A stator for a self-running, ultrasonically-levitated sliding stage

Here we propose a self-running, ultrasonically-levitated sliding stage and investigate the levitation and propulsion characteristics of its stator. The stator consists of two aluminum beams and four PZT plates, which have two-paired bimorph configurations. A flexural standing wave was generated along the beam by applying an input voltage to the PZTs, and the stator could be levitated from a flat substrate by the acoustic radiation force generated by its own vibrating beam. The size of the stator was optimized using finite-element analysis (FEA) to maximize the vibration displacement amplitude of the beam. The flexural vibration modes at 24.3 and 102 kHz were the most prominent vibration modes having large displacement amplitudes. The stator was levitated at 23.2 and 96.1 kHz, which are close to the frequencies predicted by the FEA results. A standing wave was observed along the beam. The experimental and the simulated results showed good agreement. The levitation distance h was measured by varying the vibration displacement amplitude of the beam u, and was found to be proportional to u. When a traveling wave was excited along the beam by controlling the temporal phase difference of the two transducers, the stator could be made to hover and to move in the opposite direction to the traveling wave. The stator moved in the positive direction when the phase difference was in the ranges 0 degrees to 200 degrees and 310 degrees to 360 degrees, and in the negative direction when the phase difference was between 220 degrees and 260 degrees.     

An ultrasonically levitated noncontact stage using traveling vibrations on precision ceramic guide rails

This paper presents a noncontact sliding table design and measurements of its performance via ultrasonic levitation. A slider placed atop two vibrating guide rails is levitated by an acoustic radiation force emitted from the rails. A flexural traveling wave propagating along the guide rails allows noncontact transportation of the slider. Permitting a transport mechanism that reduces abrasion and dust generation with an inexpensive and simple structure. The profile of the sliding table was designed using the finite-element analysis (FEA) for high levitation and transportation efficiency. The prototype sliding table was made of alumina ceramic (Al2O3) to increase machining accuracy and rigidity using a structure composed of a pair of guide rails with a triangular cross section and piezoelectric transducers. Two types of transducers were used: bolt-clamped Langevin transducers and bimorph transducers. A 40-mm long slider was designed to fit atop the two rail guides. Flexural standing waves and torsional standing waves were observed along the guide rails at resonance, and the levitation of the slider was obtained using the flexural mode even while the levitation distance was less than 10 microm. The levitation distance of the slider was measured while increasing the slider's weight. The levitation pressure, rigidity, and vertical displacement amplitude of the levitating slider thus were measured to be 6.7 kN/m2, 3.0 kN/microm/m2, and less than 1 microm, respectively. Noncontact transport of the slider was achieved using phased drive of the two transducers at either end of the vibrating guide rail. By controlling the phase difference, the slider transportation direction could be switched, and a maximum thrust of 13 mN was obtained.     

A standing wave-type noncontact linear ultrasonic motor

In this study, a novel standing wave-type noncontact linear ultrasonic motor is proposed and analyzed. This linear ultrasonic motor uses a properly controlled ultrasonic standing wave to levitate and drive a slider. A prototype of the motor was constructed by using a wedge-shaped aluminum stator, which was placed horizontally and driven by a multilayer PZT vibrator. The levitation and motion of the slider were observed. Assuming that the driving force was generated by the turbulent acoustic streaming in the boundary air layer next to the bottom surface of the slider, a theoretical model was developed. The calculated characteristics of this motor were found to agree quite well with the experimental results. Based on the experimental and theoretical results, guidelines for increasing the displacement and speed of the slider were obtained. It was found that increasing the stator vibration displacement, or decreasing the gradient of the stator vibration velocity and the weight per unit area of the slider, led to an increase of the slider displacement. It was also found that increasing the amplitude and gradient of the stator vibration velocity, or decreasing the weight per unit area of the slider and the driving frequency, gave rise to an increase of the slider speed. There exists an optimum roughness of the bottom surface of the slider at which the slider speed has a maximum     

External Flow of an Acoustically Levitated Droplet

One of the major recent advances for experiments in containerless processing is acoustic levitation. Although there are a lot of previous studies for acoustic levitation, characteristic of external flow of an acoustically levitated droplet is not experimentally examined enough. In this study, external flow field has been observed by using high speed camera and Particle Image Velocimetry. In the case of any levitated droplet at a velocity antinode of standing wave, toroidal vortex are generated around levitated droplet. It is found that toroidal vortex around a levitated droplet is strongly affected by viscosity of levitated samples and input voltage. In terms of water droplet, as input voltage is decreased, location of toroidal vortex is moved from bottom to top of levitated samples.     

