Optimization of a one-frequency-two-mode traveling-wave piezoelectric linear motor by electrode design

Piezoelectric motor is based on generating traveling waves on a finite structure. It can be classified into linear and rotary types. Among them, linear motors have an inevitable problem since finite boundaries are always exist, and reflected waves can hinder the formation of propagating waves. To solve this problem, a linear motor based on a single driving frequency and two induced resonant molds are previously reported. However, the driving frequencies are not at structure resonant frequency, the efficiency of linear motor is based on the superposition of two adjacent bending modes. The traveling wave is created by two piezoelectric actuators driven by a single frequency in between these two resonant molds with a 90 degrees phase difference. Based on previous report, it shows that by placing these two 0.178/L length actuators at 0.22/L and 0.78/L on a one-dimensional beam with length L, an optimal performance could be reached. It suggested that the location and size of the two piezoelectric actuators can be used to optimize the performance of the linear motor. In this study, finite element simulation was used to study the contributions of the temporal and spatial correlations between the two actuators with respect to a 1-D linear motor. The position and size of these two piezoelectric actuators are studied for optimizing the performance of the linear motor.