A novel Z-shaped elastic flange structure for increasing the amplitude output of a piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer

The experimental results imply that the flange structure, i.e., the coupling between the flange structure and the transducer, has a tremendous impact on the vibration amplitude of the transducer. Clearly, the proposed novel Z-shaped elastic flange structure can significantly improve the vibration amplitude of the transducer with same stiffnesses. [Display omitted] •A novel Z-shaped elastic flange structure of ultrasonic transducer is proposed.•The proposed flange structure could increase the amplitude output of transducers.•The novel flange could be considered a universal structure for widely used. A novel Z-shaped elastic flange structure is presented in this paper, which is used to mount the piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer (PUTs) together with the housing and increase amplitude output of the transducer. Generally, the mounting fixture of the transducer refers to the traditional flat-faced flange structure, which has the advantages of low processing cost and easy installation. However, considering its structural characteristics, the flange structure also exerts a negative influence on the coupling between the transducer and housing and accordingly suppresses the conversion of ultrasonic vibration energy inside the transducer. The novel Z-shaped elastic flange is combined with a traditional flat-faced flange structure and an elastic cylindrical sleeve, and the amplitude output of the transducer is increased by reducing the longitudinal and radial coupling effect between the transducer and the flange. Ultrasonic transducers with different flange structures are designed and manufactured. Through the combination of Finite Element Method and experimental analysis, the decoupling and amplitude increase ability of the novel elastic flange are investigated in detail. The results show that without changing the stiffness of the transducer, the proposed Z-shaped elastic flange structure could significantly increase the amplitude output of the transducer, regardless of whether the transducer was working in a resonance state. Hence, the newly proposed structure serves as a meaningful attempt and can be used as a universal structure for PUTs in different fields.