The role of ultrasound in hydrogen removal and microstructure refinement by ultrasonic argon degassing process

In this work, the role of ultrasound in hydrogen removal and microstructure refinement by the ultrasonic argon degassing has been fully investigated by the experimental work in water and AZ91-0.4Ca magnesium melt, respectively. Ultrasound is able to break up argon gas into numbers of small bubbles and drive them diving deeply to the bottom of water, which are responsible for the efficient degassing regime of ultrasonic argon process. The argon flowrate plays a dominant role in promoting hydrogen removal effect. Meanwhile, the increasing argon flowrate can suppress the microstructure refinement, due to the subdued ultrasonic cavitation under a large argon flowrate. Mechanical properties of AZ91-0.4Ca alloy can be much promoted by the ultrasonic argon degassing process. Ultrasound is the key to achieve not only efficient degassing regime, but also microstructure refinement as well as mechanical properties promotion.     

Effect of acoustic field parameters on arc acoustic binding during ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding

As a newly developed arc welding method, power ultrasound has been successfully introduced into arc and weld pool during ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding process. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by utilizing additional ultrasonic field. Under the action of the acoustic wave, the plasma arc as weld heat source is regulated and its characteristics make an obvious change. Compared with the conventional arc, the ultrasonic wave-assisted arc plasma is bound significantly and becomes brighter. To reveal the dependence of the acoustic binding force on acoustic field parameters, a two-dimensional acoustic field model for ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding device is established. The influences of the radiator height, the central pore radius, the radiator radius, and curvature radius or depth of concave radiator surface are discussed using the boundary element method. Then the authors analyze the resonant mode by this relationship curve between acoustic radiation power and radiator height. Furthermore, the best acoustic binding ability is obtained by optimizing the geometric parameters of acoustic radiator. In addition, three concave radiator surfaces including spherical cap surface, paraboloid of revolution, and rotating single curved surface are investigated systematically. Finally, both the calculation and experiment suggest that, to obtain the best acoustic binding ability, the ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding setup should be operated under the first resonant mode using a radiator with a spherical cap surface, a small central pore, a large section radius and an appropriate curvature radius.     

Effects of argon sparging rate,ultrasonic power,and frequency on multibubble sonoluminescence spectra and bubble dynamics in NaCl aqueous solutions

The sonoluminescence spectra from acoustic cavitation in aqueous NaCl solutions are systematically studied in a large range of ultrasonic frequencies under variation of electrical power and argon sparging. At the same time, bubble dynamics are analysed by high-speed imaging. Sodium line and continuum emission are evaluated for acoustic driving at 34.5, 90, 150, 365, and 945 kHz in the same reactor vessel. The results show that the ratio of sodium line to continuum emission can be shifted by the experimental parameters: an increase in the argon flow increases the ratio, while an increase in power leads to a decrease. At 945 kHz, the sodium line is drastically reduced, while the continuum stays at elevated level. Bubble observations reveal a remarkable effect of argon in terms of bubble distribution and stability: larger bubbles of non-spherical shapes form and eject small daughter bubbles which in turn populate the whole liquid. As a consequence, the bubble interactions (splitting, merging) appear enhanced which supports a link between non-spherical bubble dynamics and sodium line emission.     

超声场下刚性界面附近溃灭空化气泡的速度分析

为了揭示刚性界面附近气泡空化参数与微射流的相互关系, 从两气泡控制方程出发, 利用镜像原理, 建立了考虑刚性壁面作用的空化泡动力学模型. 数值对比了刚性界面与自由界面下气泡的运动特性, 并分析了气泡初始半径、气泡到固壁面的距离、声压幅值和超声频率对气泡溃灭的影响. 在此基础上, 建立了气泡溃灭速度和微射流的相互关系. 结果表明: 刚性界面对气泡振动主要起到抑制作用; 气泡溃灭的剧烈程度随气泡初始半径和超声频率的增加而降低, 随着气泡到固壁面距离的增加而增加; 声压幅值存在最优值, 固壁面附近的气泡在该最优值下气泡溃灭最为剧烈; 通过研究气泡溃灭速度和微射流的关系发现, 调节气泡溃灭速度可以达到间接控制微射流的目的.     