Vibration of a single microcapsule with a hard plastic shell in an acoustic standing wave field

Observation techniques for measuring the small vibration of a single microcapsule of tens of nanometers in an acoustic standing wave field are discussed. First, simultaneous optical observation of a microbubble vibration by two methods is investigated, using a high-speed video camera, which permits two-dimensional observation of the bubble vibration, and a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV), which can observe small bubble vibration amplitudes at high frequency. Bubbles of tens of micrometers size were trapped at the antinode of an acoustic standing wave generated in an observational cell. Bubble vibration at 27 kHz could be observed and the experimental results for the two methods showed good agreement. The radial vibration of microcapsules with a hard plastic shell was observed using the LDV and the measurement of the capsule vibration with radial oscillation amplitude of tens of nanometers was successful. The acoustic radiation force acting on microcapsules in the acoustic standing wave was measured from the trapped position of the standing wave and the radial oscillation amplitude of the capsules was estimated from the theoretical equation of the acoustic radiation force, giving results in good agreement with the LDV measurements. The radial oscillation amplitude of a capsule was found to be proportional to the amplitude of the driving sound pressure. A larger expansion ratio was observed for capsules closer to the resonance condition under the same driving sound pressure and frequency.     

Stability analysis of an acoustically levitated disk

In this paper, a model is developed for the stability analysis of an acoustically levitated disk on the basis of analyzing eddy acoustic streaming and acoustic viscous stress. In the model, the effect of the acoustic streaming outside the boundary layer that is on the surface of the levitated disk is properly taken into account. Also, the calculation of sound field and acoustic viscous stress is limited to the range that has a dominant effect on the stability. By this method, we obtain a quite accurate solution of the stability coefficient. For the small horizontal shift of a large levitated disk, the model is verified by the good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results. By means of this model and relevant experiments, some factors that affect the stability of the levitated disk are investigated, and useful guidelines for design and application are obtained. It is found that the range from the edge to the outermost nodal circle of the disk-shaped vibrator has a large effect on the stability of the levitated disk. To stabilize the levitated disk by acoustic viscous force, the distance between the edge and the outermost nodal circle of the vibrator must be larger than a critical value, which is determined by the driving frequency and the sound velocity of the fluid between the levitated disk and the vibrator. When this condition is satisfied, increasing the distance between the edge and the outermost nodal circle leads to a decrease in the stability. It is also found that the property of the fluid between the levitated disk and the vibrator has a large effect on the stability. It is easier to stabilize the levitated disk in steam than in air, but more difficult to do so in carbon dioxide and hydrogen. In addition, theoretical results show that increasing the weight per unit area of the levitated object increases the stability for a given vibrator velocity. The distribution of the acoustic viscous stress and the dependence of the stability coefficient and the holding force on the horizontal shift of the levitated disk, which are obtained by this study, also are useful to a better understanding of the stability of the levitated disk.     

New type of linear ultrasonic actuator based on a plate-shaped vibrator with triangular grooves

This paper presents a new type of linear ultrasonic actuator that can drive a slide by ultrasound. The ultrasonic actuator consists of a metal plate with uniform triangular grooves, multilayer piezoelectric vibrator, and supporting structure. The multilayer piezoelectric vibrator is used to excite a flexural vibration in the metal plate that is adjusted to lie horizontally. When the metal plate vibrates, a glass slide on it is levitated in the vertical direction and linearly driven along the length direction. Experimental characteristics of the prototype are presented here. This is the first report case of using the sound field that is generated by a grooved metal plate, to drive a slide levitated by acoustic radiation force.     

细颗粒物声波团聚的微观机理研究

为拓展声波团聚机理,对声波团聚过程中的声流与声涡作用进行了理论和实验研究。利用声流测试系统,发现在0～1 kHz低频与5 kHz高频时,团聚室内声流现象较为明显;并通过可视化测试,在7 kHz高频时观察到明显的漩涡。结果表明,流场中的声流与声涡对颗粒团聚会产生很大的影响,声流或声涡越强,团聚效果越好。在0～1 kHz低频与5 kHz高频时,声流产生的切应力带动气溶胶颗粒发生碰撞团聚;高频时声涡力矩较大,其产生的轨道角动量带动粒子发生圆周和自旋运动;当声压级大于132 dB时,声涡团聚开始发挥作用,与声流一起促进颗粒团聚,且声压级越大团聚效果越强;与波节相比,波腹处的声流速度更大,声涡现象更明显,团聚效果也更好。     

单轴式声悬浮的物理特性

采用边界元方法对单轴式声悬浮过程中的人射声场计算,揭示了样品在声悬浮过程中的受力特性,结果表明,提高声源强度,降低重力水平或者采用密度大声速小的气体介质有利于提高声悬浮能力,另外,采用适当曲率半径和较大截面半径的凹球面反射端能够提高模式4下靠近反射面的一个悬浮位置的悬浮性能。     

