The modelling and design of composite piezoelectric arrays

Composite piezoelectric transducer materials, comprising ceramic rods embedded in a polymer matrix, exhibit many characteristics which make them ideal for ultrasonic transducer array design. They possess high electromechanical-conversion efficiency and good matching to water and can be fabricated easily into one- or two-dimensional arrays exhibiting minimal interelement coupling. The electromechanical characteristics of composite-array elements are investigated using finite element analysis. The conditions for optimal, unimodal operation are established. The aperture displacement profile determined by finite element analysis, is used to predict the acoustic-field profile.<
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