Toroidal shell electroacoustic transducer

The design and modeling of an electroacoustic toroidal-hollow-shell transducer for underwater acoustics are considered. Radiation from a solid toroid was considered by Sherman and Parke (JASA 38, 1965) and is useful as an approximation for the radiation of a short cylinder. We explore the vibration of a hollow toroid vibrating in circumferential hoop-mode and in breathing tube-mode and present an equivalent electromechanical circuit model for acoustic radiation. Results are compared with a first prototype made from piezoelectric ceramics comprised of piecewise cylindrical tube sections. [Work supported in part by ONR and the MUST research program at the Umass Dartmouth and a subject of the author (DS) Master’s Thesis.]