In the past, radial-mode piezoelectric transformer (Transoner) design has been difficult due to the complex interaction between the physical and electrical circuit characteristics. Prior to a design procedure, experimental design by Face Electronics, LC led to a sample that could fit a ballast application enabling zero voltage switching (ZVS) for the semiconductors without the use of any external inductance. In the ballast circuit, the piezoelectric transformer is used to replace the conventional inductor-capacitor resonant tank saving valuable space and expense. With ballast in mind, a design process has been developed in this thesis to optimize radial mode transformers to fit specifically tailored applications. The graphical process described, allows the engineer to design in the capability of zero voltage switching for a half-bridge drive while simultaneously providing highly efficient performance. The problem of mounting a piezoelectric transformer to a circuit board has also been addressed in this thesis. A thermally conductive mounting technique has been developed which can enhance both the power capability and reliability of circuits utilizing these devices. / Master of Science

With piezoceramic materials, it is possible to harvest power from vibrating structures. It has been proven that micro- to milliwatts of power can be generated from vibrating systems. We develop definitive, analytical models to predict the power generated from a cantilever beam and cantilever plate. Harmonic oscillations and random noise will be the two different forcing functions used to drive each system. The predictive models are validated by being compared to experimental data. A parametric study is also performed in an attempt to optimize the cantilever beam system's power generation capability. / Master of Science

No description available.

Os circuitos ou modelos elétricos equivalentes destinam-se à modelagem de transdutores piezoelétricos, incluindo todo seu comportamento eletromecânico. Os modelos elétricos convencionais e clássicos foram elaborados inicialmente para materiais cerâmicos e cristalinos e só posteriormente adaptados para a simulação de polímeros piezoelétricos. Seguindo estes estudos, este trabalho apresenta um circuito elétrico equivalente para transdutores construídos com a tecnologia dos piezoeletretos termo-formados, desenvolvida no Grupo de Alta Tensão e Materiais da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC-USP). Este circuito, baseado em um modelo proposto por Fiorillo (2000) para simular um transdutor curvo de fluoreto de polivinilideno (PVDF), foi aprimorado para melhor representar o comportamento em baixas frequências. Nele existem dois ramos: um mecânico e um elétrico. Os parâmetros do ramo mecânico foram calculados nas proximidades da frequência de ressonância das amostras, enquanto que os componentes do ramo elétrico foram determinados pelos ajustes das curvas de condutância e de susceptância para frequências distantes da ressonância. Esta etapa compreendeu o desenvolvimento de um algoritmo baseado na taxa de variação da condutância pela frequência, o qual permitiu determinar um método para separação do espectro de frequência em uma região próxima e outra distante da frequência de ressonância. Após a determinação de todos os parâmetros do modelo elétrico, circuitos para simulação no software Pspice foram elaborados para cada transdutor. Os resultados das simulações da condutância, da susceptância, do módulo da impedância e do ângulo de fase dos circuitos mostraram relevante concordância com as medições quando comparados grafica e numericamente. Esta última análise foi feita através da expressão de erro relativo percentual médio. Neste trabalho, empregou-se a metodologia fundamentada nas medidas da condutância e da susceptância de diferentes amostras, incluindo filmes de polipropileno (PP), de PVDF e de piezoeletretos de canais tubulares abertos de Teflon®FEP. / Equivalent electric circuits or models are regularly employed in piezoelectric transducers modeling, including its electromechanical behavior. Conventional and classic electric models were initially developed for ceramic and crystalline materials and later adapted for simulating piezoelectric polymers. Following these studies, this work presents an equivalent electric circuit for transducers built with the piezoelectret thermo-formed technology, developed by the High Voltage and Materials Group of São Carlos Engineering School (EESC-USP). This circuit, based on a model proposed by Fiorillo (2000) for simulating a curved polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) transducer, was improved to represent the behavior at low frequencies. There are two branches in this circuit: a mechanical and an electrical branches. The mechanical branch parameters were calculated in the vicinity of the resonance frequency, whereas the components of the electrical branch were determined by conductance and susceptance curves fittings for frequencies far from resonance. This stage included the development of an algorithm based on the rate of change of conductance, which allowed determining a method to separate the frequency spectrum in near resonance and far from resonance. After determining all parameters, electrical circuits were designed to perform simulations using Pspice software. The results for conductance, susceptance, impedance magnitude and phase angle simulations presented relevant agreement with measurements when compared graphically and numerically. This latter analysis was done by error relative expression. In this work, the methodology was based on conductance and susceptance measurements for different samples, including porous polypropylene (PP), PVDF and Teflon®FEP piezoelectrets with open-tubular channels films.

