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Finite element analysis of piezoelectric underwater transducers for acoustic characteristics

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Abstract

This paper presents a simulation technique for analyzing acoustic characteristics of piezoelectric underwater transducers. A finite element method is adopted for modeling piezoelectric coupled problems including material damping and fluid-structure interaction problems by taking system matrices in complex form. For the finite element modeling of unbounded acoustic fluid, infinite wave envelope element (IWEE) is adopted to take into account the infinite domain. An in-house finite element program is developed and technical issues for implementing the program are explained. Using the simulation program, acoustic characteristics of tonpilz transducer are analyzed in terms of modal analysis, radiated pressure distribution, pressure spectrum, transmitting-voltage response and impedance analysis along with experimental comparison. The developed simulation technique can be used for designing ultrasonic transducers in the areas of nondestructive evaluation, underwater acoustics and bioengineering.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 402-751, Korea

    Jaehwan Kim

  2. School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Catholic University of Daegu, Kyungbuk, 712-702, Korea

    Heung Soo Kim

Authors
  1. Jaehwan Kim
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  2. Heung Soo Kim
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Correspondence to Jaehwan Kim.

Additional information

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Maenghyo Cho

Jaehwan Kim received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Inha University, in 1985. He received his M.S. degree from KAIST in 1987 and his Ph.D. degree from The Pennsylvania State University in 1995. Dr. Kim is currently a Professor of the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering at Inha University, Inchoen, Korea. He serves as an Associate Editor of Smart Materials and Structures. He is the director of Creative Research Center for EAPap Actuator supported by KOSEF. Dr. Kim’s research interests are smart materials such as piezoelectric materials, electroactive polymers and their applications including sensors, actuators, motors and MEMS devices.

Heung Soo Kim received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in the Department of Aerospace Engineering from Inha University, Korea in 1997 and 1999, respectively. He obtained his Ph. D degree in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Arizona State University in 2003. He is now working as an assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Catholic University of Daegu. His main research interests are in biomimetic actuators and sensors, structural health monitoring, smart materials and structures as applied to aerospace structures and vehicles.

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Kim, J., Kim, H.S. Finite element analysis of piezoelectric underwater transducers for acoustic characteristics. J Mech Sci Technol 23, 452–460 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-008-1126-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-008-1126-x

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