Design and experimental characterization of a multifrequency flexural ultrasonic actuator

Area of Science:

• Mechanical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Acoustics

Background:

• Ultrasonic actuators are crucial for various precision applications.
• Traditional actuators often face limitations in displacement amplification and frequency control.
• Developing actuators with enhanced displacement and tunable frequencies is an ongoing research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose, design, and experimentally characterize a novel multifrequency flexural ultrasonic actuator.
• To achieve high displacement amplification using a flexural deformation mechanism.
• To enable operation at two distinct, close working frequencies.

Main Methods:

• Finite Element Method (FEM) software was utilized for actuator design and analysis.
• The actuator was designed by separately optimizing a Langevin transducer and a flexural amplifier.
• A prototype was manufactured and experimentally characterized to validate numerical findings.

Main Results:

• A flexural ultrasonic actuator capable of transforming axial displacement into amplified flexural deformation was successfully designed.
• The actuator exhibits two close working frequencies at 17.4 kHz and 19.2 kHz.
• Experimental characterization validated the finite element method analysis and demonstrated the actuator's performance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed multifrequency flexural ultrasonic actuator effectively amplifies displacement.
• The design offers flexibility and achieves operation at two specific frequencies.
• This work validates the potential of flexural amplification in ultrasonic actuator design.