Perpetual-operation frequency response and equivalent circuit modelling of piezoelectric ultrasonic atomizer devices

This paper reports the frequency response measurements and equivalent circuit modelling of a piezoelectric ultrasonic atomizer device. It aims to examine the perpetual-operation performance of piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers in atomization applications. The resonance frequency of a water-loaded atomizer device is found to remain virtually unchanged in perpetual operation of less than 100 hours. An equivalent circuit model is developed based on the measurement data and it reveals that the characteristic parameters in the model changes over time. In particular, the change in the mechanical-equivalent resistance R_m in the model and the resonance frequency drift are discussed for the driving circuit design in atomizer system development.