United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of Nasa

National Institute of Aerospace Associates

Trs Technologies, Inc.

Scimed Life Systems, Inc.

Xiaoning Jiang

Tian-Bing Xu

Ji Su

Wesley S Hackenberger

Kevin A Snook

Paul W Rehrig

Emilie J Siochi

Jin Ho Kang

Richard Romley

Jian R Yuan

Lei Zuo

Embodiments of the disclosure include an apparatus and methods for using a piezoelectric device, that includes an outer flextensional casing, a first cell and a last cell serially coupled to each other and coupled to the outer flextensional casing such that each cell having a flextensional cell structure and each cell receives an input force and provides an output force that is amplified based on the input force. The apparatus further includes a piezoelectric stack coupled to each cell such that the piezoelectric stack of each cell provides piezoelectric energy based on the output force for each cell. Further, the last cell receives an input force that is the output force from the first cell and the last cell provides an output apparatus force In addition, the piezoelectric energy harvested is based on the output apparatus force. Moreover, the apparatus provides displacement based on the output apparatus force.

Multistage force amplification of piezoelectric stacks

A novel full piezoelectric multilayer stacked hybrid actuation/transduction system. The system demonstrates significantly-enhanced electromechanical performance by utilizing the cooperative contributions of the electromechanical responses of multilayer stacked negative and positive strain components. Both experimental and theoretical studies indicate that for this system, the displacement is over three times that of a same-sized conventional flextensional actuator/transducer. The system consists of at least 2 layers which include electromechanically active components. The layers are arranged such that when electric power is applied, one layer contracts in a transverse direction while the second layer expands in a transverse direction which is perpendicular to the transverse direction of the first layer. An alternate embodiment includes a third layer. In this embodiment, the outer two layers contract in parallel transverse directions while the middle layer expands in a transverse direction which is perpendicular to the transverse direction of the outer layers.

Piezoelectric multilayer-stacked hybrid actuation/transduction system

The advanced modified high performance synthetic jet actuator with optimized curvature shape chamber (ASJA-M) is a synthetic jet actuator (SJA) with a lower volume reservoir or chamber. A curved chamber is used, instead of the conventional cylinder chamber, to reduce the dead volume of the jet chamber and increase the efficiency of the synthetic jet actuator. The shape of the curvature corresponds to the maximum displacement (deformation) profile of the electroactive diaphragm. The jet velocity and mass flow rate for the ASJA-M will be several times higher than conventional piezoelectric actuators.

Advanced modified high performance synthetic jet actuator with curved chamber

The present invention comprises a high performance, horizontal, zero-net mass-flux, synthetic jet actuator for active control of viscous, separated flow on subsonic and supersonic vehicles. The present invention is a horizontal piezoelectric hybrid zero-net mass-flux actuator, in which all the walls of the chamber are electrically controlled synergistically to reduce or enlarge the volume of the synthetic jet actuator chamber in three dimensions simultaneously and to reduce or enlarge the diameter of orifice of the synthetic jet actuator simultaneously with the reduction or enlargement of the volume of the chamber. The present invention is capable of installation in the wing surface as well as embedding in the wetted surfaces of a supersonic inlet. The jet velocity and mass flow rate for the SJA-H will be several times higher than conventional piezoelectric actuators.

Advanced high performance horizontal piezoelectric hybrid synthetic jet actuator

A piezoelectric composite micromachined ultrasound transducer including single and multilayer 1-D and 2-D arrays having through-wafer-vias (TWVs) that significantly decreased electrical impedance per element, and hence the improved electrical impedance matching to T/R electronics and improved signal to noise ratio is disclosed. The TWVs facilitate integrated interconnection in single element transducers (positive and negative contact on the same side) and array transducers (contact pads array for integration with T/R switches and/or pre-amplifier circuits).

Micromachined piezoelectric ultrasound transducer arrays

The present invention comprises a high performance, vertical, zero-net mass-flux, synthetic jet actuator for active control of viscous, separated flow on subsonic and supersonic vehicles. The present invention is a vertical piezoelectric hybrid zero-net mass-flux actuator, in which all the walls of the chamber are electrically controlled synergistically to reduce or enlarge the volume of the synthetic jet actuator chamber in three dimensions simultaneously and to reduce or enlarge the diameter of orifice of the synthetic jet actuator simultaneously with the reduction or enlargement of the volume of the chamber. The jet velocity and mass flow rate for the present invention will be several times higher than conventional piezoelectric synthetic jet actuators.

Advanced high performance vertical hybrid synthetic jet actuator

The present invention generally relates to medical devices, and more particularly to an improved medical imaging device. In one embodiment, an imaging device includes a drive shaft having proximal and distal ends received within the lumen; and an imaging transducer assembly coupled to the distal end of the drive shaft and positioned at the distal portion of the elongate member. The imaging transducer assembly includes one or more imaging transducers formed with a piezoelectric composite plate using photolithography based micromachining.

Micromachined imaging transducer

A hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system includes: (a) first and second symmetric, pre-curved piezoelectric elements mounted separately on a frame so that their concave major surfaces are positioned opposite to each other; and (b) a linear piezoelectric element mounted separately on the frame and positioned between the pre-curved piezoelectric elements. The pre-curved piezoelectric elements and the linear piezoelectric element are spaced from one another and communicate with energy harvesting circuitry having contact points on the frame. The hybrid piezoelectric energy harvesting transducer system has a higher electromechanical energy conversion efficiency than any known piezoelectric transducer.

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State College, PA, United States of America

Xiaoning Jiang