Determining the optimal pre-tightening force of a sandwich transducer by measuring resonance resistance

The pre-tightening force applied on a sandwich transducer plays a key role on the transducer’s vibration performance. Typically, a transducer’s optimal pre-tightening force is not known during assembly. The objective of this study is to examine a method for determining the optimal pre-tightening force for a sandwich transducer. We propose that the transducer’s optimal pre-tightening force can be measured indirectly through the resonance resistance. Resonance resistance is an equivalent electric parameter which reflects the transducer’s mechanical energy loss, and can be measured easily using an impedance analyzer. The relationship between resonance resistance and the pre-tightening force is analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. Measurement of resonance resistance based on transducer’s admittance circle is studied. Experiments involving this relationship are conducted. Results indicate that the front-end surface amplitude of the sandwich transducer reaches a maximum when the pre-tightening force is optimal, the resonance resistance tends to a minimum, but with a small offset. This indicates that the minimum value of resonance resistance corresponds closely to the highest vibration amplitude of the transducer, but not exactly. Thus, by determining the minimum resonance resistance, the optimal pre-tightening force can be determined.