In:
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Vol. 89, No. 4B_Supplement ( 1991-04-01), p. 1858-1858
Abstract:
Performance of Navy sonar transducers is limited by the inherent energy density of the driver material—especially for those size-constrained applications that require very high source levels and/or very low frequencies. Ultimately, the maximum sound-pressure level will be limited by the amount of power that can be generated from the ceramic driver at its maximum engineering limit of 10–15 V/mil (∼0.5 MV/m). Incremental improvements in transducer performance may be possible through design refinements, however, revolutionary large-scale improvements require new approaches to overcome the basic PZT material limitations. Electrostrictive ceramic materials, such as the PMN-based compositions being developed at Martin Marietta Laboratories, have energy density values an order of magnitude higher than Navy PZT's and therefore could significantly improve transducer performance (i.e., maximum attainable source level) if substituted for PZT in conventional transducer designs. Transducer model calculations for comparable PZT- and PMN-driven transducers show ∼ 10-dB gain in the transmitting voltage response for the PMN transducer. These model predictions have been verified by experimental data obtained under a joint Martin Marietta/Navy materials development program.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0001-4966
,
1520-8524
Language:
English
Publisher:
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
Publication Date:
1991
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461063-2
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