Investigation on the traveling wave and three-dimensional trajectory of motion on the stator of rotational ultrasonic motors

Abstract

Better understanding of the characteristics of the traveling wave and three-dimensional trajectory related to motion on the surface of the stator is very important for the design and performance improvement of the ultrasonic motors. In this paper, an accurate finite element model of a single stator with a fully coupled piezoelectric layer was established at a moderate computational cost. The finite element model was verified by experimental test at the inverse resonance point. Based on this model, the traveling wave and three-dimensional trajectory of stator surface, including the influence of the input voltage on the phase and amplitude of the displacements in three directions, are investigated. The results show that the trajectory of particles on the stator surface is an ellipse in three-dimensional space due to the phase differences between the three components of displacement in the radial, circumferential and axial directions. The amplitude of radial displacement is about 39.5% of that in the circumferential displacement, which should not be neglected.