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MFC

13Composite schematic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1-3 Piezo Composites have become the material of choice for many high performance ultrasound transducer since it was invented by R.E. Newnham and L.E. Cross in the late 1970's .

A variety of piezocomposite materials can be made by combining piezo ceramic elements with a passive
polymer such as epoxy or active polymer. Piezo-composites are classified according to their connectivity (such as 2-2, 1-3, 0-3 etc.,). Connectivity is defined as the number of dimensions through which the material is continuous. It is conventional for the first digit to refer to the piezoelectrically active phase.

Prof. Newnham defined the family of interconnectivity of piezo electric composites as shown in one of his drawn pictures below.

Today the most piezo composites on the market are with the 1-3 and 2-2 connectivity used in ultrasound transducers, actuators and sensors.

 

1-3 piezo composites advantages over standard bulk piezo ceramics are in general:

  • lower acoustic impedance, 1-3 piezo composites are available with acoustic impedance between 8MRayl and 26MRayl
  • higher coupling coefficient of typically 0.63 to 0.70 compared with 0.54 of bulk material
  • higher bandwidth and lower Qm

Disadvantages of piezo composites over bulk piezo ceramic components are in general the higher costs and the often limited temperature operating range.

The typical applications for 1-3 piezo composites are

  • Medical Diagnostic Ultrasound
  • Non Destructive Testing NDT
  • SONAR, mostly defense oriented for high performance
  • Flow Control and Air Ultrasound

The biggest single market for the 1-3 piezo composite is the medical diagnostic ultrasound market which is using more 1-3 piezo composite than the other markets combined. Today's medical ultrasound imaging systems would be not possible without the advancements in 1-3 piezo composites.

 

Smart Material is manufacturing and distributing piezo composite material with 2-2 connectivity (the MFC) and

1-3 connectivity.

 

Smart Material is utilizing different manufacturing technologies to meet to meet the typical requirements of the applications for 1-3 piezo composites as outlined above which are listed under Types Available:

  • 1-3 Fiber Composites with Random Pixel Distribution
  • 1-3 Fiber Composites with Regular Pixel Distribution
  • 1-3 Standard Dice&Fill Composites

Utilizing different manufacturing technologies for 1-3 piezo composites allows Smart Material to provide 1-3 composites for frequencies ranging from 40kHz to 10 MHz, with fill factor ranging from 25% to 80% and sizes up to 100mm by 100mm (4inches by 4 inches).

 

Newnham-class
Hopper

1-3 Random Fiber Composites

 

Smart Material is manufacturing 1-3 composites using piezo ceramic fibers as active rods.
1-3 fiber piezo composites are prepared by epoxy infiltration of fiber bundles and dicing of the cube-shaped blocks perpendicular to the direction of the fibers. This patented method is also called Arrange & Fill. A random distribution of the fibers shows excellent suppression of lateral frequency modes. Using piezo ceramic fibers with 105µm, 250µm and 800µm yields fill factors of 35%, 65% and 80%.

 

1-3 Random Fiber Composite specifications:

  • Resonance Frequencies from 40 kHz to 10 MHz
  • Available in PZT Navy type II and type VI
  • Maximum dimensions 6cm by 6cm (2.36" by 2.36")
  • Various epoxy and polyurethane interstitial materials available.
  • Operational temperatures up to 130C
  • Available with Gold, Copper-Tin and Silver-Gold electrodes

1-3 Random Fiber Composite typical applications:

  • Non Destructive Testing (NDT) ultrasound transducer
  • SONAR, single element
  • Flow control
  • Air ultrasound transducer
Hopper

1-3 Regular Fiber Composites

 

Smart Material is manufacturing 1-3 composites using piezo ceramic fibers as active rods.
1-3 fiber piezo composites are prepared by epoxy infiltration of fiber bundles and dicing of the cube-shaped blocks perpendicular to the direction of the fibers. This patented method is also called Arrange & Fill. Regular fiber distribution is achieved by using specific masks. Regular Fiber Composite are only available with 800µm rods and with fill factors between 25% to 48%.

 

1-3 Regular Fiber Composite specifications:

  • Resonance Frequencies from 40 kHz to 1MHz
  • Available in PZT Navy type II and type VI
  • Maximum dimensions 6cm by 6cm (2.36" by 2.36")
  • Various epoxy and polyurethane interstitial materials available.
  • Operational temperatures up to 150C
  • Available with Copper-Tin and Silver-Gold electrodes

1-3 Random Fiber Composite typical applications:

  • SONAR, single element
  • SONAR, phased arrays
  • Air ultrasound transducers
Hopper

1-3 Standard Dice and Fill Composites

 

Smart Material is also manufacturing 1-3 composites using the commonly used Dice&Fill method.

 

1-3 Standard Composite specifications:

  • Resonance Frequencies from 2MHz to 10MHz
  • Available in PZT Navy type I, II and type VI
  • Maximum dimensions 6cm by 6cm (2.36" by 2.36")
  • Various epoxy and polyurethane interstitial materials available.
  • Operational temperatures up to 130C
  • Available with Gold, Copper-Tin and Silver-Gold electrodes

1-3 Random Fiber Composite typical applications:

  • Medical ultrasound transducers
  • Non Destructive Testing (NDT) ultrasound transducer
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