A deep water flooded-field bending disc transducer

Abstract

The application relates to a deep-water overflow type curved disc transducer, which comprises a cable assembly arranged on a transducer body, the transducer body is composed of an upper metal outer frame, a lower metal outer frame and a metal disc to form a shell structure and is filled with polyurethane outside the shell, a piezoelectric ceramic disc is arranged in the transducer body, at least two high-pressure hoses are pre-embedded in the transducer body, the high-pressure hoses are in the shape of a cross-section similar to an 8, the two ends of the high-pressure hoses are closed and the high-pressure hoses are internally filled with gas, and the gas pressure value is less than the water pressure value of the working depth of the transducer. The application has the characteristics of low frequency, light weight and small size, meanwhile, the high-pressure gas is encapsulated in the high-pressure hose as backing to change the transducer into an overflow type, the working depth of the transducer is not less than 2000m, and the working depth limit of the transducer is broken.

Description

Technical fields:

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of transducer technology, specifically relating to a deep-water overflow type curved disc transducer. Background technology:

[0002] In the field of underwater acoustics, the transmitting transducer is a fundamental component. With the development of marine equipment, there is an urgent need for deep-water, low-frequency, small-size, broadband, and high-power transmitting transducers. However, achieving all of these technical specifications simultaneously is contradictory, requiring a balance to be found. Common curved disk transducers, due to their small size and low frequency, are often used in low-frequency transmitting transducers; however, their poor resistance to hydrostatic pressure limits their application. To overcome this operating depth limitation, common methods include pre-filling internal air chambers or air bladders with gas. However, this method is too difficult to apply due to the excessively high gas compression in deep-sea conditions, and the operating depth still cannot exceed 1,000 meters. Currently, there is an urgent need to design a method that can overcome the operating depth limitations of low-frequency transducers, enabling curved disk transmitting transducers to operate safely and effectively in deep water. Summary of the Invention:

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a deep-water overflow curved disk transducer. Compared with the low-frequency transducers currently in use, the present invention can overcome the transducer depth limitation, be used in the entire ocean depth, and is lightweight, safe and reliable in application.

[0004] The technical solution of this invention is to provide a deep-water overflow-type curved disc transducer, including a transducer body and a cable assembly mounted on the transducer body. The transducer body consists of an upper metal frame, a lower metal frame, and a metal disc, forming a shell structure and being encapsulated with polyurethane. A piezoelectric ceramic disc is disposed within the transducer body. At least two high-pressure hoses are also pre-embedded within the transducer body. The high-pressure hoses have a figure-eight-shaped cross-section, are closed at both ends, and are encapsulated with gas. The gas pressure is lower than the water pressure at the transducer's working depth. PU tubing can be used for the high-pressure hoses. The upper and lower metal frames are connected and fixed using mounting screws. The upper metal frame has an inlet and an outlet. The cable assembly is watertight and supplies power to the transducer, supplying power to the piezoelectric ceramic, which in turn drives the metal disc to radiate sound. The cable assembly includes cables for electrical connection and corresponding connectors. Different gases inside the tube can be adjusted to different pressure conditions to broaden the bandwidth. It has high volume utilization, light weight, and can achieve a working depth of not less than 2000m.

[0005] This invention uses a high-pressure hose pre-encapsulated with high-pressure gas as a backing. The cross-section of the hose is specially designed to be approximately circular, like a figure-eight shape, to reduce the hose's own stiffness. Specifically, when the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the structural geometric defects significantly reduce its resistance to deformation. The reduced stiffness allows for greater volumetric displacement. When the internal pressure is greater than the external pressure, it can expand into a near-circular shape or similar to a perfectly circular cross-section. The internal encapsulation gas pressure is filled to a value lower than the water pressure at the working depth (multiple hoses can be encapsulated with different gas pressures to control the stability of the sound source level). When the transducer is working in deep water, the external and internal pressures of the high-pressure hose work together to offset most of the radial force on the cross-section. At this time, when the transducer is driven to vibrate in a "breathing" state, the hose will more easily provide large volumetric displacement.

