I am trying to drive a 135khz ultrasonic ceramic pillar transducer. The transducer is loose and not bonded to anything.
The problem I have is that the transdcuer gets very hot in less than 5 minutes.
Is this a normal reaction when a transducer is not bonded to a tank and is there a way of cooling the transducer?
I am using a generator with the output transucer in series with a choke . The output is a nice sine wave and a pk to pk voltage of 1.2kv ( due to ring back on the from the transdcuer.

 

Hello Alan, I believe the reason it gets hot is because the energy is dissipated into the ceramic element. Once you attach it to something the situation should improve in terms of measured amplitude on the transducer and heat issues. Could you share a schematic of your generator? I am myself considering a small personal project of similar kind and currently researching in piezo ceramics available. The power range will be about 100 or so watts. Any comments, suggestions are highly welcome.
Best.
Alex.