Influence of a silver epoxy dopant on the performance of broken piezoelectric ceramic transducer based on an analytical model

Abstract

Over the past decade, an unprecedented increase in the types of, the methods of using, and the demand for piezoelectric ceramic transducers (PCTs) has been observed in the market. These factors increase the probability of PCTs being subjected to breakage. Therefore, this study proposes a simple, low-cost procedure which uses available components to repair and reinstall five broken PCTs and then tests them as emitters and receivers in bulk and surface wave detection. An SM211 PCT with a 7.2 MHz frequency, a high damping and electromechanical coupling coefficient, and two silver electrodes were selected for the experiment. A Mason circuit was used for the procedure, the Laplace transform was used as a mathematical analysis method, and MATLAB was the technical computing language used to model the new transfer function for this type of PCT. This study proved that silver electrodes are a significant load on PCTs, particularly at high frequencies. Very good identity correlations between this mathematical and the experimental responses of the standard PCT were obtained. Later this mathematical model was used to prove the explanations provided by this research. The response of the standard PCT was compared with that of the samples of PCT that have been repaired (SPCTR). Through this comparison, many conclusions were obtained, and several recommendations were made, which can be taken advantage of by people who are interested in this field of research. Such recommendations include analyzing the response of SPCTR and explaining the types of ultrasonic tests in which SPCTR can be used.