Analysis of the sandwich piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer in coupled vibration.

The coupled vibration of the sandwich piezoelectric transducer with a large cross-section is analyzed using an approximate analytic method. The resonance frequency equations of the transducer are derived and the effect of the geometrical dimensions on the resonance frequency is studied. It is illustrated that when the radial vibration in the transducer is considered, the vibration of the sandwich transducer becomes more complex. Apart from the longitudinal resonance frequency, the radial resonance frequency can also be obtained. For comparison, numerical methods are also used to simulate the coupled vibration; the resonance frequency and the vibrational displacement distribution are computed. Compared with one-dimensional longitudinal theory, the radial dimensions of the transducer are no longer limited because the coupled vibration is considered. Compared with numerical methods, the physical meaning of the analytic method is concise. It is illustrated that the resonance frequencies obtained from the coupled resonance frequency equations are in good agreement with those from numerical methods, and they are in better agreement with the measured results than those from one-dimensional theory. Since the radial and the coupled vibration are considered in the analysis, more resonance frequencies can be obtained. Therefore, using the coupled resonance frequency equations, the sandwich transducer with multifrequency or wide frequency bandwidth can be designed and used in ultrasonic cleaning, ultrasonic sonochemistry and other applications.