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Traveling wave rotary ultrasonic motors (TRUMs) are widely used in various industrial processes due to their attractive features, such as compact structure, high accuracy, and fast response. However, the major limiting factors of the operational performance of TRUMs under high-voltage excitation are the nonlinear behavior caused by the nonlinearities of the piezoelectric materials and the friction between the stator and rotor of the motor. In this study, a nonlinear dynamics model and an identification method are presented to directly design the driver circuit for suppressing the nonlinear behavior under high voltage excitation. Firstly, by studying the time–frequency characteristics of the isolated electrode voltage, a single-sided Hertzian contact forced oscillator model of TRUMs is established, involving the nonlinearities of the piezoelectric material and friction. Secondly, a harmonic balance nonlinear identification is proposed in the time domain for TRUMs. The influence of the voltage and preload on the nonlinear phenomena is discussed. Lastly, a novel driver circuit is proposed to suppress the nonlinearities using feedback from the isolated electrode. Experiments showed that the total harmonic distortion decreased by 89.4% under 500 Vpp. The proposed drive circuit design method is used to find a high excitation voltage and preload to achieve greater motor output power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing 3-D intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) systems that combine two electromagnetic (EM) motors to drive catheters are bulky and require considerable efforts to eliminate EM interference (EMI). Here, we propose a new scanning method to realize 3-D IVUS imaging using a helical ultrasonic motor to overcome the aforementioned issues. The ultrasonic motor with compact dimensions (7-mm outer diameter and 30-mm longitudinal length), lightweight (20.5 g), and free of EMI exhibits a great application potential in mobile imaging devices. In particular, it can simultaneously perform rotary and linear motions, facilitating precise 3-D scanning of an imaging catheter. Experimental results show that the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of raw images obtained using the ultrasonic motor is 5.3 dB better than that of an EM motor. Moreover, the proposed imaging device exhibits the maximum rotary speed of 12.3 r/s and the positioning accuracy of 2.6 $\mu \text{m}$ at a driving voltage of 240 Vp-p. The 3-D wire phantom imaging and 3-D tube phantom imaging are performed to evaluate the performance of the imaging device. Finally, the in vitro imaging of a porcine coronary artery demonstrates that the layered architecture of the vessel can be precisely identified while significantly increasing the SNR of the raw images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For achieving high speed and large thrust, Langevin-type ultrasonic motors (LTUM) are generally operated under high voltage. However, high voltage causes the current harmonics of piezoelectric material nonlinear phenomena, which will decrease the efficiency, the output force, and the accuracy of LTUMs. In this study, the nonlinearity of current harmonics of LTUM are described and analyzed by a novel nonlinear equivalent circuit model using Lagrange equations. Thereafter, based on a nonlinear tuning method, a specific driver circuit is suggested to suppress the current harmonics. Experimental results validate that the time response of the current is consistent with that of the model and furtherly demonstrate that the total harmonic current distortion decreases by 68% utilizing the proposed nonlinear tuning method under 500 Vpp. • A nonlinear dynamic model and simple identification method of a Langevin-type ultrasonic motor are proposed to describe the current harmonics. • A nonlinear tuning method and drive circuit are developed to suppress current harmonics under high voltage. • Experiment results demonstrate that the time response of the current was consistent with that of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]