The influence of air content in water on ultrasonic cavitation field

Cavitation is a complex physical phenomenon affected by many factors, one of which is the gas dissolved in the medium. Researchers have given some efforts to the influence of gas content on sonoluminescence or some specific chemical reactions in and around the bubble, but limited work has been reported about the influence on the ultrasonic cavitation field distribution. In this work, the intensity distribution of the ultrasound field in a cleaning tank has been measured with the hydrophone. After analysed and visualised by MATLAB software, it was found that the cavitation intensity distribution in degassed water was much better than that in tap water. And further study proved that degassing process can improve the cavitation effect dramatically both in intensity and scope. Finally, the cavitation fields in mediums with different gas content were measured and the specific influence of air content on cavitation field was discussed.     

Influence of concentration of substances used in ultrasonic cleaning in alkaline solutions on cavitation intensity

Cavitation intensity vs. temperature of aqueous solutions of three substances most frequently used in ultrasonic cleaning: sodium carbonate, metasilicate and phosphate were measured. Shapes of cavitation - temperature curves for 0-10% solutions during heating and cooling in the 20-70 degrees C temperature range were compared. Maximal cavitation intensity curves for these solutions at 60 degrees C (most frequently used temperature of ultrasonic cleaning in aqueous solutions), in identical conditions and at various ultrasound frequencies are presented as diagrams.     

超声清洗装置空化噪声谱分析法空化噪声级测量

空化强度是用以衡量液体介质中空化活动的剧烈程度,同时空化效应在超声清洗中起关键作用,因此,测量超声清洗槽中的空化强度便可了解其中空化活动的情况.当发生空化时,液体介质中会产生成分复杂空化噪声,对空化噪声谱进行分析和计算得到空化噪声级,据此可判断空化强度.实验测得结果表明:超声清洗装置内稳态空化分布广泛、均匀,瞬态空化分...     

Limitations of the Weissler reaction as a model reaction for measuring the efficiency of hydrodynamic cavitation

The Weissler reaction in which iodide is oxidised to a tri-iodide complex (I(3)(-)) has been widely used for measurement of the intensity of ultrasonic and hydrodynamic cavitation. It was used in this work to compare ultrasonic cavitation at 24kHz with hydrodynamic cavitation using two different devices, one a venturi and the other a sudden expansion, operated up to 8.7bar. Hydrodynamic cavitation had a maximum efficiency of about 5x10(-11) moles of I(3)(-) per joule of energy compared with the maximum of almost 8x10(-11)molJ(-1) for ultrasonic cavitation. Hydrodynamic cavitation was found to be most effective at 10 degrees C compared with 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C and at higher upstream pressures. However, it was found that in hydrodynamic conditions, even without cavitation, I(3)(-) was consumed at a rapid rate leading to an equilibrium concentration. It was concluded that the Weissler reaction was not a good model reaction for the assessment of the effectiveness of hydrodynamic cavitation.     

Realization of cavitation fields based on the acoustic resonance modes in an immersion-type sonochemical reactor

Different modes of cavitation zones in an immersion-type sonochemical reactor have been realized based on the concept of acoustic resonance fields. The reactor contains three main components, namely a Langevin-type piezoelectric transducer (20 kHz), a metal horn, and a circular cylindrical sonicated cell filled with tap water. In order to diminish the generation of cavitation bubbles near the horn-tip, an enlarged cone-shaped horn is designed to reduce the ultrasonic intensity at the irradiating surface and to get better distribution of energy in the sonicated cell. It is demonstrated both numerically and experimentally that the cell geometry and the horn position have prominent effects on the pressure distribution of the ultrasound in the cell. With appropriate choices of these parameters, the whole reactor works at a resonant state. Several acoustic resonance modes observed in the simulation are realized experimentally to generate a large volume of cavitation zones using a very low ultrasonic power.     

