Nitinol Cymbal Transducers for Power Ultrasonics Applications

The effects of shape memory alloy phenomena such as superelasticity and thermal phase change on the dynamic response of a cymbal transducer incorporating two Nitinol end-caps has not been studied into detail. The experimental results, using both vibration response and electrical impedance measurements, demonstrate that the use of Nitinol as the end-cap material for a cymbal transducer can impose significant effects on the vibration response. The understanding of the effect Nitinol has on the vibration response of a cymbal transducer provides future opportunities to design a power ultrasonic cymbal transducer that can operate with two different and selectable vibration behaviours, which is particularly appealing in a range of applications, including ultrasonic cutting devices that are required to penetrate more than one material.