plate vibration problems: The example of free vibrations of the stator of a traveling wave ultrasonic motor

In systems with rotational symmetry, bending modes occur in doubly-degenerate pairs with two independent vibration modes for each repeated natural frequency. In circular plates, the standing waves of two such degenerate bending modes can be superposed with a 1/4 period separation in time to yield a traveling wave response. This is the principle of a traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUM), in which a traveling bending wave in a stator drives the rotor through a friction contact. The stator contains teeth to increase the speed at the contact region, and these affect the rotational symmetry of the plate. When systems with rotational symmetry are modified either in their geometry, or by spatially varying their properties or boundary conditions, some mode-pairs split into singlet modes having distinct frequencies. In addition, coupling between some pairs of distinct unperturbed modes also causes quasi-degeneracies in the perturbed modes, which leads their frequency curves to approach and veer away in some regions of the parameter space. This paper discusses the effects of tooth geometry on the behavior of plate modes under free vibration. It investigates mode splitting and quasi-degeneracies and derives analytic expressions to predict these phenomena, using variational methods and a degenerate perturbation scheme for the solution to the plate’s discrete eigenvalue problem; these expressions are confirmed by solving the discrete eigenvalue problem of the plate with teeth.     

Analysis of spurious bulk waves in ball surface wave device

We analyzed the acoustic waves propagating in a sphere to establish a useful guideline for the design of NDE apparatus and ball surface acoustic wave (SAW) device exploiting the diffraction-free propagation of SAW on a sphere. First, we calculated the laser-generated acoustic displacements both under ablation condition and under thermoelastic condition and verified experimentally the validity of the calculation. Next, the acoustic waves excited by out-of-plane stress and those excited by in-plane stress were compared. The results showed that when the out-of-plane stress was applied, the relative amplitudes of the bulk waves to that of the SAW were larger and the number of bulk waves was larger than that when the in-plane stress was applied, while the SAW had similar waveforms in each case. The ratio of the relative amplitude of the bulk waves for the out-of-plane stress and the in-plane stress was 3.1:1 at phi(1)=90 degrees and 1.67:1 at phi(1)=0 degrees. The large amplitude for the out-of-plane stress can be explained by wide directivities of bulk waves. Consequently, we found that it is necessary for ball SAW device to select a piezoelectric material and form of interdigital transducer so that the in-plane stress becomes dominant.     

Acoustic coupling between the loudspeaker and the resonator in a standing-wave thermoacoustic device

Thermoacoustic refrigerators work with high amplitude sound waves, which are often created using an acoustic source coupled to a resonator. This coupling can be calculated analytically using linear acoustic equations and a linear model of the loudspeaker. This paper makes a comparison between such a coupling and measurements obtained in a large-scale thermoacoustic resonator constructed at the University of Manchester. The resonator was driven from low to large pressure amplitudes, with drive ratios up to 10%. It is shown that a good agreement is obtained for small amplitudes and this progressively worsens as the amplitude is increased. In the absence of wave harmonics and loudspeaker nonlinearities, the increasing discrepancy is attributed to the presence of minor losses.     

A 2D spring model for the simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in nonlinear hysteretic media

A two-dimensional (2D) approach to the simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in nonclassical nonlinear (NCNL) media is presented. The approach represents the extension to 2D of a previously proposed one dimensional (1D) Spring Model, with the inclusion of a PM space treatment of the intersticial regions between grains. The extension to 2D is of great practical relevance for its potential applications in the field of quantitative nondestructive evaluation and material characterization, but it is also useful, from a theoretical point of view, to gain a better insight of the interaction mechanisms involved. The model is tested by means of virtual 2D experiments. The expected NCNL behaviors are qualitatively well reproduced.     

An electric contact method to measure contact state between stator and rotor in a traveling wave ultrasonic motor

Performances of ultrasonic motor (USM) depend considerably on contact state between stator and rotor. To measure the contact state in a traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUSM), a special test method is necessary. This paper develops a new method named electric contact method to measure contact state of stator and rotor in traveling wave type USM. The effects of pre-load and exciting voltage (amplitude) of stator on contact state between stator and rotor are studied with this method. By a simulating tester of friction properties of TWUSM, the variations of stalling torque and no-load speed against the pre-load and the exciting voltage have been measured. The relative contact length that describes the contact characteristic of stator and rotor is proposed. The relation between the properties of TWUSM and the contact state of stator and rotor are presented. Additionally, according to a theoretical contact model of stator and rotor in TWUSM, the contact lengths at given conditions are calculated and compared with the experimental results.     

Performance evaluation of traveling wave ultrasonic motor based on a model with visco-elastic friction layer on stator

A new visco-elastic contact model of traveling wave ultrasonic motor (TWUSM) is proposed. In this model, the rotor is assumed to be rigid body and the friction material on stator teeth surface to be visco-elastic body. Both load characteristics of TWUSM, such as rotation speed, torque and efficiency, and effects of interface parameters between stator and rotor on output characteristic of TWUSM can be calculated and simulated numerically by using MATLAB method based on this model. This model is compared with that one of compliant slider and rigid stator. The results show that this model can obtain bigger stall torque. The simulated results are compared with test results, and found that their load characteristics have good agreement.     

A finite volume method and experimental study of a stator of a piezoelectric traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motor

Piezoelectric traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motors are motors that generate torque by using the friction force between a piezoelectric composite ring (or disk-shaped stator) and a metallic ring (or disk-shaped rotor) when a traveling wave is excited in the stator. The motor speed is proportional to the amplitude of the traveling wave and, in order to obtain large amplitudes, the stator is excited at frequencies close to its resonance frequency. This paper presents a non-empirical partial differential equations model for the stator, which is discretized using the finite volume method. The fundamental frequency of the discretized model is computed and compared to the experimentally-measured operating frequency of the stator of Shinsei USR60 piezoelectric motor.     

Modeling of Lamb wave propagation in plate with two-dimensional phononic crystal layer coated on uniform substrate using plane-wave-expansion method

We show that the conversional three-dimensional plane wave expansion method can be revised to investigate the lamb wave propagation in the plate with two-dimensional phononic crystal layer coated on uniform substrate. We find that an imaginary three-dimensional periodic system can be constructed by stacking the studied plates and vacuum layers alternately, and then the Fourier series expansion can be performed. The difference between our imaginary periodic system and the true three-dimensional one is that, in our system, the Bloch feature of the wave along the thickness direction is broken. Three different systems are investigated by the proposed method as examples. The principle and reliability of the method are also discussed.     

Generation and interference collapse of distortion-less fs pulses in free space by Fresnel sources

A method of formation of the tightly confined, distortion-free, femtosecond pulses in two dimensions (2D) with the step-like decreasing of intensity after a finite length of propagation in free space is described. The pulses are formed by the Fresnel source of modes corresponding to a 2D hollow waveguide with perfectly reflecting walls (material waveguide). The source reproduces in free space a propagation-invariant pulse confined by the waveguide. Unlike the case of material waveguides, when the pulse goes out from the virtual waveguide formed by the Fresnel source its shape does not change, but the intensity immediately drops down to the near-zero level. It is also shown that there is a limit of the duration of pulse beyond which the step-like decay is not observed.