This is a new type of electric motor used in high-end and sophisticated fields, and is gradually entering the civilian field. Academician Zhao Chunsheng, a Chinese scientist, has two cancers and three surgeries, and has fought with illness just to build an ultrasonic motor indust

Have you ever heard of ultrasonic motors? This is a new type of motor used in high-end and sophisticated fields, and is gradually entering the civilian field. Chinese scientist Zhao Chunsheng Academician, two cancers and three surgeries, and struggled with illness just to build an ultrasonic motor industry belonging to China. Today I will take you to learn about this new motor. This is also a task assigned by a fan. Since I am too busy with work and the frequency of creation is relatively low, I promised that netizens have said a lot, but it has not been implemented yet. Please forgive me. I am Dongcheng Star Gazing, an ordinary university teacher. If you are interested in scientific and technological progress and scientific knowledge, you can ask me for advice.

. What is an ultrasonic motor?

The so-called ultrasonic motor is not a motor driven by ultrasonic waves in the air, but a motor that first turns the electrical energy into high-frequency mechanical vibration, and then drives the work-related motor through high-frequency vibration and friction. The high-frequency vibration here is just within the frequency range of ultrasonic , so it is also called an ultrasonic motor. Because the sound produced by this vibration is ultrasonic waves and cannot be heard by human ears, this type of motor is a silent motor and can be used in particularly quiet places. Also, since there is no need for coils and magnets, and no gas expansion is required for pushing, this type of motor can be very small, as small as about 1 mm, and can be used in many occasions where micro motors are needed.

In fact, the actual working principle of ultrasonic motors is still very complicated. They need to be carefully designed to truly turn electrical energy into mechanical energy. However, we will simplify our understanding here, and hope it will be helpful to everyone. Ultrasonic motors use vibration waves and friction to drive the rotor movement, so that they can do work to the outside world. You can approximately understand the process of waves pushing a boat. As long as you make good use of the waves, a boat that cannot move freely can be pushed to the shore. Ocean waves are water waves of action, and ultrasonic motors also use vibration waves of action.

The core component of an ultrasonic motor is piezoelectric ceramic, or piezoelectric material. After this material is connected to the wire, you can generate current by pressing it. This is called piezoelectric effect . Conversely, if a voltage is applied to it, it can also deform, which is called the inverse piezoelectric effect. Ultrasonic motors use the inverse piezoelectric effect.

If you provide a alternating current to the piezoelectric material, the piezoelectric material will vibrate with the change of voltage. The higher the alternating current frequency, the faster the vibration. In order to achieve ultrasonic frequency vibration, it is necessary to provide alternating current from 20,000 Hz to 100,000 Hz, instead of the 50 Hz alternating current used by our homes. In order to effectively vibrate the piezoelectric material, there are certain requirements for the voltage of alternating current, which generally have to reach hundreds of volts to tens of thousands of volts. With suitable power supply and piezoelectric materials, an elastic vibrator must be placed on the piezoelectric materials as a stator, and then a material with high friction coefficient and high wear resistance on the elastic materials so that the rotor can be driven by friction. Therefore, the design and production of such motors are not simple.

2. Application of ultrasonic motors

Ultrasonic motors were first proposed in 1948, but it was not until 1982 that Japanese scientific researchers solved the practical application problems, and then ultrasonic motors were widely used in the Japanese industry. For example, the Canon camera we are familiar with uses an ultrasonic motor to control the focus system. Ultrasonic motors are easy to miniaturize, have fast working response and low noise. After power outage, they can also automatically lock and not move at will, making it a unique motor used in many occasions. The United States first applied this motor to the aerospace field and sent equipment carrying ultrasonic motors to Mars.

Although China has carried out research on ultrasonic motors relatively late, with continuous investment in research efforts, the gap with developed countries is getting smaller and smaller. There is a Chinese scientist named Zhao Chunsheng. After learning about the advantages of ultrasonic motors, he began to engage in related research.Academician Zhao led his scientific research team to overcome one difficulty after another. In just a few years, he developed a series of mature ultrasonic motors and installed the ultrasonic motors on Chang'e-3 , becoming the second country in the world to apply ultrasonic motors to space. Later, Chang'e 4, , Chang'e 5, and Zhurong rover all used ultrasonic motors produced by their own countries. Currently, it is transforming and promoting from the aerospace field to the civilian field.

In the aerospace field, ultrasonic motors have great application prospects, such as various types of robotic arm , spacecraft docking devices, space garbage collection systems, rocket internal control devices, planet rover control devices, microsatellite control and other fields can be used. In addition to aerospace, ultrasonic motors can also be widely used in the field of micro-mechanical , chip production fields that require high-precision, places that require silent environments, and medical devices.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the nuclear magnetic resonance device itself has a very strong magnetic field, which has strong interference to ordinary electromagnetic motors and requires special protection. The ultrasonic motor is not affected by electromagnetic interference and can still work normally under strong magnetic fields. It is a very good nuclear magnetic resonance driving motor. In addition, since ultrasonic motors can be small in size and light in weight, they can be widely used in the field of endoscopes and . There are linear ultrasonic motors that can achieve linear motion and ultrasonic motors that can achieve rotation, and they can all be miniaturized. In the future, minimally invasive robotic surgery is likely to be widely used in large quantities of this type of motor. It is said that glasses that can be automatically focused are currently being studied, and it will be more convenient to wear glasses in the future. If you can't see clearly, you can adjust the degree of glasses.

. Disadvantages of ultrasonic motors

Ultrasonic motors will definitely be more and more used in various fields, and they will occupy their own place in the field of motors. However, ultrasonic motors also have their own shortcomings, so let me briefly talk about them here.

First of all, this motor has a relatively short lifespan because ultrasonic motors are driven by friction. Everyone should have experience, and things that rely on friction will not last too long. Whether it is the tires or the soles, they start to slip over time. Ultrasonic motors will naturally slip slowly, and it is necessary to develop a special wear-resistant material to appropriately extend the life.

Secondly, there are too many factors that affect the operation of ultrasonic motors, which has an inestimable impact on its performance. For example, temperature, as long as the ultrasonic motor starts to work, heat will be generated to change the temperature, and the change in temperature will affect many parameters, thus causing the performance parameters of the ultrasonic motor to continue to change. For example, there are several energy transfers between the conversion from electrical energy to final mechanical energy. The parameters change in the middle are very complex, which brings great difficulty to the precise regulation of the motor.

In addition, the material properties of other components also bring great difficulty to the research and development and control of ultrasonic motors. In other words, it will take a long time to run-in to make the ultrasonic motor mature enough. Only by constantly applying a large number of applications can we constantly discover and solve problems and ultimately improve this engine.

Japan was very good at this point back then because Japan first realized the industrialization of ultrasonic motors. However, with the sluggish economy in Japan and the gradual disconnection of Japanese industries from the market and being marginalized, Japan's advantages in the field of ultrasonic motors will surely be surpassed. Only a sufficient market can support advanced technology. Without a market foundation, technology development will stagnate.

So, whoever can take the initiative in the field of ultrasonic motors in the future depends on who can provide a large enough market for ultrasonic motors. More precisely, who should occupy a large enough market.

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