Ultrasound field distribution and ultrasonic oxidation desulfurization efficiency

Ultrasonic oxidation desulfurization (UODS) has been considered a promising method for deeply desulfurization technology since it can be carried out using mild conditions. During the last few decades many experimental investigations have been carried out on optimizing the reaction condition such as ultrasonic irradiation time, oxidizing reagents amount, kind of organic acid and so on. But limited work has been reported on the influence of the ultrasonic cavitation field distribution. In this work, the relative intensity of the cavitation events has been measured with the aluminum foil erosion method in a commonly used ultrasonic cleaning vessel both in horizontal and vertical directions. The aluminum foil erosion image was then collected into computer by a scanner. In addition, the image processing program of MATLAB software was used to pretreat the erosion image and find out the positions of the erosion points so that the ratio of the erosion area to the entire area can be calculated which helped to quantify the measurement result since the erosion ratios was the representation of the cavitation intensity. The desulfurization efficiency was then measured in different position of the vessel. The results match well with the cavitation field distribution results which indicate that the cavitation field distribution can be used to guide the UODS process.     

Measurements of the dependence of sonoluminescence on acoustic pressure of ultrasonic field and measurements of the acoustic spectrum of cavitation noise

Time-averaged values of the sonoluminescence in dependence on the acoustic pressure of ultrasonic field were measured in distilled water, exposed to ultrasonic field of frequency 43·40 kHz at temperatures of 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 ° C in ambient atmospheric pressure. Average values of the sonoluminescence were measured with the aid of a photomultiplier — as a voltage drop on its working resistance. Effective acoustic pressure of ultrasonic field was measured with a piezoelectric s ensor coupled to a high-frequency millivoltmeter. The acoustic spectrum of cavitation noise (from 0·3 up to 2·0 MHz) in water was measured at temperatures of 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 °C for various mean values of the sonoluminescence. Piezoelectric sensor was employed in detecting the spectrum of cavitation noise. The voltage signal on the sensor was measured by means of a heterodyne voltmeter. Sonoluminescence flashes were detected with a photomultiplier, amplified and displayed on an oscillograph screen together with the intensity of ultrasonic field in the liquid. Theoretical arguments are outlined explaining the occurrence of maxima in the acoustic spectrum of the cavitation noise.The authors express their thanks to Prof. RNDr. M.Brdika for his constant interest in their work and useful hints.     

Physical and chemical effects of acoustic cavitation in selected ultrasonic cleaning applications

Acoustic cavitation in a liquid medium generates several physical and chemical effects. The oscillation and collapse of cavitation bubbles, driven at low ultrasonic frequencies (e.g., 20 kHz), can generate strong shear forces, microjets, microstreaming and shockwaves. Such strong physical forces have been used in cleaning and flux improvement of ultrafiltration processes. These physical effects have also been shown to deactivate pathogens. The efficiency of deactivation of pathogens is not only dependent on ultrasonic experimental parameters, but also on the properties of the pathogens themselves. Bacteria with thick shell wall are found to be resistant to ultrasonic deactivation process. Some evidence does suggest that the chemical effects (radicals) of acoustic cavitation are also effective in deactivating pathogens. Another aspect of cleaning, namely, purification of water contaminated with organic and inorganic pollutants, has also been discussed in detail. Strong oxidising agents produced within acoustic cavitation bubbles could be used to degrade organic pollutants and convert toxic inorganic pollutants to less harmful substances. The effect of ultrasonic frequency and surface activity of solutes on the sonochemical degradation efficiency has also been discussed in this overview.     

The heating phenomenon produced by an ultrasonic fountain

When a piece of plastic sheet is placed in the path of an ultrasonic fountain generated using a medical nebulizer in water, temperatures of up to 250 degrees C can be produced on the face of the sheet opposite the fountain impact. This paper describes the experimental methodology and results, and suggests that this phenomenon is the combined result of both the heating and mechanical effect of ultrasonic cavitation within the fountain.     

超声空化现象影响因素的实验研究

超声空化在许多不同的学科和工业生产中有着广泛的应用。超声空化的应用与声场的分布及空化的机理密切相关,精准地反映空化场和空化机理是超声空化技术实际应用的关键。该文通过分析采集的声信号和金属箔膜空蚀法对空化区域随液位发生变化的现象进行研究,并利用Matlab对金属箔膜空蚀程度量化。实验发现,超声波会在液面与实验箱体底部形成驻波场。在某一液体温度下,随着液位高度的变化,超声空化现象的出现具有周期性。并且,在同一液位下,当超声功率改变时,空化区域强度分布情况随之改变。小功率时各空化区域空化强度分布均匀,当功率增大到一定时,会出现空化屏蔽现象。该研究为超声清洗设备的改良提供了借鉴,对进一步认识和利用超声空化效应具有重要意义。     

Mapping of cavitational activity in a pilot plant dyeing equipment

A large number of papers of the literature quote dyeing intensification based on the application of ultrasound (US) in the dyeing liquor. Mass transfer mechanisms are described and quantified, nevertheless these experimental results in general refer to small laboratory apparatuses with a capacity of a few hundred millilitres and extremely high volumetric energy intensity. With the strategy of overcoming the scale-up inaccuracy consequent to the technological application of ultrasounds, a dyeing pilot-plant prototype of suitable liquor capacity (about 40 L) and properly simulating several liquor to textile hydraulic relationships was designed by including US transducers with different geometries.Optimal dyeing may be obtained by optimising the distance between transducer and textile material, the liquid height being a non-negligible operating parameter. Hence, mapping the cavitation energy in the machinery is expected to provide basic data on the intensity and distribution of the ultrasonic field in the aqueous liquor. A flat ultrasonic transducer (absorbed electrical power of 600 W), equipped with eight devices emitting at 25 kHz, was mounted horizontally at the equipment bottom.Considering industrial scale dyeing, liquor and textile substrate are reciprocally displaced to achieve a uniform colouration. In this technology a non uniform US field could affect the dyeing evenness to a large extent; hence, mapping the cavitation energy distribution in the machinery is expected to provide fundamental data and define optimal operating conditions. Local values of the cavitation intensity were recorded by using a carefully calibrated Ultrasonic Energy Meter, which is able to measure the power per unit surface generated by the cavitation implosion of bubbles. More than 200 measurements were recorded to define the map at each horizontal plane positioned at a different distance from the US transducer; tap water was heated at the same temperature used for dyeing tests (60 °C). Different liquid flow rates were tested to investigate the effect of the hydrodynamics characterising the equipment.The mapping of the cavitation intensity in the pilot-plant machinery was performed to achieve with the following goals: (a) to evaluate the influence of turbulence on the cavitation intensity, and (b) to determine the optimal distance from the ultrasound device at which a fabric should be positioned, this parameter being a compromise between the cavitation intensity (higher next to the transducer) and the US field uniformity (achieved at some distance from this device).By carrying out dyeing tests of wool fabrics in the prototype unit, consistent results were confirmed by comparison with the mapping of cavitation intensity.     

Improved biofilm removal using cavitation from a dental ultrasonic scaler vibrating in carbonated water

The use of cavitation for improving biofilm cleaning is of great interest. There is no system at present that removes the biofilm from medical implants effectively and specifically from dental implants. Cavitation generated by a vibrating dental ultrasonic scaler tip can clean biomaterials such as dental implants. However, the cleaning process must be significantly accelerated for clinical applications. In this study we investigated whether the cavitation could be increased, by operating the scaler in carbonated water with different CO₂ concentrations. The cavitation around an ultrasonic scaler tip was recorded with high speed imaging. Image analysis was used to calculate the area of cavitation. Bacterial biofilm was grown on surfaces and its removal was imaged with a high speed camera using the ultrasonic scaler in still and carbonated water. Cavitation increases significantly with increasing carbonation. Cavitation also started earlier around the tips when they were in carbonated water compared to non-carbonated water. Significantly more biofilm was removed when the scaler was operated in carbonated water. Our results suggest that using carbonated water could significantly increase and accelerate cavitation around ultrasonic scalers in a clinical situation and thus improve biofilm removal from dental implants and other biomaterials.     