二维阵列换能器声辐射力分布的计算分析

利用角谱理论得到了圆形活塞换能器阵元组阵后作用在平面悬浮物体上的声辐射力分布公式。通过数值仿真,分析了换能器频率、阵元间距以及阵元数目对声辐射力分布的影响。计算结果表明,换能器组阵使得声辐射力分布的指向性变窄,强度增强;随着换能器频率的提高、阵元间距的增大以及阵元数目的增多,声辐射力分布的主瓣更尖锐,但阵元间距的增大会使声辐射力分布的旁瓣增高。为了改善声辐射力的空间分布,采用伪逆矩阵算法,以能量增益为目标函数,通过调节换能器阵元表面振动速度的幅值和相位来形成多焦点的声辐射力分布,为阵列换能器声辐射力分布的调控和声悬浮稳定性的研究提供帮助。     

Influencing Factors of Levitation Drift Caused by Magnet Vibration

In a levitated high-temperature superconducting system, the drift of levitated body due to vibration of the permanent magnet or an alternating magnetic field is a key and fatal subject in its applications. In this paper, the levitation drift caused by a PM vibration is investigated by a vibration measurement system. The influences of critical current density, levitation gap, weight of the levitated body, voltage across the shaker (amplitude of vibration), cooling height, etc. on the levitation drift have been measured, respectively. In the end, several methods which can reduce the levitation drift are presented and compared; the most reliable method is enhancing the critical current density of the superconductors.     

Elastic contact conditions to optimize friction drive of surface acoustic wave motor

The optimum pressing force, namely the preload, for a slider to obtain superior operation conditions in a surface acoustic wave motor have been examined. We used steel balls as sliders. The preload was controlled using a permanent magnet. The steel balls were 0.5, 1, and 2 mm diameter, with the differences in diameter making it possible to change contact conditions, such as the contact pressure, contact area, and deformation of the stator and the slider. The stator transducer was lithium niobate, 128 degrees rotated, y-cut x-propagation substrate. The driving frequency of the Rayleigh wave was about 10 MHz. Hence, the particle vibration amplitude at the surface is as small as 10 nm. For superior friction drive conditions, a high contact pressure was required. For example, in the case of the 1 mm diameter steel ball at the sinusoidal driving voltage of 180 V(peak), the slider speed was 43 cm/sec, the thrust output force was 1 mN, and the acceleration was 23 times as large as the gravitational acceleration at a contact pressure of 390 MPa. From the Hertz theory of contact stress, the contact area radius was only 3 mum. The estimation of the friction drive performance was carried out from the transient traveling distance of the slider in a 3 msec burst drive. As a result, the deformation of the stator and the slider by the preload should be half of the vibration amplitude. This condition was independent of the ball diameter and the vibration amplitude. The output thrust per square millimeter was 50 N, and the maximum speed was 0.7 m/sec. From these results, we conclude that it is possible for the surface acoustic wave motor to have a large output force, high speed, quick response, long traveling distance, and a thin micro linear actuator.     

微型静电悬浮Z向加速度计的计算机模拟

本工作针对一种新型的电容式力平衡加速度计－微型静电悬浮Ｚ向加速度进行了计算机模拟。模拟中的Ｚ向加速度计拟采用微机械加工技术在硅片上制作，利用静电悬浮原理平衡质量块，感应加速度并输出信号。计算机模拟分析了加速度计的悬浮特性，稳定特性，响应特性。对Ｃ－Ｆ转换电路的输出特性也进行了分析，该电路可用ＣＭＯＳ工艺集成在加速度传感器的周围。模拟结果表明该加速度计的悬浮特性，稳定特性，响应特性。对Ｃ－Ｆ转换电路     

阻力矩阵法计算斜波入射下平板的声辐射

利用声辐射阻力矩阵和振动面上的速度矢量预报了结构声辐射的总功率.振动面等效为有限个活塞振动单元.通过计算,得到了嵌在无限大障板中简支板模型在斜波入射作用下的声辐射功率和辐射效率.利用阻力矩阵法,不仅避免了声场的计算,而且能达到经典法所能达到的精度.这样,在辐射计算经典方法所需的辐射声场难以测量的情况下,阻力矩阵法尤为有用.     

Levitation forces in single-sided linear induction motors for high-speed ground transport

The levitation force and thrust in a current-controlled single-sided linear induction motor which propels electrodynamically-levitated vehicles are discussed. It has been shown theoretically that the single-sided linear induction motor (SLIM) can operate satisfactorily over suitably large clearance gap compared with the effective height of electrodynamic suspension. The levitation force in SLIM can be used practically as an alternative levitation force in the low-speed region by supplying a primary current several times the rated current within the very short acceleration times. In high-speed Maglev vehicle system with electrodynamic suspension and SLIM propulsion, the aluminum plate for levitation can be saved for the distance to accelerate the vehicle to speeds sufficient for electrodynamic levitation by the cryogenic magnets.     

