Piezoelectric Vibration Experiment Diagram

1 Tektronix TDS 2004C Digital CH 3

Storage Oscilloscope Function
Active Control
Pulse sent to CH 1 CH 2 Generator
eXperts
transmitter Pulse Pulse Output
received Quickpack Power
sent
Amplifier
Foam Board
pulse

20

Pulse picked up by
receiver
BK Precision Function
Generator

System Settings
Function Generator: Amplitude 4.500 VPP, Frequency 50.0000 Hz, Pulse Function, Burst
Amplifier: Voltage Limit 100V, Current Limit 50mA
Oscilloscope: Trigger Type EDGE, source CH3, Slope RISING. CH1&2: Coupling DC, BW Limit ON, Volts/Div COARSE, Probe 10X. CH3: Coupling
AC, BW Limit ON, Volts/Div COARSE, Probe 1X. Acquire AVERAGE, Averages 128
 Piezoelectric Acceleration Experiment Diagram

Tektronix TDS 2004C Digital CH 3

Storage Oscilloscope Function
Active Control
Foam Board CH 1 Generator
Pulse Sent to CH4 eXperts
Pulse Output
Transmitter Quickpack Power
Accelerometer sent Records
Amplifier
on top of Max
Transmitter Voltage
Data sent to
Amplifier

PCB Amplifier

BK Precision Function
Generator

System Settings
Function Generator: Amplitude 4.500 VPP, Frequency 50.0000 Hz, Pulse Function, Burst
Amplifier: Voltage Limit 100V, Current Limit 50mA
Oscilloscope: Trigger Type EDGE, source CH3, Slope RISING. CH1&2: Coupling DC, BW Limit ON, Volts/Div COARSE, Probe 10X. CH4: Coupling
AC, BW Limit ON, Volts/Div COARSE, Probe 1X. Acquire AVERAGE, Averages 128
Accelerometer: Model: BNK Type 4519-001, Serial Number: 52345, Sensitivity 10.07 mV/m/s^2, Amplifier: PCB Amplifier, Gain: 10 V
 Piezoelectric Vibrations
6/21/17
ODU Smarts Systems Lab
Jake Brown
Matthew Ozmon Partner
Nick Amabile Partner
Evan Allen Partner
Vishal Singh Partner

Abstract
The purpose of this lab was to determine which of four adhesives would allow for the best
conductivity of vibrations between the adherent piezoelectric materials and a foam board. The
vibrations were measured by a second piezoelectric material that converted the mechanical
energy of vibration into electrical energy. Multiple measurements were derived from this energy
conversion; the magnitude of the vibration felt and the time between transmission and reception
of the vibration. Using these measured values, the speed of the vibration could be calculated, as
well as which adhesive and pulse width allowed for the strongest received signal.

Introduction
Piezoelectricity, otherwise called the piezoelectric effect is the phenomena that certain materials
will vibrate when subject to a voltage, or produce a voltage when subject to mechanical stress.
Piezoelectric materials were used in this lab to generate a vibration in a solid material, and then
measure that vibration by means of the electric current created by it. The input current was
directed into a piezoelectric transmitter that was adhered to a foam strip. The transmitter would
then vibrate, sending a wave-behaving vibration down the foam strip. This vibration then
reached the end of the foam, where a piezoelectric receiver was adhered.

Both the transmitter and receiver were then plugged into an oscilloscope that measured the
voltage of the current going into the transmitter, and the current produced by the receiver. The
oscilloscope also measured when each pulse of the transmitter was sent, as well as when the
receiver felt a vibration and generated a current from it. By knowing these times, the velocity of
the vibration through the foam was calculated from each trial by using the definition of velocity.

V=
Where V is the velocity of the vibration, d is the distance traveled by the vibration, and t is the
amount of time the vibration was traveling.

Procedures
The first experiment was completed in order to determine which of four adhesives; masking tape,
Kapton tape, beeswax, and Icyhot pads, would allow for the strongest received vibration.

In order to do this, multiple trials with each adhesive were completed in which regular distance
intervals of 4, 8, 10, and 16 inches between the transmitter and receiver were undergone. In order
to keep the vibration created by the transmitter the same throughout all trials, a pulse of a 4.500
volts peak-to-peak was inputed at a constant frequency of 50 Hz. The transmitter than received
the vibration and sent an electric current to the oscilloscope. This current was measured for its
maximum peak-to-peak voltage in order to determine the relative strength of the vibration felt.

