Tailoring the Q of cymbal transducer

Abstract

In general high Q is a desired property for transducer applications, which is the indication low loss. However for the underwater acoustic applications wide bandwidth is also a desired property. Therefore the Q values should be low to achieve wide bandwidth. Cymbal transducer has the highest figure of merit as a hydrophone and as well as huge potential for underwater projector applications. However Q of the standard cymbal transducer is higher than desired and it is a disadvantage of this transducer. In this investigation cavity beneath the endcaps of the cymbal transducer were partially filled with polymeric media to cause visco-elastic damping. All the experiments were performed with ANSYS FEM codes in air. Initial results showed that the Q of the cymbal transducer can be tuned to the desired value by filling the cavity with beneath the endcaps.