• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.435-446
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• 2019

The existing piezoelectric spherical transducers with fixed prescribed dynamic characteristics limit their application in scenarios with multi-frequency or frequency variation requirement. To address this issue, this work proposes an improved design of piezoelectric spherical transducers using the resistance tuning method. Two piezoceramic shells are the functional elements with one for actuation and the other for tuning through the variation of load resistance. The theoretical model of the proposed design is given based on our previous work. The effects of the resistance, the middle surface radius and the thickness of the epoxy adhesive layer on the dynamic characteristics of the transducer are explored by numerical analysis. The numerical results show that the multi-frequency characteristics of the transducer can be obtained by tuning the resistance, and its electromechanical coupling coefficient can be optimized by a matching resistance. The proposed design and derived theoretical solution are validated by comparing with the literature given special examples as well as an experimental study. The present study demonstrates the feasibility of using the proposed design to realize the multi-frequency characteristics, which is helpful to improve the performance of piezoelectric spherical transducers used in underwater acoustic detection, hydrophones, and the spherical smart aggregate (SSA) used in civil structural health monitoring, enhancing their operation at the multiple working frequencies to meet different application requirements.