This article presents an overview of the acoustics of friction by covering friction sounds, friction-induced vibrations and waves in solids, and descriptions of other frictional phenomena related to acoustics. Friction, resulting from the sliding contact of solids, often gives rise to diverse forms of waves and oscillations within solids which frequently lead to radiation of sound to the surrounding media. Among the many everyday examples of friction sounds, violin music and brake noise in automobiles represent the two extremes in terms of the sounds they produce and the mechanisms by which they are generated. Of the multiple examples of friction sounds in nature, insect sounds are prominent. Friction also provides a means by which energy dissipation takes place at the interface of solids. Friction damping that develops between surfaces, such as joints and connections, in some cases requires only microscopic motion to dissipate energy. Modeling of friction-induced vibrations and friction damping in mechanical systems requires an accurate description of friction for which only approximations exist. While many of the components that contribute to friction can be modeled, computational requirements become prohibitive for their contemporaneous calculation. Furthermore, quantification of friction at the atomic scale still remains elusive. At the atomic scale, friction becomes a mechanism that converts the kinetic energy associated with the relative motion of surfaces to thermal energy. However, the description of the conversion to thermal energy represented by a disordered state of oscillations of atoms in a solid is still not well understood. At the macroscopic level, friction interacts with the vibrations and waves that it causes. Such interaction sets up a feedback between the friction force and waves at the surfaces, thereby making friction and surface motion interdependent. Such interdependence forms the basis for friction-induced motion as in the case of ultrasonic motors and other examples. Last, when considered phenomenologically, friction and boundary layer turbulence exhibit analogous properties and, when compared, each may provide clues to a better understanding of the other.

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Acoustics of friction.

Piezoelectric ultrasonic motors are driven by tangential stresses in the interface between stator and rotor. These stresses are generated by the elliptical motion of the material points of the stator or rotor surface and depend on frictional processes in the contact area. The contact mechanics of piezoelectric ultrasonic motors determines the operational characteristics, like rotational speed and torque or transmitted mechanical power and efficiency. Wear properties and lifetime of piezoelectric ultrasonic motors are also determined by contact mechanics. The goal of the present paper is to summarize the state of the art in the understanding of some fundamental processes governing the contact mechanics of piezoelectric ultrasonic motors. After a short introduction, a survey of publications devoted to the subject will be given. Then, an attempt will be made to classify the mechanical models, which were developed in order to explain the contact mechanics of piezoelectric ultrasonic motors, according to the physical effects which have been taken into account in their derivation. Some results concerning the choice of proper contact materials, wear and lifetime of ultrasonic motors will be addressed in a separate section. Finally a summary and outlook will be given and open questions for future research will be formulated.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0964-1726/7/3/011/pdf

Contact mechanics of piezoelectric ultrasonic motors

Survey of the present state of the art of piezoelectric linear motors

The first success in the operation of an ultrasonic linear motor at HF band driving frequency using the Rayleigh wave is described. The substrate material is a 127.8/spl deg/ Y-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ wafer whose diameter is three inches. Four interdigital transducers (IDT's) are arranged to excite x- and y-propagation waves in both directions. The dimensions of the IDT are 25 mm aperture size, 400 /spl mu/m pitch, 100 /spl mu/m strip width, and 10 pairs. The operation area is about 25 mm square, The driving frequency is about 9.6 MHz in the x direction and about 9.1 MHz in the y direction. The most important point of the success is the shape of the contact surface and slider materials. For the contact materials, small balls about 1 mm in diameter are introduced to obtain sufficient contact pressure around 100 MPa. The use of ruby balls, steel balls, and tungsten carbide balls is investigated. Each slider has three balls to enable stable contact at three points. The maximum transfer speed is about 20 cm/s. The transfer speed is controllable by changing the driving voltage.

Ultrasonic linear motor using surface acoustic waves

Piezoelectric inertia motors—also known as stick-slip motors or (smooth) impact drives—use the inertia of a body to drive it in small steps by means of an uninterrupted friction contact. In addition to the typical advantages of piezoelectric motors, they are especially suited for miniaturisation due to their simple structure and inherent fine-positioning capability. Originally developed for positioning in microscopy in the 1980s, they have nowadays also found application in mass-produced consumer goods. Recent research results are likely to enable more applications of piezoelectric inertia motors in the future. This contribution gives a critical overview of their historical development, functional principles, and related terminology. The most relevant aspects regarding their design—i.e., friction contact, solid state actuator, and electrical excitation—are discussed, including aspects of control and simulation. The article closes with an outlook on possible future developments and research perspectives.

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Piezoelectric Inertia Motors—A Critical Review of History, Concepts, Design, Applications, and Perspectives.

General outline of ultrasonic motors Principles of operation and classification of ultrasonic motors Rotary motors. Part 1: Disk-or ring-type motors Rotary motors. Part 2: Rod-or plate-type motors Linear motors Applications of ultrasonic motors Design of ultrasonic motors Appendix 1: Equivalent circuits of piezoelectric vibrators Appendix 2: Transducers for ultrasonic motors Appendix 3: Measurement methods Appendix 4: Power supply circuits.

S. Ueha

Papers

Ultrasonic Motors: Theory and Applications