Hydroacoustic performance analysis and testing of a novel piezoelectric material transducer

• Published in: Measurement : journal of the International Measurement Confederation 2024-01, Vol.224, p.113817, Article 113817
• Main Authors: Su, Jintao, Wang, Hongwei, Wei, Tong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electromechanical coupling coefficient; High sensitivity; Hydroacoustic transducer; Piezoelectric materials
• ISSN: 0263-2241; 1873-412X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.measurement.2023.113817

•The structure of piezoelectric materials was changed to improve the electromechanical coupling coefficient of piezoelectric ceramics.•Through improvements, two new piezoelectric material structures were discovered: BPM (Base + Piezoelectric columns + Metal plate,) and MPM.(Metal plate + Piezoelectric columns + Metal plate.)•Compared with the conventional piezoelectric composites, BPM and MPM structures have higher electromechanical coupling coefficients.•Sensing prepared from BPM and MPM has better electroacoustic performance. In order to address the high sensitivity requirements of underwater detection systems, this paper designs two new piezoelectric material hydroacoustic transducers, single metal plate and bimetal plate arrays, based on 1–3 piezoelectric composites. By changing the piezoelectric ceramic's original structure to improve its piezoelectric properties, the transducer's overall performance is improved. The comparison of theoretical analysis and finite element simulation results shows that the single metal plate and double metal plate array structures use air instead of polymer to reduce the loss with a higher electromechanical coupling coefficient compared with 1–3 composite materials. 1–3, mono- and bi-metal plate array structure transducers were prepared in turn and tested for hydroacoustic performance. According to the results, the double metal plate array structure has a higher electromechanical coupling coefficient, transmit voltage response, and receive sensitivity compared to the 1–3 piezoelectric composites andsingle metal plate array transducers. The maximum transmit voltage response and receive sensitivity values are 179.8 dB and −173.8 dB, respectively. The bimetallic version of the array structure transducer can be applied to underwater detection systems, which have the ability to detect weaker signals.