Feeney, A. , Kang, L., Somerset, W. E. and Dixon, S. (2020) Venting in the comparative study of flexural ultrasonic transducers to improve resilience at elevated environmental pressure levels. IEEE Sensors Journal, 20(11), pp. 5776-5784. (doi: 10.1109/jsen.2020.2974547)
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Abstract
The classical form of a flexural ultrasonic transducer is a piezoelectric ceramic disc bonded to a circular metallic membrane. This ceramic induces vibration modes of the membrane for the generation and detection of ultrasound. The transducer has been popular for proximity sensing and metrology, particularly for industrial applications at ambient pressures around 1 bar. The classical flexural ultrasonic transducer is not designed for operation at elevated pressures, such as those associated with natural gas transportation or petrochemical processes. It is reliant on a rear seal which forms an internal air cavity, making the transducer susceptible to deformation through pressure imbalance. The application potential of the classical transducer is therefore severely limited. In this study, a venting strategy which balances the pressure between the internal transducer structure and the external environment is studied through experimental methods including electrical impedance analysis and pitch-catch ultrasound measurement. The vented transducer is compared with a commercial equivalent in air towards 90 bar. Venting is shown to be viable for a new generation of low cost and robust industrial ultrasonic transducers, suitable for operation at high environmental pressure levels.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | This work was supported by EPSRC under Grant EP/N025393/1. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Feeney, Dr Andrew |
| Authors: | Feeney, A., Kang, L., Somerset, W. E., and Dixon, S. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy |
| Journal Name: | IEEE Sensors Journal |
| Publisher: | IEEE |
| ISSN: | 1530-437X |
| Published Online: | 21 February 2020 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2020 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in IEEE Sensors Journal 20:5776-5784 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons Licence |
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