Simulation of surface acoustic wave motor with spherical slider.

The operation of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) motor using spherical-shaped sliders was demonstrated by Kurosawa et al. (1994). It was necessary to modify the previous simulation models for usual ultrasonic motors because of this slider shape and the high frequency vibration. A conventional ultrasonic motor has a flat contact surface slider and a hundredth driving frequency; so, the tangential motion caused by the elasticity of the slider and stator with regard to the spherical slider of the SAW motor requires further investigation. In this paper, a dynamic simulation model for the SAW motor is proposed. From the simulation result, the mechanism of the SAW motor was clarified (i.e., levitation and contact conditions were repeated during the operation). The transient response of the motor speed was simulated. The relationships between frictional factor and time constant and vibration velocity of the stator and the slider speed were understood. The detailed research regarding the elastic deformation caused by preload would be helpful to construct an exact simulation model for the next work.