Modelling nonlinearity in piezoceramic transducers: From equations to nonlinear equivalent circuits

Quadratic nonlinear equations of a piezoelectric element under the assumptions of 1D vibration and weak nonlinearity are derived by the perturbation theory. It is shown that the nonlinear response can be represented by controlled sources that are added to the classical hexapole used to model piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers. As a consequence, equivalent electrical circuits can be used to predict the nonlinear response of a transducer taking into account the acoustic loads on the rear and front faces. A generalisation of nonlinear equivalent electrical circuits to cases including passive layers and propagation media is then proposed. Experimental results, in terms of second harmonic generation, on a coupled resonator are compared to theoretical calculations from the proposed model.