Design of low-frequency broadband flextensional transducers based on combined particle swarm optimization and finite element method
Jia Zheng, Shiyang Li, Bin Wang
Abstract
Abstract For designing underwater acoustic transducers, it is usually very difficult and time-consuming to determine multiple parameters simultaneously. Therefore, a novel design method that combines the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and finite element method (FEM) is proposed for low-frequency broadband flextensional transducers (FTs). This method can optimize multiple structural dimensions simultaneously and maximize the bandwidth performance of FTs efficiently. The validity of the PSO-FEM approach was verified by the optimization design and experiments of a class IV FT. Compared with previously reported design methods of FTs, this method is more efficient and avoids tedious operations. This work also provides a powerful and handy tool for the design of other underwater acoustic transducers.