Scaling properties of resonant cavities driven by piezo-electric actuators

Acoustic-structural properties of piezo-electric driven resonant cavities usually employed to generate the so-called synthetic jets are theoretically and numerically investigated in order to characterize the performances of such devices. It is shown that the actuator behaves as a two-coupled oscillators system and the dimensionless form of the governing equations allows one to identify various operating conditions, in particular those leading to their decoupling. The theoretical predictions are validated through analytical, numerical and experimental findings for devices having different mechanical and geometrical characteristics, designed to achieve an increasing coupling effect. Considerations about the strength of jet formation at the Helmholtz frequency are made as well. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.