Abstract:To improve the output power of the ultrasonic traveling wave motor, a suspension vibrator structure is proposed in this paper. The structure utilizes a spring to isolate the vibrator from the fixed end, and the mass block is used to provide output force to the stator. The vibrator is excited by PZT piezoelectric stacks, and can produce large vibration amplitude with the help of the suspension structure. The PZT piezoelectric stacks work in the d33 mode, and compared with the piezoelectric plate working in the d31 mode in the classical traveling wave motor, its electromechanical coupling coefficient is larger, and the volume of the piezoelectric material is increased, so the output power of the motor is improved. The correctness of the theory is verified by finite element simulation experiments. At the same time, the optimum parameters of the motor excited by 4 PZT piezoelectric stacks with size of 168 mm×1.68 mm×5.0 mm are studied. The experimental results show that the maximum free vibration amplitude of the stator is 3.57 μm at an excitation voltage of 20 V peaktopeak values, which is about 3 times that of the nonsuspended state. The maximum noload speed of the prototype motor is 74 r/min and the stall torque is 0.037 5 N·m. The output power can be doubled by using more piezoelectric stacks without increasing the volume.