Investigation of noninertial cavitation produced by an ultrasonic horn

This paper reports on noninertial cavitation that occurs beyond the zone close to the horn tip to which the inertial cavitation is confined. The noninertial cavitation is characterized by collating the data from a range of measurements of bubbles trapped on a solid surface in this noninertial zone. Specifically, the electrochemical measurement of mass transfer to an electrode is compared with high-speed video of the bubble oscillation. This gas bubble is shown to be a "noninertial" event by electrochemical surface erosion measurements and "ring-down" experiments showing the activity and motion of the bubble as the sound excitation was terminated. These measurements enable characterization of the complex environment produced below an operating ultrasonic horn outside of the region where inertial collapse can be detected. The extent to which solid boundaries in the liquid cause the frequencies and shapes of oscillatory modes on the bubble wall to differ from their free field values is discussed.     

Understanding the Effects of Ultrasound (408 kHz) on the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) and the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) on Raney-Ni in Alkaline Media

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurring at the Raney-Ni mesh electrode in 30 wt.-% aqueous KOH solution were studied in the absence (silent) and presence of ultrasound (408 kHz, ∼54 W, 100% acoustic amplitude) at different electrolyte temperatures (T = 25, 40 and 60 °C). Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) experiments were performed to analyse the electrochemical behaviour of the Raney-Ni electrode under these conditions. Under silent conditions, it was found that the electrocatalytic activity of Raney-Ni towards the HER and the OER depends upon the electrolyte temperature, and higher current densities at lower overpotentials were achieved at elevated temperatures. It was also observed that the HER activity of Raney-Ni under ultrasonic conditions increased at low temperatures (e.g., 25 °C) while the ultrasonic effect on the OER was found to be insignificant. In addition, it was observed that the ultrasonic effect on both the HER and OER decreases by elevating the temperature. In our conditions, it is suggested that ultrasound enhances the electrocatalytic performance of Raney-Ni towards the HER due to principally the efficient gas bubble removal from the electrode surface and the dispersion of gas bubbles into the electrolyte, and this effect depends upon the behaviour of the hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles in alkaline media.     

Study on the compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer in flexural vibration

A new type of compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer is analyzed in this paper. The compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer consists of two sandwiched ultrasonic transducers and a rectangular radiator. In virtue of the coupling between longitudinal vibration of the sandwiched ultrasonic transducers and flexural vibration of the rectangular radiator, the compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer can produce several resonance frequencies. Some compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducers are designed and simulated by finite element method (ANSYS), and modal shapes and harmonic response are analyzed. The compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducers are designed and manufactured. The resonance frequencies are measured and compared with the numerical results. The effect of the geometrical dimensions of the compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer and the location of two sandwiched ultrasonic transducers on the compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer is discussed. It is shown experimentally and numerically that the compound multifrequency ultrasonic transducer has several resonance frequencies.     

气泡在超声场中绕圈运动的高速摄影及其图像分析

借助高速摄影和图像分析技术对首次发现的附壁气泡的绕圈现象进行了实验研究,重点研究游移气泡的运动轨迹、附壁气泡的布阵过程、气泡的来源以及气泡的振动细节.研究发现游移绕圈气泡的运动轨迹呈现出不稳定、不规则、不光滑的特点.阵列气泡源于游移气泡,而游移气泡变成阵列气泡的方式主要是通过合并增大体积,从而减小所受的Bjerknes力,降低活性的方式实现的.游移气泡源于ALF(acoustic lichtenberg figure)空化云中大量空泡的合并,使以径向振动为主的空泡逐渐过渡到以表面波动为主的气泡.阵列气泡在Bjerknes力的作用下呈现出规则的表面波动,而体积更小受力更大的游移空泡的表面完全失稳,呈现极不规则的形貌,并对附近阵列气泡的表面波动产生影响.阵列气泡呈现出十分规则的排布,相邻阵列气泡之间的振动相位是相反的,表现为相互排斥.     

