Scaling relationships and maximum peak power generation in a piezoelectric pulse generator

Factors affecting the maximum peak power of a piezoelectric pulse generator are presented. These factors include the piezoelectric material´s thickness to area ratio (i.e., TAR), the mechanical compression force, the material´s stress limitation, and external circuit conditions. It can be generally concluded that maximum peak power scales with increasing piezoelectric material volume. However, the piezoelectric volume must be increased with compression force and material stress limitations in mind. Experimental tests were performed using commercially available piezoelectric materials and confirm theoretical predictions. The highest peak power measured in this investigation is 320 kW using a cylindrically-shaped piezoelectric material with 0.89-cm diameter and 1.27-cm height, which translates into a power density of 405.06 kW/cm³. Typical output pulse lengths are on the order of 0.5 μs.