[0006] Unlike existing overflow-type curved disk transducers, this invention proposes a deep-water overflow-type curved disk transducer with a non-circular cross-section. This transducer has a higher transmission voltage response and sound source level, and can operate at a depth of not less than 2000m. The high-pressure hose used is a defective non-circular cross-section tube, which significantly reduces stiffness compared to a circular cross-section tube. Compared to overflow-type curved transducers using airbags, the high-pressure hose has excellent characteristics such as light weight, strong ability to encapsulate high-pressure gas, large gas carrying volume, and small deformation with changes in gas pressure. This allows the transducer to operate in the deep sea while maintaining the advantages of small size, light weight, and low-frequency transmission.

[0007] Preferably, the high-pressure hose is coiled into a planar vortex shape within the transducer body. It can be designed to be multi-layered depending on space constraints, and the vortex shape of the hose improves volume utilization.

[0008] Preferably, there are two high-pressure hoses, both of which are resistant to burst pressure of 10MPa and have an outer diameter of 15mm. One of the high-pressure hoses is sealed with 4MPa air pressure, and the other high-pressure hose is sealed with 6MPa air pressure. The inlet structure of each high-pressure hose is pre-sealed by pressing metal pressure rings at both ends, and then the ends are filled into a whole. The two sealing processes can ensure the airtightness.

[0009] Preferably, there are two metal circular plates, which are respectively disposed on the upper end face of the upper metal frame and the lower end face of the lower metal frame, and the metal circular plates are interference-fitted with the corresponding upper metal frame and lower metal frame.

[0010] Preferably, the upper metal frame and the lower metal frame are made of 316 stainless steel, and the metal circular plate is made of high-strength steel or titanium alloy.

[0011] Preferably, the piezoelectric ceramic discs are made of P4, P5 or P8 piezoelectric material, and the number of piezoelectric ceramic discs is 36, which are distributed in the same number on the two metal discs.

[0012] Preferably, when the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the high-pressure hose has a symmetrical or asymmetrical concave portion in its cross-section. When the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the non-circular geometric defects significantly reduce its resistance to deformation, while the reduced overall stiffness of the hose provides greater volume displacement, which can significantly improve the sound source level compared to existing transducers.

[0013] Furthermore, the high-pressure hose has uniformly spaced armor layers distributed around its outer circumference. These armor layers are bonded to the outer wall of the high-pressure hose. When the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the area of ​​the high-pressure hose without armor layers will indent inward. Compared to the aforementioned indentations formed in the cross-section of the hose itself, this solution, by spaced armor layers on the outer side of the circular hose and through the bonding structure of the armor layers, creates an initial defect in its shape when the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure. The deformation trend is a non-uniform change around the circumference. The area of ​​the hose without armor layers will experience inward compression due to the greater external pressure than internal pressure, resulting in indentation in that area and forming an 8-shaped structure.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0015] This invention provides a deep-water overflow-type curved disc transducer, characterized by low frequency, light weight, and small size. Furthermore, by using a high-pressure hose encapsulating high-pressure gas as a backing, the transducer is transformed into an overflow type, overcoming the limitations of transducer operating depth. There are no strict dimensional requirements for the placement of the high-pressure hose. It is particularly noteworthy that, under conditions of operating at great depths within the same frequency band, the weight of this overflow-type transducer is almost identical to that of common shallow-water curved disc transducers, making it valuable for engineering applications, and its operating depth is not less than 2000m. Attached image description:

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the planar vortex-shaped high-pressure hose of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure after removing the potting polyurethane in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a high-pressure hose cross-section according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another high-pressure hose cross-section according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation method:

[0021] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:

[0022] like Figure 1-5 As shown, a deep-water overflow type curved disc transducer includes a transducer body with a cable assembly 5 mounted on it. The transducer body consists of an upper metal frame 1, a lower metal frame 2, and a metal disc 3 forming a shell structure, with polyurethane 4 encapsulated on the shell. The upper metal frame 1 and the lower metal frame 2 are connected and fixed using several mounting screws 8. There are two metal discs 3, respectively located on the upper end face of the upper metal frame and the lower end face of the lower metal frame. The metal discs 3 are interference-fitted with the corresponding upper metal frame 1 and lower metal frame 2. The upper metal frame 1 and the lower metal frame 2 are made of 316 stainless steel, and the metal disc 3 is made of high-strength steel.