Experimental investigation of flow boiling heat transfer enhancement under ultrasound fields in a minichannel heat sink

Ultrasound is considered to be an effective active heat transfer enhancement method, which is widely used in various fields. But there is no clear understanding of flow boiling heat transfer characteristics in micro/mini-channels under ultrasonic field since the studies related are limited up to now. In this paper, a novel minichannel heat exchanger with two ultrasonic transducers inside the inlet and outlet plenum respectively is designed to experimentally investigate the impacts of ultrasound on flow boiling heat transfer enhancement in a minichannel heat sink. Flow visualization analyses reveal that ultrasound can promote rapid bubble motion, bubble detachment from heating wall surface and thereby new bubble generation, and decrease the length of confined bubble. Furthermore, the flow boiling experiments are initiated employing working fluid R141b at different ultrasonic parameters (e.g., frequency, power, angle of radiation) and heat flux under three types of ultrasound excitations: no ultrasound (NU), single inlet ultrasound (IU), inlet and outlet ultrasound (IOU). The results indicate that ultrasound has obvious augmentation effects on flow boiling heat transfer even though the intensification effects will be limited with the heat flux increases. The higher ultrasonic power, the lower ultrasonic frequency and the higher ultrasonic radiation angle, the better intensification efficiency. The maximum enhancement ratio of h_ave in the saturated boiling section reaches 1.88 at 50 W, 23 kHz and 45° under the experimental conditions. This study will be beneficial for future applications of ultrasound on flow boiling heat transfer in micro/mini-channels.     

Gas bubble fragmentation in an ultrasonic field

A model system consisting of a thin layer of vacuum-deposited metallic aluminium on a glass microscope slide was developed to demonstrate the effectiveness of cavitational activity (occurring within the cooling water supply of a dental ultrasonic descaler operating at 25 kHz) in the removal of particulate matter from solid surfaces. The pattern of particulate matter removal using this model system demonstrated both the mechanism of bubble activity and the erosive nature of microbubbles.Non-resonant bubbles were formed by surface wave activity and adhered to the surface of the slide. There was some removal of the aluminium metal at the periphery of the bubble (probably by a microstreaming mechanism) giving a ‘ghost’ outline. The majority of aluminium removal was caused by numerous microbubbles of non-resonant sizes (typically 1 to 2 μm diameter) formed by surface wave induced fragmentation of the parent bubble.The damaging and erosive effects of transient cavitational activity appear to be the result of sub-resonant sized microbubble formation from larger parent bubbles.     

Fluctuation dynamics and 1/f spectra characterizing the acoustic cavitation of liquids

The dynamics of acoustic cavitation in water and glycerin is studied experimentally. The power spectra and distribution functions of fluctuations are determined. In transient regimes, bubble structures in the form of fractal clusters are formed near the ultrasonic radiator. The power spectra have the form 1/f, and the distribution functions of local fluctuations differ from the Gaussian ones and exhibit the scale invariance property.     

Effect of surfactant addition on removal of microbubbles using ultrasound

It is difficult to control the bubble in a liquid by the external operation, because the behavior of the bubble is controlled in buoyancy and flow of liquid. On the other hand, microbubbles, whose diameter is several decades μm, stably disperse in static liquid because of their small buoyancy and electrical repulsion. When an ultrasound, whose frequency was 2.4 MHz, was irradiated, the milky white microbubbles suspended solution became rapidly clear. In this study, the effects of surfactant addition on the removal of microbubbles from a liquid in an ultrasonic field were investigated. The efficiency of removal of microbubbles decreased with surfactant addition. Surfactant type influenced the size of agglomerated microbubbles, and the efficiency of removal of microbubbles changed. The surface of microbubble was modified by surfactant adsorption, and the steric inhibition influenced the removal of microbubbles.     

