Low-Frequency Underwater Flex-Beam Transducer
1992
Henriquez, T. A.
Acoustic sources that operate at frequencies below 1000 Hz are usually very large if they are required to generate sound power greater than one acoustic watt. Certain naval requirements call for compact low-frequency narrow band acoustic sources. The Naval Research Laboratory's Underwater Sound Reference Detachment has developed a unique underwater acoustic source with the capability of producing high acoustic levels in a small package at a fraction of the cost of comparable transducers. Several prototype transducers have been constructed which feature a fixed-free beam excited in flexure. The basic component, referred to here as a paddle, comprises a steel beam sandwiched between two piezoelectric ceramic plates and connected to a support base. One transducer prototype includes two such paddles attached to a common base in a U configuration and electrically driven in phase. This assembly is housed in an oil-filled, thin elastomeric sleeve attached to circular endcaps.
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