[0023] The upper metal frame 1 is also provided with a water inlet 9 and a water outlet 10. The cable assembly 5 has a watertight function and can power the transducer. Power is supplied to the piezoelectric ceramic through the cable assembly 5, which in turn drives the metal disc to radiate sound. The cable assembly 5 includes a cable for electrical connection and a corresponding cable connector.

[0024] The transducer body contains piezoelectric ceramic discs 7. In this embodiment, it contains 36 piezoelectric ceramic discs 7. The piezoelectric ceramic discs 7 are made of P4 piezoelectric material, with a diameter of 50 mm and a thickness of 3 mm.

[0025] The metal disc 3 is made of high-strength steel, with a diameter of 356 mm and a thickness of 10.5 mm. Correspondingly, 18 recesses with a depth of 3 mm are evenly distributed on the metal disc 3 for placing the piezoelectric ceramic disc 7. There is an 8 mm diameter threaded hole at the center of the recess. Through this threaded hole, a plastic ring made of polytetrafluoroethylene material in the prior art is used to pass through the positive and negative electrode leads. The cable connector is the power supply interface of the transducer. The positive and negative electrodes of the piezoelectric ceramic are connected by wires and encapsulated with polyurethane.

[0026] As an innovation, the transducer body of this embodiment also includes two pre-embedded high-pressure hoses 6. The high-pressure hoses 6 have a figure-eight-shaped cross-section, are sealed at both ends, and are encapsulated with gas. The gas pressure is lower than the water pressure at the transducer's operating depth; for example, when operating at a water depth of 2200m, the gas pressure encapsulated in the high-pressure hoses 6 is lower than the water pressure at that depth. The high-pressure hoses 6 can be made of PU tubing. The gas inside different hoses can be adjusted to create unequal pressures to broaden the bandwidth. This design offers high volume utilization, light weight, and allows for operating depths of at least 2000m. It should be noted that there are no strict dimensional requirements for the placement of the high-pressure hoses 6 within the transducer. The high-pressure hoses 6 can be fixed to the transducer using existing technologies.

[0027] In this embodiment, the two high-pressure hoses have an explosion-proof pressure of 10 MPa and an outer diameter of 15 mm. One high-pressure hose is sealed with 4 MPa of gas pressure, and the other with 6 MPa of gas pressure. Each high-pressure hose is pre-sealed at both ends by pressing the air inlet structure with metal pressure rings, and then the ends are filled into a single unit. This double sealing ensures a tight seal. Figure 4 As shown, when the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the high-pressure hose 6 has two symmetrical concave parts in its cross-section (of course, it can also be asymmetrical). In this way, when the external pressure of the tube is greater than the internal pressure, the non-circular geometric defects make its resistance to deformation greatly reduced, while the overall stiffness of the tube body is reduced, which can provide a larger volume displacement. Compared with existing transducers, it can significantly improve the sound source level.

[0028] As another implementation method, such as Figure 5 As shown, the high-pressure hose 6 has armor layers 61 evenly distributed around its outer circumference. The armor layers 61 are bonded to the outer wall of the high-pressure hose. By setting the armor layers 61 at intervals on the outside of the circular tube and relying on the bonding structure when setting the armor layers 61, when the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the high-pressure hose has an initial defect in shape, and the deformation trend is a non-uniform change around the circumference. The tube body in the area where the armor layer is not set will have an inward compressive force due to the external pressure being greater than the internal pressure, which will cause the area in this part to be concave, forming an 8-shaped structure.