The primary goal of this thesis is to evaluate vibration control of an all-clamped plate having an unknown disturbance. The vibration control is implemented using a piezoelectric actuator placed at an optimal location. The first part of this thesis considers a robust actuator placement with respect to varying spatial distributions of disturbances. The treatment here, is different from performance-based LQR approaches, since it is based on minimizing the effect of the disturbance distributions. The second part of this thesis addresses a more general case where the plate is under an unknown disturbance. An unknown disturbance is also characterized by the case where the disturbance signal moves randomly over the entire spatial domain. An optimal switching controller algorithm is developed, based on LQR performance, which switches between piezoelectric actuators employed for the vibration control of the plate. A single actuator is selected from the various actuator locations during each time interval, which leads to performance enhancement.

The work described in this thesis is aimed at developing a novel piezoelectric cantilever energy harvesting circuit, so that more energy can be obtained from a particular piezoelectric harvester than is possible using conventional circuits. The main focus of the work was to design, build and test a proof of principle system, and not a commercial version, so as to determine any limitations to the circuit. The circuit functions by cancelling the capacitive output reactance of the piezoelectric harvester with a simulated inductance, and is based on an idea proposed by Qi in 2011. Although Qi's approach demonstrated that the circuit could function, the system proved too lossy, and so a less lossy version is attempted here. Experimental and software simulations are provided to verify the theoretical predictions. A prototype amplified inductor circuit was simulated and tested. From the simulation results, although harmonic current losses were found in the circuit, it was found that the circuit should produce an amplified effective inductance and a maximum output power of 165mW. The effective inductance is derived from the voltage across the 2H inductor, and this voltage is amplified and applied to the circuit via an inverter, to provide an extra simulated inductance, so that the overall inductance can be resonated with the piezoelectric harvester output capacitance. Hence the capacitive impedance of the harvester is nearly cancelled. The study and analysis of the amplified inductor circuit was carried out for a single cantilever harvester. Both open loop and closed loop testing of the system were carried out. The open loop test showed that the concept should function as predicted. The purpose of the closed loop test was to make the system automatically adjust for different resonance frequencies. The circuit was tested at 52Vpp inverter output voltage, and demonstrated a harvested power of 145.5mW. Experimental results show that the harvester output power is boosted from 8.8mW as per the manufacturer data sheet to 145.5mW (16.5 times). This is approximately double the power available using circuits described in the literature.

Os circuitos ou modelos elétricos equivalentes destinam-se à modelagem de transdutores piezoelétricos, incluindo todo seu comportamento eletromecânico. Os modelos elétricos convencionais e clássicos foram elaborados inicialmente para materiais cerâmicos e cristalinos e só posteriormente adaptados para a simulação de polímeros piezoelétricos. Seguindo estes estudos, este trabalho apresenta um circuito elétrico equivalente para transdutores construídos com a tecnologia dos piezoeletretos termo-formados, desenvolvida no Grupo de Alta Tensão e Materiais da Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC-USP). Este circuito, baseado em um modelo proposto por Fiorillo (2000) para simular um transdutor curvo de fluoreto de polivinilideno (PVDF), foi aprimorado para melhor representar o comportamento em baixas frequências. Nele existem dois ramos: um mecânico e um elétrico. Os parâmetros do ramo mecânico foram calculados nas proximidades da frequência de ressonância das amostras, enquanto que os componentes do ramo elétrico foram determinados pelos ajustes das curvas de condutância e de susceptância para frequências distantes da ressonância. Esta etapa compreendeu o desenvolvimento de um algoritmo baseado na taxa de variação da condutância pela frequência, o qual permitiu determinar um método para separação do espectro de frequência em uma região próxima e outra distante da frequência de ressonância. Após a determinação de todos os parâmetros do modelo elétrico, circuitos para simulação no software Pspice foram elaborados para cada transdutor. Os resultados das simulações da condutância, da susceptância, do módulo da impedância e do ângulo de fase dos circuitos mostraram relevante concordância com as medições quando comparados grafica e numericamente. Esta última análise foi feita através da expressão de erro relativo percentual médio. Neste trabalho, empregou-se a metodologia fundamentada nas medidas da condutância e da susceptância de diferentes amostras, incluindo filmes de polipropileno (PP), de PVDF e de piezoeletretos de canais tubulares abertos de Teflon®FEP. / Equivalent electric circuits or models are regularly employed in piezoelectric transducers modeling, including its electromechanical behavior. Conventional and classic electric models were initially developed for ceramic and crystalline materials and later adapted for simulating piezoelectric polymers. Following these studies, this work presents an equivalent electric circuit for transducers built with the piezoelectret thermo-formed technology, developed by the High Voltage and Materials Group of São Carlos Engineering School (EESC-USP). This circuit, based on a model proposed by Fiorillo (2000) for simulating a curved polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) transducer, was improved to represent the behavior at low frequencies. There are two branches in this circuit: a mechanical and an electrical branches. The mechanical branch parameters were calculated in the vicinity of the resonance frequency, whereas the components of the electrical branch were determined by conductance and susceptance curves fittings for frequencies far from resonance. This stage included the development of an algorithm based on the rate of change of conductance, which allowed determining a method to separate the frequency spectrum in near resonance and far from resonance. After determining all parameters, electrical circuits were designed to perform simulations using Pspice software. The results for conductance, susceptance, impedance magnitude and phase angle simulations presented relevant agreement with measurements when compared graphically and numerically. This latter analysis was done by error relative expression. In this work, the methodology was based on conductance and susceptance measurements for different samples, including porous polypropylene (PP), PVDF and Teflon®FEP piezoelectrets with open-tubular channels films.

