Leaky Lamb wave of a piezoelectric plate subjected to conductive fluid loading: Theoretical analysis and numerical calculation

This paper examines in detail the characteristics of a leaky Lamb wave propagating in a piezoelectric plate immersed in a dielectric or conductive fluid. The analysis is based on the partial wave analysis and its numerical calculations. Some corrections have been made so that both the changes in phase velocity and the wave attenuation of leaky Lamb waves caused by fluid’s mechanical, dielectric, and conductive loadings are determined accurately. Influences of each material property of the loading fluid such as mass density, wave speed, permittivity, and conductivity on the leaky Lamb wave have been quantitatively characterized. Particular emphasis is placed on the velocity variations and excessive attenuation caused by the fluid’s conductivity. The results are important in designing piezoelectric acoustic wave sensors working in liquid phase. © 2006 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2357648