Thin, low frequency, high displacement actuator panels

An advanced type of thin, high displacement, low frequency actuator panel i s being developed for in-air active vibro-acoustic control applications. Th e 10 cmx10 cm actuator panel consists of cymbal-type flextensional sub-elem ents placed mechanically and electrically in parallel with each other betwe en two stiff cover plates. The total thickness of the actuator panel is 6.3 5 mm. Two panel designs are currently under investigation. One consists of sixty-four 12.7 mm diameter cymbals in an 8x8 square arrangement. It is int ended for use in the frequency band from 1 kHz to 10 kHz. The other panel h as sixteen 25.4 mm diameter elements in a 4x4 square configuration and is d esigned for use below 1 kHz. Laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements s how peak displacements on the order of 1 Ccm or more are obtained when driv ing the panels at one Volt at their respective resonance frequencies.