The Effect of Distance on the Amplitude

of the Received Signal
30 Masking Tape
Amplitude of Signal Received (mV Pk-Pk)

Kapton Tape
25
Beeswax
20 IcyHot Pads

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20
Distance Between Transmitter and Receiver (in)
 Adhesive Calculated Velocity
Also, by measuring the time interval between the of Vibration (inches
vibration created by the transmitter and the per milisecond)
vibration felt by the receiver, the average velocity Masking Tape 5.3662325
of the vibration was calculated for each adhesive. Kapton Tape 5.3650775
Beeswax 5.43444
IcyHot Pads 4.5410075
Following this experiment, it was determined that the Kapton Tape allowed for the strongest
received signal, and it was chosen as the ideal adhesive.

A second experiment was then completed to determine what was the ideal pulse width that
would allow for the strongest received signal. During the first experiment, the amplitude and
frequency of the inputted electric current were both kept constant, as well as the pulse width. The
pulse width is the amount of time between the up-pulse and down-pulse of the electric current.
Each up and down pulse creates a mechanical change in the shape of the piezoelectric material.
The up-pulse causes the material to contract, and become curved, while the down-pulse causes it
to return to its default, flat shape. The time inbetween the up and down pulses, or simply the
pulse width, was changed in order to determine the optimal pulse width for the strongest received
signal. The transmitter and receiver were kept 10 inches apart, and the amplitude and frequency
were kept at the values used in the first experiment. The pulse width was changed and the
maximum peak-to-peak voltage was measured in order to determine the relative strength of the
vibrations that reached the receiver.

The Effect of Pulse Width on Signal Strength

70
Amplitude of Signal Revieved (mV Pk-Pk)

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Pulse Width (milliseconds)

Analysis
The results of experiment 1supported the hypothesis that Kapton tape is the best adhesive for the
job of conducting vibrations between the transmitter or reciever and the foam. The amplitude of
the vibrations felt by the receiver in the Kapton Tape trials was significantly larger than the other
3 adhesives. However, the IcyHot Pad trials provided some very intruiging data. The calculated
velocities of the signal, based off of the measured times and distances, were significantly slower
for all trials involving the pads. It was hypothesised that the pads partially absorbed the
vibration, which would account for the weak magnitude of the recieved signals, and the slower
calculated velocities. The pads had a strong adhesive that held both the transmitter and reciever
very tightly, which would absorb the energy of the initial vibration and lessen the vibration
transfered from the transmitter or to the receiver. This action increased the time interval between
transmition and reception and, by the definition of velocity, decreasing the calculated velocity.

In experiment 2, it was deterimined that .12 miliseconds was the ideal pulse width for this set-up.
The general trend was that very small pulse widths created high peak-to-peak amplitudes, but
around 2 miliseconds and up, the peak-to-peak amplitude leveled out and remained relatively
constant. The magnitude of the vibrations felt by the receiver can be changed by a number of
variables, however, including the material the vibration must travel through and the dimmentions
of the material. The dimmentions of the material can be extremely important, as the vibrations
will reflect off of the materials edges and travel back towards the center. These reflected waves
can then become addative and increase the vibrations felt by the receiver, or they can mitigate
the vibrations felt by the receiver by canceling out the other initial vibrations. It was believed for
this reason there is a small peak in the peak-to-peak amplitudes of experiment 2 at a pulse width
of roughly 1.6 miliseconds. Further experimentation is required to make further conclusions.
6/26/17
For this experiment, we investigated the effect of the surface area of the foam board on the
amount of signal on the reciever. We used the exact same setup and procedure as we did in the
experiment in finding what ideal pulse width would transmit the highest amount of signal. This
time, we just varied the dimensions of the foam board. We ended up using a new transmitter for
this experiment since the one from the previous experiment had worn out. The different
dimesions we used were 20 x 1.5 (original), 27 5/16 x 20 (big board), and 27 5/16 x 20
(long strip).

Using the exact same procedure as the previous experiment, we measured the amplitude of signal
received in mV from peak to peak by varying the pulse width (percentage of period). We had a
constant frequency of 50.000 Hz and a Voltage of 4.5 V prior to amplification. After varying the
pulse width, we recorded the amplitude of signal received through the reciever. We repeated the
process until we tested all of the pulse widths that were used in the previous experiment for all
three boards.