[0029] This invention uses a pre-encapsulated high-pressure gas hose as a backing. The cross-section of the hose is specially designed to be approximately circular, like a figure-eight shape, to reduce the rigidity of the hose itself. When the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the structural geometric defects significantly reduce its resistance to deformation. The reduced rigidity allows for greater volume displacement. When the internal pressure is greater than the external pressure, it can expand into a near-circular shape or a shape similar to a perfectly circular cross-section.

[0030] When the internal encapsulation pressure is reduced to a value lower than the working depth water pressure (multiple air pipes can be encapsulated with different gas pressures to control the stability of the sound source level), when the transducer is working in deep water, the external pressure and internal pressure of the high-pressure hose work together to offset most of the radial force on the cross section. At this time, when the transducer is driven to vibrate in a "breathing" state, the high-pressure air pipe will more easily provide a large volume displacement.

[0031] The transducer proposed in this patent has a high transmission voltage response and sound source level, and can operate at a depth of not less than 2000m. The high-pressure air pipe used is a non-circular cross-section pipe with defects, and its stiffness is significantly reduced compared with a circular cross-section pipe. Compared with overflow bending transducers that use airbags, the high-pressure hose has the excellent characteristics of being lightweight, having a strong ability to encapsulate high-pressure gas, carrying a large gas volume, and having small deformation with changes in air pressure. It can not only allow the transducer to work in the deep sea, but also allow the transducer as a whole to have the advantages of small size, light weight, and low-frequency transmission.

[0032] The above description only illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. Any equivalent procedural modifications made using this specification are included within the patent protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A deep-water overflow type curved disc transducer, comprising a transducer body and a cable assembly disposed on the transducer body, wherein the transducer body is composed of an upper metal frame, a lower metal frame, and a metal disc forming a shell structure, and the shell is encapsulated with polyurethane; a piezoelectric ceramic disc is disposed within the transducer body, characterized in that: At least two high-pressure hoses are also pre-embedded in the transducer body. The cross-section of the high-pressure hose is shaped like a figure 8. The two ends of the high-pressure hose are closed and the inside is encapsulated with gas. The gas pressure is less than the water pressure at the working depth of the transducer.

2. The deep-water overflow curved disc transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The high-pressure hose is coiled into a vortex shape within the transducer body.

3. The deep-water overflow curved disc transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two high-pressure hoses, both of which are resistant to burst pressure of 10MPa. One of the high-pressure hoses is sealed with 4MPa air pressure, and the other high-pressure hose is sealed with 6MPa air pressure. The two ends of each high-pressure hose are pre-sealed by pressing the air inlet structure with metal pressure rings, and then the ends are filled into a whole.

4. The deep-water overflow curved disc transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two metal circular plates, which are respectively disposed on the upper end face of the upper metal outer frame and the lower end face of the lower metal outer frame. The metal circular plates are interference-fitted with the corresponding upper and lower metal outer frames.

5. The deep-water overflow type curved disc transducer according to claim 4, characterized in that: The upper metal frame and the lower metal frame are made of 316 stainless steel, and the metal circular plate is made of steel or titanium alloy.

6. The deep-water overflow type curved disk transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The piezoelectric ceramic discs are made of P4, P5 or P8 piezoelectric material, and there are 36 piezoelectric ceramic discs distributed in the same number on the two metal discs.

7. The deep-water overflow type curved disk transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cable assembly is watertight and can power the transducer.

8. The deep-water overflow curved disc transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper metal frame is equipped with a water inlet and a water outlet.

9. The deep-water overflow curved disc transducer according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the cross-section of the high-pressure hose has a symmetrical or asymmetrical concave portion.

10. The deep-water overflow curved disc transducer according to claim 9, characterized in that: The high-pressure hose has armor layers evenly distributed around its outer circumference. The armor layers are adhered to the outer wall of the high-pressure hose. When the external pressure is greater than the internal pressure, the area of ​​the high-pressure hose without armor layers will be recessed inward.

Images