Effect of an underlying compliant layer on transducer performance

Abstract

The performance of acoustic transducers (sensors and actuators) can be degraded or enhanced by the structure on which they are mounted. For various numerical structural acoustics studies, a simple computationally efficient model is required for estimating the change in transducer performance resulting from variations in the front and back face impedances. The approach used here is based on simple physical principles and intuition, which makes it well suited for incorporation in more-complicated structural models since it is conducive to direct extraction of physically meaningful forcing functions. As an example of its use, the performance of pressure sensors, velocity sensors, and acoustic drivers on an air-backed steel plate are estimated, and then the change in performance when a layer of compliant material is inserted between the transducer and the plate is calculated. Results are compared with a Mason-type equivalent circuit model.