After recording the data, we discovered that the long narrow board overall had allowed for the
most signal recievence. We concluded that a long, narrow area would allow for the greatest
amount of signal to be received by the reciever. We believe this may have happened because
since there is less room for a wave to bounce around, the waves have to follow a narrow, straight
line. In a large, wide board, the waves have more room to freely bounce around, therefore the
signal received would not be as direct.

Effect of Board Dimmensions of Signal Strength

100

90
Amplitude of Signal Received (mV Pk-PK)

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Pulse With (ms)

Original Board Big Board Long Strip

Something interesting that we had discovered that the big board had a flat relationship when we
varied the pulse width, while the smaller boards had a more scattered, downhill relationship.
More research needs to be conducted to find the reasoning behind this abstract relationship.
6/27/17
Today, we wanted to record a mechanical measurement of the vibrations rather than just an
electrical measurement. We used the accelerometer in order to find and calculate the acceleration
of the vibrations, since the vibrations are constantly accelerating and deaccelerating as they move
across the waves. The setup is as follows on the second diagram, with a constant frequency of 50
Hz and a Voltage of 4.5 V.

We found different accelerations as we varied the Pulse Width. We did the same procedure on
both the transmitter and reciever piezoelectric transducer. We found acceleration by finding the
max voltage transmitted, divided by the sensitivity then multiplied that by 100.
Pulse Width on Acceleration on Transmitter
50
45
40
Acceleraton (m/s^2)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Pulse Width (% of Period)

Pulse Width on Acceleration on Reciever

60

50
Acceleration (m/s^2)

40

30

20

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Pulse Width (% of Period)

On the transmitter, we discovered a slightly downhill trend as we increased the pulse width,
however, on the receiver, we discovered a somewhat stable trend. We have concluded that the
transmitter has a higher vibration acceleration than the reciever, but the transmitter acceleration
will decrease as we increase the pulse width.
We repeated the same experiment, except we did it on a humans arm, with the acclerometer 10
in apart from the transmitter. The accelerations turned out to be much lower. As we increased the
Pulse Width, it increased then decreased then increased. The reason for the very low
accelerations may be due to the internal organs absorbing the vibrations in the arm. The highest
acceleration was around .148 m/s^2 at pulse width of around 18-19%.
Pulse Width on Acceleration on Human
0.18
0.16
0.14
Acceleration (m/s^2)

0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Pulse Width (% of Period)
6/28/17
Today, we repeated the initial experiment with the adhesives on amplitude of the signal received,
except we had used a human arm instead of the foam board. We used Kapton tape, Medical
Tape, Medical Braces, and IcyHot pads. We had distances of 2.5, 5, and 7.5 inches between the
transmitter and the reciever. Our data shows that with using Medical Tape as adhesives with the
transmitter and the reciever 2.5 inches apart, we were able to get the strongest amplitude of
signal received, with 8 mV. However, our data for the the medical braces and the IcyHot pads
are skewed since the we had used an IcyHot pad to stick the reciever onto the arm, moreover, we
get completely different data with using medical braces on the transmitter with medical tape on
the reciever. And we believe the IcyHot pads allow for the greatest signal absorbance since on
the packaging, it says that the IcyHot pads are an electric pad, giving it stiumlant abilities.
Therefore, even though the medical braces and IcyHot pads had higher values for ampitude, we
decided that this may be invalid data. Overall, we believe the medical tape gives the best signal
absorbance without any stimulant abilities.We believe that the signal was the strongest at the
shortest distance since the waves have less room to weaken. This contradicts our conclusion
from the experiment with the foam board where Kapton tape was the strongest, this may be since
the IcyHot pads were designed for skin while the Kapton tape was not.
Medical Tape
9
Amplitude of Signal Recieved (mV)

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Distance between Transmitter and Reciever (in)
 Kapton Tape
12
Amplitude of Signal Received (mV)

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Distance between Transmitter and Reciever (in)

Medical Braces (with Icyhot pads at reciever)

45
Amplitude of Signal Recieved (mV)

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

IcyHot Pads
40
Amplitude of Signal Recieved (mV)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Distance between Transmitter and Reciever (in)