Effect of dissolved gases in water on acoustic cavitation and bubble growth rate in 0.83 MHz megasonic of interest to wafer cleaning

Changes in the cavitation intensity of gases dissolved in water, including H₂, N₂, and Ar, have been established in studies of acoustic bubble growth rates under ultrasonic fields. Variations in the acoustic properties of dissolved gases in water affect the cavitation intensity at a high frequency (0.83 MHz) due to changes in the rectified diffusion and bubble coalescence rate. It has been proposed that acoustic bubble growth rates rapidly increase when water contains a gas, such as hydrogen faster single bubble growth due to rectified diffusion, and a higher rate of coalescence under Bjerknes forces. The change of acoustic bubble growth rate in rectified diffusion has an effect on the damping constant and diffusivity of gas at the acoustic bubble and liquid interface. It has been suggested that the coalescence reaction of bubbles under Bjerknes forces is a reaction determined by the compressibility and density of dissolved gas in water associated with sound velocity and density in acoustic bubbles. High acoustic bubble growth rates also contribute to enhanced cavitation effects in terms of dissolved gas in water. On the other hand, when Ar gas dissolves into water under ultrasound field, cavitation behavior was reduced remarkably due to its lower acoustic bubble growth rate. It is shown that change of cavitation intensity in various dissolved gases were verified through cleaning experiments in the single type of cleaning tool such as particle removal and pattern damage based on numerically calculated acoustic bubble growth rates.     

Chemical activation of ultrasonic cavitation

A method for intensifying ultrasonic cavitation in water and aqueous solutions has been proposed, which consists of a chemical fixation of dissolved oxygen. The influence of selected reducing agents on the intensity of cavitation in water and alkaline solutions has been investigated.     

Studies of a novel sensor for assessing the spatial distribution of cavitation activity within ultrasonic cleaning vessels

This paper describes investigations of the spatial distribution of cavitation activity generated within an ultrasonic cleaning vessel, undertaken using a novel cavitation sensor concept. The new sensor monitors high frequency acoustic emissions (>1 MHz) generated by micron-sized bubbles driven into acoustic cavitation by the applied acoustic field. Novel design features of the sensor, including its hollow, cylindrical shape, provide the sensor with spatial resolution, enabling it to associate the megahertz acoustic emissions produced by the cavitating bubbles with specific regions of space within the vessel. The performance of the new sensor has been tested using a 40 kHz ultrasonic cleaner employing four transducers and operating at a nominal electrical power of 140 W under controlled conditions. The results demonstrate the ability of the sensors to identify 'hot-spots' and 'cold-spots' in cavitation activity within the vessel, and show good qualitative agreement with an assessment of the spatial distribution of cavitation determined through erosion monitoring of thin sheets of aluminium foil. The implications of the studies for the development of reliable methods of quantifying the performance of cleaning vessels are discussed in detail.     

Ultrasonic control of ceramic membrane fouling by particles: effect of ultrasonic factors

Ultrasound at 20 kHz was applied to a cross-flow ultrafiltration system with gamma-alumina membranes in the presence of colloidal silica particles to systematically investigate how ultrasonic factors affect membrane cleaning. Based on imaging of the ultrasonic cavitation region, optimal cleaning occurred when the membrane was outside but close to the cavitation region. Increasing the filtration pressure increased the compressive forces driving cavitation collapse and resulted in fewer cavitation bubbles absorbing and scattering sound waves and increasing sound wave penetration. However, an increased filtration pressure also resulted in greater permeation drag, and subsequently less improvement in permeate flux compared to low filtration pressure. Finally, pulsed ultrasound with short pulse intervals resulted in permeate flux improvement close to that of continuous sonication.     

换热器内超声空化效应影响因素数值研究

对超声波参数和换热器参数对超声波空化效应影响的研究,能够找出最佳的超声波参数使其防除垢效果更好。本文利用数值计算方法研究了超声波功率、频率和换热器内介质温度以及换热管的型式对超声空化的影响。结果表明,随着超声波功率的增大,水中汽含率也增大,而且变化也相对激烈;随着频率的增加汽含率先增大后降低,20 kHz为最佳频率;介质温度越高,空化效应越强烈;管径波动较多的波纹管更有利于空化效应的产生和发展。     

Cavitation dose in an ultrasonic cleaner and its dependence on experimental parameters

The aluminum foil erosion method is widely used in cavitation activity studies of ultrasonic cleaners. However, owing to its limited sensitivity, it is difficult to observe the effects of various experimental parameters on the cavitation activity using this method. In the present work, a higher-sensitivity method for quantifying cavitation activity as a cavitation dose based on passive cavitation detection was presented. The influences of various factors (e.g., insonation duration, driving power, gas content, temperature and cleaning agents) were studied for this system. The results showed that the cavitation dose became unstable over long insonation times, and that the instability was more significant at high power. Generally, the cavitation activity could be enhanced by increasing the power, gas content, and the concentration of a cleaning agent. However, due to the exhaustion of the cavitation gas nuclei, the cavitation activity might tune to saturate of even decrease slightly when some impact parameters (e.g., acoustic driving power, gas content and the concentration of the cleaning agent) are above a certain level of each of these parameters.     

Dosimetry in sonochemistry: the use of aqueous terephthalate ion as a fluorescence monitor

The generation of HO radicals by acoustic cavitation in water was monitored by their reaction with terephthalic acid (TA) anion to produce fluorescent hydroxyterephthalate ions using a cleaning bath (38kHz) and a probe system (20, 40 and 60 kHz) as different sources of ultrasound. When using the ultrasonic bath as a source of energy for sonochemical studies, the shape of the reaction vessel is important. In the case of HO production from water (50 cm³), reaction in a conical flask (100 cm³) produces 2.75 times more radicals than a round-bottomed flask of the same capacity. The fluorescence yield (fluorescence intensity/ultrasound dosage) obtained using the conical flask and ultrasonic bath was similar to that for a probe operating at 40 kHz on the same volume of solution. For a probe system operating at 20, 40 and 60 kHz the greatest sonochemical efficiency was attained at the highest of these frequencies (60 kHz). For the probe system the fluorescence yield is directly proportional to power input and the concentration of TA. The fluorescence yield decreases as the temperature is increased.     

Investigation of acoustic and geometric effects on the sonoreactor performance

In this work, three design configurations of a sonoreactor are considered under various operating conditions, and the acoustic characteristics during water sonication are investigated while using an immersed-type ultrasonic flat transducer probe in a sonoreactor model. Numerical models are also developed to simulate the sonication process, and they are successfully validated and compared with available data in the literature. Several sets of numerical investigations are conducted using the finite-element method and solved by the computational acoustics module in the COMSOL Multiphysics. The effects of the acoustical and geometrical parameters are investigated, analyzed, and reported, including the ultrasonic frequency, acoustic intensity, and scaling-up the reactor. The present study includes a parametric investigation examining the change of the ultrasonic frequency, intensity, and probe immersion depth on the performance. The results of the parametric study show that the highest cavitation energy corresponds to the maximum magnitude of negative pressure that takes place in the range of 60–80 kHz. The cavitation energy analyses are conducted under the conditions of 20 kHz of frequency and at 36 W input power. It is found that the cavitation energy of 15.87 W could produce 2.98 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol/J of sonochemical efficiency. In addition, the effect of altering the transducer probe depth changes the acoustic pressure field insignificantly. Furthermore, a recommendation is made to improve the sonochemical efficiency by introducing more considerable ultrasound input power while operating the sonoreactor at an ultrasonic frequency lower than 60 kHz. The results presented in this paper provide a comprehensive assessment of different sonoreactors and the feasibility of scaling-up their production rate.