Numerical Simulation and Experimental Verification of Electric–Acoustic Conversion Property of Tangentially Polarized Thin Cylindrical Transducer

In solving piezoelectric equations of motion, we established an electric–acoustic equivalent circuit of tangentially polarized thin cylindrical transducers and derived analytical expressions of the electric-acoustic response from the harmonic driving-voltage excitation. To experimentally verify the findings, we manufactured a parallel electric-acoustic transmission network for transducers excited by multifrequency driving signals. We found that the tangentially polarized thin cylindrical transducers achieved a much higher electric-acoustic conversion efficiency than the radially polarized thin cylindrical transducers. The electric-acoustic impulse response of the transducers consisted of a direct-current damping with lower-frequency components, a damping oscillation with higher-frequency elements, and a higher resonant frequency of the transducer over its center frequency. The characteristics of radiated acoustic signals included contributions from the geometrical shape and size of the transducer, the physical parameters of piezoelectric material, the type of driving-voltage signals, and the polarization mode of the transducers. In comparison, our theoretical predictions are in good agreement with experimental observations. It is plausible that using the tangentially polarized thin cylindrical transducers as sensors in the acoustic-logging tool may significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the measured acoustic-logging signals.

Studies on a Piezoelectric Cylindrical Transducer for Borehole Dipole Acoustic Measurements

In this article, a novel design of a piezoelectric dipole transducer is proposed for formation acoustic velocity measurement in the vicinity of a borehole with a frequency range of 0.4–6 kHz. The transducer which actuates a cylindrical shell to generate a pure dipole mode wave by using multiple piezoelectric bender bars is analyzed theoretically and simulated numerically by using the finite element method (FEM). Moreover, the transducer is fabricated and tested to compare with the numerical simulation results, which shows that the test and simulation results are in good agreement. Finally, compared with numerical simulation results of the traditional dipole transducer, it is shown that the proposed dipole transducer has higher transmitting sensitivities than commonly used ones, especially in low frequency responses. This work lays a foundation for the new development of the transducer in borehole dipole acoustic shear wave measurements. Especially, in a slow formation where the shear wave velocity is lower than that of compressional wave in the borehole fluid, the transducer could be used for highly efficient shear wave velocity measurements.

Effects of electrodes and electrical connections of piezoelectric layers on dynamic characteristics of radially polarized multilayer piezoelectric cylindrical transducers

Piezoelectric cylindrical transducer is a type of excellent smart devices that can generate radial sound radiation due to its unique structural characteristics and has been widely used for ultrasonic and underwater sound applications. In the design of a piezoelectric cylindrical transducer, especially with the multilayer structure, the electrodes and electrical connections of piezoelectric layers are two key factors affecting the device performance but have not been well evaluated, which result in the inaccurate prediction of dynamic characteristics. This work establishes the exact theoretical models for radially polarized multilayer piezoelectric cylindrical transducers by taking into account the electrodes and electrical connections of piezoelectric layers. Based on the plane stress assumption, the dynamic solutions of the models are derived. Analytical expressions of electric impedances are also derived to obtain the resonance frequencies. In addition, the analytical solutions are validated using the special example in the earlier work and comparing them with the finite element analysis results. Subsequently, the effects of the electrodes and electrical connections of piezoelectric layers on the dynamic characteristics of the transducer are analyzed and discussed. The results show that the electrode thickness, the electrode type, and the parallel and series connections significantly affect the transducer’s performance, thus providing useful guidelines in the design of piezoelectric cylindrical transducers. This work contributes to an overall analysis on the dynamic characteristics of the radially polarized multilayer piezoelectric cylindrical transducers, which is very helpful to improve the performance of two-dimensional emitter and receiver in underwater sound and ultrasonic applications.