矩形辐射器压电多频超声换能器的研究

研究了一种具有多个共振频率的矩形辐射器夹心式超声换能器,换能器由圆柱形后盖板、压电陶瓷晶堆及矩形六面体辐射器前盖板组合而成。利用表观弹性法和一维近似理论给出了多频换能器横向及纵向理论共振频率方程。对一种特殊情况下的此类换能器进行了有限元及实验分析,给出了各自的频率输入导纳曲线。对理论和实验结果进行分析后表明,此类矩形辐射器夹心式超声换能器可以在不同的振动模态上工作,具有多个共振频率.     

Translation of cavitation bubble near the different walls

The interaction between spherical cavitation bubble and flat wall is transformed into that between the real bubble and imaging bubble by the method of images. Firstly, we investigate the dynamics of real bubble and matched, inversed or mis-matched imaging bubble driven by a small amplitude ultrasound, revealing the characteristics of the interaction between cavitation bubble and rigid, soft and impedance walls. Then, we emphatically study the dynamics of real bubble and mis-matched imaging bubble driven by a finite amplitude ultrasound, and the interaction characteristics between cavitation bubble and real impedance wall are revealed. The results show that the cavitation bubble is always close to the rigid wall and far away from the soft wall; For the impedance wall, whether the cavitation bubble is far away or close depends on the specific wall parameters. Moreover, the direction and magnitude of bubble's translation velocity can be changed by adjusting the driving parameters. Understanding the interaction between cavitation bubble and impedance wall is of great significance for efficient application of ultrasonic cavitation.     

Effect of cavitation bubble on the dispersion of magnetorheological polishing fluid under ultrasonic preparation

In the ultrasonic dispersion process, the ultrasonic cavitation effect can seriously affect the dispersion efficiency of magnetorheological polishing fluid (MRPF), but the mechanism remains unclear now. Through considering the continuity equation and Vand viscosity equation of the suspension, a revised cavitation bubble dynamic model in the MRPF was developed and calculated. The effects of presence or absence of solid particles, the volume fraction of solid particles, and viscosity on the cavitation bubble motion characteristics in the MRPF were discussed. Settlement experiments of the MRPF under ultrasonic and mechanical dispersion were observed. Analysis of particle dispersion is made by trinocular biomicroscope and image processing of the microscopic morphology of the MRPF. The results show that the high volume fraction of carbonyl iron particle (CIP) will significantly weaken the cavitation effect, and the low volume fraction of green silicon carbide (GSC) has a negligible effect on the cavitation effect in the MRPF. When the liquid viscosity is greater than or equal to 0.1 Pa·s, it is inconvenient to produce micro-jets in the MRPF. The sedimentation rate of the MRPF prepared by ultrasonic dispersion is lower than mechanical dispersion when the volume fraction of CIP is between 1% and 25%. The dispersion ratio under ultrasonic dispersion is lower than that under mechanical dispersion. The experimental results fit the simulation well. It offers a theoretical basis for exploring the ultrasonic cavitation effect in the industrial application of the MRPF.     

高能超声制备碳纳米管增强AZ91D复合材料的声场模拟

建立了高能超声制备碳纳米管增强AZ91D复合材料的声场计算模型, 并采用有限元方法计算了20 kHz超声直接作用下AZ91D熔体的声场分布, 熔体声场呈辐射状分布, 距离声源越远, 声压幅值越低. 采用超声作用下单一气泡变化模型描述超声作用下AZ91D 熔体中的空化效应, 通过对Rayleigh-Plesset方程的求解, 得到了不同声压作用下气泡的变化规律, 获得了声压幅值与熔体空化效应的关系, 声压幅值越大, 气泡溃灭半径阈值越小, 熔体发生空化效应越容易. 计算了固定坩埚尺寸、不同超声探头没入熔体深度情况下的声场, 得到了超声探头最优没入深度为30 mm左右. 将声场计算结果以及AZ91D熔体中空化效应的发生规律进行综合分析, 得到了超声功率对有效空化区域的影响规律, 超声功率较大时, 有效空化区域体积随超声功率近似成线性增大. 最后, 通过甘油水溶液超声处理实验, 验证了模拟计算的准确性.     

