A NOTE ON THE CONTACT PROBLEM IN AN ULTRASONIC TRAVELING-WAVE MOTOR

In this paper we discuss the non-linear contact problem between the st ator and the rotor of an ultrasonic travelling were motor. For a first simplified mathematical model the problem is formulated for a linear motor in which the stator is modelled as a Bernoulli-Euler beam and th e slider (rotor) is assumed to be rigid. A thin layer of visco-elastic material is assumed to exist between stator and slider. Expressions a re obtained for the contact pressure between the two parts. The fricti onal forces both in the sticking and in the sliding zone can then be e asily obtained assuming Coulomb friction. Copyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.