A lumped parameter model of the single free-flooded ring transducer

A free-flooded ring (FFR) transducer can generate low-frequency sound in a small device and has a wide operating frequency bandwidth. Many studies have been performed that can predict the characteristics of an FFR transducer using analytical techniques and an equivalent circuit model (ECM), and methods to predict properties using numerical simulations have recently been developed. However, an ECM, a type of lumped parameter model (LPM), is still widely used to interpret the properties of such transducers in the design process. In this study, the authors investigated an ECM of an FFR transducer. The ECM consists of three parts: the piezoelectric ring, the cylindrical cavity, and the radiation load. Moreover, it can be included readily in a circuit to drive an FFR transducer. Additionally, an LPM was proposed, considering the mutual radiation loads, to improve the accuracy of the model. Each model was tested in comparisons with the finite element method; it was confirmed that an LPM could predict the properties of an FFR transducer with much better accuracy than an ECM. The LPM developed can save much time in designing FFR transducers. (C) 2017 Acoustical Society of America.