Vibrational response of sonar transducers using piezoelectric finite elements

Abstract

The finite element method is applied to the vibrational analysis of electromechanical sonar transducers of arbitrary geometry. Three-dimensional hexahedral finite elements which include the effects of piezoelectric coupling are formulated, and the solution of the resulting coupled electroelastic equations of motion is presented. The vibrational response of a particular transducer element is computed, and comparisons with experimental mesurements are made. The calculated deformations of the transducer are presented in the form of computer generated displays. A data reduction scheme is also utilized to clarify the physical meaning of the transducer response.