Frequency-Agile High-Power-Density Transducers: Draft/Final Technical Report

• Main Authors: Bridger, Keith, Sewell, John M, Kuhn, Philip M, Passaro, Edward J, Cho, Yong S
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ALUMINUM; BROADBAND TRANSDUCERS; CERAMIC COATINGS; CYLINDRICAL BODIES; DIELECTRICS; Electrical and Electronic Equipment; FLEXURAL PROPERTIES; HIGH DENSITY; HIGH POWER; LEAD(METAL); LITTORAL ZONES; MAGNESIUM ALLOYS; Mechanics; PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS; PARTICLES; POWER EQUIPMENT; RADIATION

This report documents a design study aimed at producing broader bandwidth, high- power transducers for Navy applications in littoral waters. The top-to-bottom study included both ceramic driver processing and the transducer design itself. Active Signal Technologies and Alfred University investigated a novel processing method involving coating the ceramic particles prior to densification and it substantially increased the room-temperature electrically-induced strains available from the ceramic without significantly increasing dielectric loss. This strain increase could translate to a >3-dB increase in power density for the broadband transducers. Active Signal investigated a range of transducer classes including Class IV and VII Flextensional, Tonpilz, Moment Bender, Flexural Disk, and Split Cylinder. Substituting graphite-epoxy for aluminum in the radiating surface produced ^ 30% increases in bandwidth in most of the classes. With this and other parametric adjustments, designs that met feasibility criteria (power, efficiency, depth dependence, etc.) but had fractional bandwidths > 80% were prepared. The recommended design was a graphite-epoxy Class-TV Flextensional. Prepared in cooperation with Alfred Univ., N.Y.