Standing wave bi-directional linearly moving ultrasonic motor

A standing wave bi-directional linearly moving ultrasonic motor has been studied for the purpose of implementing a practical linear ultrasonic motor with simple structure, simple driving and high resolution. The fundamental principle of this linear motor is projections on the right sides of a standing wave crests generating thrust force right-diagonally on the slider pressed against the projections. Correspondingly, projections on the left sides of the wave crests make the slider move toward the left. In order to realize bi-directional actuating, vibration mode B3 or B4 is excited in a rectangular plate-type vibrator to make the projections on the right sides or the left sides of the wave crests. In this paper, the operation principle of the linear motor is demonstrated. Furthermore, a prototype linear ultrasonic motor of 40 mm in length, 10 mm in width is fabricated and investigated. The following performances have been achieved: maximum speed 200 mm/s, maximum force output 150 gf, and resolution less than 0.1 mum.     

Observation of the Field,Current and Force Distributions in an Optimized Superconducting Levitation with Translational Symmetry

The superconducting levitation realized by immersing the high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) into nonuniform magnetic field is deemed promising in a wide range of industrial applications such as maglev transportation and kinetic energy storage. Using a well-established electromagnetic model to mathematically describe the HTS, we have developed an efficient scheme that is capable of intelligently and globally optimizing the permanent magnet guideway (PMG) with single or multiple HTSs levitated above for the maglev transportation applications. With maximizing the levitation force as the principal objective, we optimized the dimensions of a Halbach-derived PMG to observe how the field, current and force distribute inside the HTSs when the optimized situation is achieved. Using a pristine PMG as a reference, we have analyzed the critical issues for enhancing the levitation force through comparing the field, current and force distributions between the optimized and pristine PMGs. It was also found that the optimized dimensions of the PMG are highly dependent upon the levitated HTS. Moreover, the guidance force is not always contradictory to the levitation force and may also be enhanced when the levitation force is prescribed to be the principle objective, depending on the configuration of levitation system and lateral displacement.     

基于大涡模拟和Lighthill声类比的孔腔流动发声特性研究

孔腔流动发声是气动声学研究领域重要的课题,基于大涡模拟和Lighthill声类比方法,探讨了气体在孔腔流动的流激噪声的发声特性。模拟结果表明,孔腔边界层出口剪切涡、边棱处涡街和腔体内反馈涡的运动诱导了孔腔发声,具有明显的偶极子特性,在高频段腔体内激发了声学驻波模态。通过模拟与实验对比分析了不同流量下噪声量级以及频谱分布规律,研究结果表明:24 kHz以下的声频谱会表现出波峰小范围迁移;24 kHz以上频率对应的声压级随流量增大而增大;腔体长度和特征频率近似满足Strouher公式,即声频特征频率随腔体长度的增大而减小。上述研究结果为下一步设计在线监测安全阀泄漏的报警超声波发声器提供了理论依据。     

Simulation of surface acoustic wave motor with spherical slider

The operation of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) motor using spherical-shaped sliders was demonstrated by Kurosawa et al. (1994). It was necessary to modify the previous simulation models for usual ultrasonic motors because of this slider shape and the high frequency vibration. A conventional ultrasonic motor has a flat contact surface slider and a hundredth driving frequency; so, the tangential motion caused by the elasticity of the slider and stator with regard to the spherical slider of the SAW motor requires further investigation. In this paper, a dynamic simulation model for the SAW motor is proposed. From the simulation result, the mechanism of the SAW motor was clarified (i.e., levitation and contact conditions were repeated during the operation). The transient response of the motor speed was simulated. The relationships between frictional factor and time constant and vibration velocity of the stator and the slider speed were understood. The detailed research regarding the elastic deformation caused by preload would be helpful to construct an exact simulation model for the next work.     

Analysis of a high Tc superconducting levitation systemwith vibration isolation control

This paper presents a method for controlling vibrations of a levitated high Tc superconducting body subjected to base disturbances. To have the control forces, an actuator consisting of a permanent magnet with an electromagnet was presented. The analytical solution for calculating levitation forces due to the permanent magnet and the control currents in the electromagnet was obtained. The levitation forces obtained coincide with the previously published results. The equation of motion of the levitated body subjected to base disturbances under the control was presented. Nonlinear vibrations of the body were first discussed; then the method of vibration isolation control using the direct disturbance cancellation combining the velocity feedback control was investigated. Numerical calculations were carried out for the levitation forces, with respect to the levitated body subjected to harmonic or pulse base excitations. It was clarified that the present method Is valid for controlling nonlinear systems like the magnetically levitated superconducting body