Vibration analysis and sound field characteristics of a tubular ultrasonic radiator

A sort of tubular ultrasonic radiator used in ultrasonic liquid processing is studied. The frequency equation of the tubular radiator is derived, and its radiated sound field in cylindrical reactor is calculated using finite element method and recorded by means of aluminum foil erosion. The results indicate that sound field of tubular ultrasonic radiator in cylindrical reactor appears standing waves along both its radial direction and axial direction, and amplitudes of standing waves decrease gradually along its radial direction, and the numbers of standing waves along its axial direction are equal to the axial wave numbers of tubular radiator. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculated results.     

Numerical study on the desorption processes of oil droplets inside oil-contaminated sand under cavitation micro-jets

The removal of the adsorbed oil droplet is critical to deoiling treatment of oil-bearing solid waste. Ultrasonic cavitation is regarded as an extremely useful method to assist the oil droplets desorption in the deoiling treatment. In this paper, the effects of cavitation micro-jets on the oil droplets desorption were studied. The adsorbed states of oil droplets in the oil-contaminated sand were investigated using a microscope. Three representative absorbed states of the oil droplets can be summarized as: (1) the individual oil droplet adsorbed on the particle surface (2) the clustered oil droplets adsorbed on the particle surface; (3) the oil droplet adsorbed in a gap between particles. The micro-jet generation during the bubble collapse near a rigid wall under different acoustic pressure amplitudes at an ultrasonic frequency of 20 kHz was investigated numerically. The desorption processes of the oil droplets at the three representative absorbed states under micro-jets were also simulated subsequently. The results showed that the acoustic pressure has a great influence on the velocity of micro-jet, and the initial diameter of cavitation bubbles is significant for the cross-sectional area of micro-jets. The wall jet caused by a micro-jet impacting on the solid wall is the most important factor for the removal of the absorbed oil droplets. The oil droplet is broken by the jet impinging, and then it breaks away from the solid wall due to the shear force generated by the wall jet. In addition to a higher sound pressure, the cavitation bubble at a larger initial diameter is more important for the desorption of the clustered oil droplets. Conversely, the micro-jet generated by the cavitation bubble at a smaller initial diameter (0.1 mm) is more appropriate for the desorption of the oil droplet in a narrow or sharp-angled gap.     

Shock-wave model of acoustic cavitation

Shock-wave model of liquid cavitation due to an acoustic wave was developed, showing how the primary energy of an acoustic radiator is absorbed in the cavitation region owing to the formation of spherical shock-waves inside each gas bubble. The model is based on the concept of a hypothetical spatial wave moving through the cavitation region. It permits using the classical system of Rankine-Hugoniot equations to calculate the total energy absorbed in the cavitation region. Additionally, the model makes it possible to explain some newly discovered properties of acoustic cavitation that occur at extremely high oscillatory velocities of the radiators, at which the mode of bubble oscillation changes and the bubble behavior approaches that of an empty Rayleigh cavity. Experimental verification of the proposed model was conducted using an acoustic calorimeter with a set of barbell horns. The maximum amplitude of the oscillatory velocity of the horns' radiating surfaces was 17 m/s. Static pressure in the calorimeter was varied in the range from 1 to 5 bars. The experimental data and the results of the calculations according to the proposed model were in good agreement. Simple algebraic expressions that follow from the model can be used for engineering calculations of the energy parameters of the ultrasonic radiators used in sonochemical reactors.     

Depletion potentials between colloids and patterned surfaces

Effective interactions between the hard-sphere colloids and the patterned substrates created by depositing one or more hemispheres on the structureless walls are studied. The deposition of only one hemispherical cap gives rise to a new global minimum of the depletion potential but the difference from the planar hard wall case is moderate. On the other hand, when the hemispherical caps form a periodic array, multiple overlaps of the excluded volumes lead to formation of deep global minimum of the depletion potential. In some cases this minimum is deeper than −10k_BT and this is more than triple of the potential minimum for the structureless wall. We conclude that templated surfaces affect depletion potentials significantly. This effect will have a major impact even when the residual attractive/repulsive interactions are present.