In this analysis, the efficacy of cavitation jets for heat transfer enhancement was demonstrated. The cavitation jet was formed from a cluster of cavitation bubbles that are the result of a submerged piezoelectric diaphragms oscillating about a given velocity threshold Two different heaters operating in two different flow environments were examined. For each heater in each environment, the cavitation jet significantly increased the heat transfer

In high density magnetic hard disk drives, both fast track seeking and extremely accurate positioning of the read/write head are required. A new piezoelectric microactuator with transverse and lateral control of the head positioning system for high density hard disk drives is proposed. First, the structure of the new piezoelectric microactuator is illustrated. Design of the new microactuator is based on the axial deformation of piezoelectric elements for lateral motion and the bimorph actuation of piezoelectric elements for transverse motion. Next, a mathematical model of the microactuator system is defined. Static properties associated with the displacement of the system are evaluated and then dynamic system equations of the system are evaluated. Frequency response of the system is studied based on the dynamic system equations of the actuator system. Dynamic properties of the system with a variety of system parameters are evaluated. Finally, the controller design for the actuator is presented. Simulation results show that the new actuator achieves a maximum stroke of displacement of more than 0.2m with servo bandwidth of more than 5 kHz in the lateral direction and the flying height is decreased to less than 6 nm with resonance frequency of more than 100 kHz under the 0.5 % damping assumption. The new piezoelectric microactuator improves performance of high density hard disk drives by increasing servo bandwidth and decreasing flying height.

Orientador: Alberto Luiz Serpa / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T13:10:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TinocoNavarro_HectorAndres_M.pdf: 12075431 bytes, checksum: cab5c2f419dac7a4f94391f21804ed8d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um estudo numérico e experimental com o objetivo de compreender os efeitos da descolagem nos sinais elétricos obtidos por meio de sensores piezelétricos. Na análise numérica, os deslocamentos do sistema acoplado estrutura-adesivosensor foram representados em equações diferenciais para os casos estático e dinâmico. Os sinais elétricos emitidos pelos sensores foram determinados pelos deslocamentos para diferentes parâmetros geométricos da interface adesiva. Os resultados numéricos mostram que as propriedades geométricas da interface adesiva modificam as condições de deformação entre o sensor e a estrutura. Também, foi proposto um sensor com três eletrodos com o qual foram estabelecidas relações de força. As relações de força mostraram que as propriedades do adesivo podem diminuir as forças nos extremos do sensor e assim evitar descolagem. As simulações de descolagem do sensor foram realizadas com o aplicativo computacional COMSOL. As soluções numéricas dinâmicas indicaram que um sensor descolado gera menor potência elétrica que um sensor completamente colado. Isto foi comprovado experimentalmente em três casos e os resultados experimentais concordaram com os resultados teóricos. Este estudo demonstrou que a descolagem parcial não pode ser considerada uma falha de adesão, já que o sensor pode emitir sinais elétricos quando o sensor está descolado. Também foi demonstrado que a descolagem afeta o rendimento elétrico dos sensores / Abstract: In this investigation it was developed a numerical and experimental study with the aim to understand the debonding effects on electrical signatures obtained by means of piezoelectric sensors. In the numerical analysis, the displacements of the coupled system structure-adhesivesensor were represented by differential equations for static and dynamic cases. Electrical signatures emitted by sensors were determined through the displacements for different geometric parameters of the adhesive interface. Numerical results show that geometric properties of the adhesive interface modify the deformation conditions between the sensor and the structure. Also, a sensor was proposed with three electrodes in which were established force relations between each electrode. Force relations shown that the properties of adhesive can diminish the forces in the end of the sensor avoiding debonding. Simulations of debonding of the sensor were carried out with COMSOL software. Dynamic numerical solutions indicate that debonded sensor generates electric power lower than a sensor completely bonded. This was proved experimentaly in three cases and the experimental results presented good agreement. This study demonstrated that the partial debonding cannot be considered as a fail by adhesion, since the sensor can emit electrical signatures when it is partially debonded. Also it was demonstrated that the debonding of the sensor affects electric performance / Mestrado / Mecanica dos Sólidos e Projeto Mecanico / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica