A high power ultrasonic array based test cell

This paper describes the use of finite element (FE) analysis as a tool in the design process for laboratory based ultrasonic test cells. The system was designed to incorporate an array of ultrasonic transducers to provide a pressure focus in the centre of the cell and importantly, operate both above and below the cavitation threshold of the load medium. Furthermore, the cell incorporates a coolant jacket to accommodate temperature control of the load material associated with the process. A 2D FE model corresponding to a slice through the operational plane of the cell was developed and used to investigate the influence of cell wall material and thickness, transducer configuration, rotation of a metallic stirrer blade and heat transfer fluid on the cell acoustic response. Importantly, experimentally measured pressure field maps demonstrate good correlation with the FE predicted fields. A final manufactured test cell is shown to produce a highly focussed region of cavitation. Finally, the importance in accurately representing the acoustic properties of the constituent materials used in such FE models is demonstrated through an illustrated example.     

Modeling of functionally graded piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers

The application of functionally graded material (FGM) concept to piezoelectric transducers allows the design of composite transducers without interfaces, due to the continuous change of property values. Thus, large improvements can be achieved, as reduction of stress concentration, increasing of bonding strength, and bandwidth. This work proposes to design and to model FGM piezoelectric transducers and to compare their performance with non-FGM ones. Analytical and finite element (FE) modeling of FGM piezoelectric transducers radiating a plane pressure wave in fluid medium are developed and their results are compared. The ANSYS software is used for the FE modeling. The analytical model is based on FGM-equivalent acoustic transmission-line model, which is implemented using MATLAB software. Two cases are considered: (i) the transducer emits a pressure wave in water and it is composed of a graded piezoceramic disk, and backing and matching layers made of homogeneous materials; (ii) the transducer has no backing and matching layer; in this case, no external load is simulated. Time and frequency pressure responses are obtained through a transient analysis. The material properties are graded along thickness direction. Linear and exponential gradation functions are implemented to illustrate the influence of gradation on the transducer pressure response, electrical impedance, and resonance frequencies.     

Effects of nonlinear propagation, cavitation, and boiling in lesion formation by high intensity focused ultrasound in a gel phantom

The importance of nonlinear acoustic wave propagation and ultrasound-induced cavitation in the acceleration of thermal lesion production by high intensity focused ultrasound was investigated experimentally and theoretically in a transparent protein-containing gel. A numerical model that accounted for nonlinear acoustic propagation was used to simulate experimental conditions. Various exposure regimes with equal total ultrasound energy but variable peak acoustic pressure were studied for single lesions and lesion stripes obtained by moving the transducer. Static overpressure was applied to suppress cavitation. Strong enhancement of lesion production was observed for high amplitude waves and was supported by modeling. Through overpressure experiments it was shown that both nonlinear propagation and cavitation mechanisms participate in accelerating lesion inception and growth. Using B-mode ultrasound, cavitation was observed at normal ambient pressure as weakly enhanced echogenicity in the focal region, but was not detected with overpressure. Formation of tadpole-shaped lesions, shifted toward the transducer, was always observed to be due to boiling. Boiling bubbles were visible in the gel and were evident as strongly echogenic regions in B-mode images. These experiments indicate that nonlinear propagation and cavitation accelerate heating, but no lesion displacement or distortion was observed in the absence of boiling.     

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.     

脉冲超声激励下SonoVue微泡的瞬态空化特性

将SonoVue微泡从临床疾病诊断拓展至治疗引起了诸多研究人员的兴趣。为了平衡治疗效率和生物安全性,深入理解声学参数和SonoVue微泡瞬态空化的关系至关重要。本研究自行制备仿体容器放置SonoVue微泡,使用1 MHz发射换能器激励其产生空化效应,另一个7.5 MHz的聚焦换能器接收声信号,经放大及高速数据采集后送上位机处理。通过深入分析信号的时频域特征,我们提出以宽带信号的能量及其随时间变化曲线的半高宽来表征瞬态空化的剂量(ICD)和相对持续时间(ICP),并确定:瞬态空化的发生和ICD依赖于峰值负声压,但ICP随峰值负声压的增加而减小;脉冲重复频率和脉冲持续时间都和ICD及ICP正相关;且脉冲持续时间的影响较大。这些结果有望为SonoVue微泡的治疗应用提供理论支持。      

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.     

Fluid dynamics phenomena induced by power ultrasounds

Propagation of power ultrasound (from 20 to 800 kHz) through a liquid inside a cylindrical reactor initiates acoustic cavitation and also fluid dynamics phenomena such as free surface deformation, convection, acoustic streaming, etc. Mathematical modelling is performed as a new approach to predict where active bubbles are and how intense cavitation is. A calculation based on fluid dynamics equations is undertaken using computational fluid dynamics code; this is of great interest because such code provides not only the pressure field but also velocity and temperature fields. The link between the acoustic pressure and the cavitation field is clearly established. Moreover, the pressure profile near a free surface allows one to predict the shape of the acoustic fountain. The influence of the acoustic fountain on the wave propagation is shown to be important. The convective flow inside a reactor is numerically obtained and agrees well with particle image velocity measurements. Non-linearities arising from the dissipation of the acoustic wave are computed and lead to the calculation of the acoustic streaming. The superimposed velocity field (convective flow and acoustic streaming) succeeds in simulating the bubble behaviour at 500 kHz, for instance.     

Characterization of cavitation under ultrasonic horn tip – Proposition of an acoustic cavitation parameter

Acoustic cavitation, generated by a piezo-driven transducer, is a commonly used technique in a variety of processes, from homogenization, emulsification, and intensification of chemical reactions to surface cleaning and wastewater treatment. An ultrasonic horn, the most commonly used acoustic cavitation device, creates unique cavitation conditions under the horn tip that depend on various parameters such as the tip diameter, the driving frequency of the horn, its amplitude, and fluid properties. Unlike for hydrodynamic cavitation, the scaling laws for acoustic cavitation are poorly understood. Empirical relationships between cavitation dynamics, ultrasonic horn operating conditions, and fluid properties were found through systematic characterization of cavitation under the tip. Experiments were conducted in distilled water with various sodium chloride salt concentrations under different horn amplitudes, tip geometries, and ambient pressures. Cavitation characteristics were monitored by high-speed (200,000 fps) imaging, and numerous relations were found between operating conditions and cavitation dynamics. The compared results are discussed along with a proposal of a novel acoustic cavitation parameter and its relationship to the size of the cavitation cloud under the horn tip. Similar to the classical hydrodynamic cavitation number, the authors propose for the first time an acoustic cavitation parameter based on experimental results.     

A dual passive cavitation detector for localized detection of lithotripsy-induced cavitation in vitro

A passive cavitation detector (PCD) identifies cavitation events by sensing acoustic emissions generated by the collapse of bubbles. In this work, a dual passive cavitation detector (dual PCD), consisting of a pair of orthogonal confocal receivers, is described for use in shock wave lithotripsy. Cavitation events are detected by both receivers and can be localized to within 5 mm by the nature of the small intersecting volume of the focal areas of the two receivers in association with a coincidence detection algorithm. A calibration technique, based on the impulse response of the transducer, was employed to estimate radiated pressures at collapse near the bubble. Results are presented for the in vitro cavitation fields of both a clinical and a research electrohydraulic lithotripter. The measured lifetime of the primary growth-and-collapse of the cavitation bubbles increased from 180 to 420 microseconds as the power setting was increased from 12 to 24 kV. The measured lifetime compared well with calculations based on the Gilmore-Akulichev formulation for bubble dynamics. The radiated acoustic pressure 10 mm from the collapsing cavitation bubble was measured to vary from 4 to 16 MPa with increasing power setting; although the trends agreed with calculations, the predicted values were four times larger than measured values. The axial length of the cavitation field correlated well with the 6-dB region of the acoustic field. However, the width of the cavitation field (10 mm) was significantly narrower than the acoustic field (25 mm) as bubbles appeared to be drawn to the acoustic axis during the collapse. The dual PCD also detected signals from "rebounds," secondary and tertiary growth-and-collapse cycles. The measured rebound time did not agree with calculations from the single-bubble model. The rebounds could be fitted to a Rayleigh collapse model by considering the entire bubble cloud as an effective single bubble. The results from the dual PCD agreed well with images from high-speed photography. The results indicate that single-bubble theory is sufficient to model lithotripsy cavitation dynamics up to time of the main collapse, but that upon collapse bubble cloud dynamics becomes important.     

Acoustic microcavitation: its active and passive acoustic detection

In this work acoustic microcavitation in water is studied primarily at 0.75 MHz and 1% duty cycle. To detect cavitation, two kinds of acoustic detectors are used. The first one is an unfocused, untuned 1-MHz receiver transducer that serves as a passive detector. The other one is a focused 30-MHz transducer that is used in pulse-echo mode and is called the active detector. Cavitation itself is brought about by a focused PZT-8 crystal driven in pulse mode. The active detector is arranged confocally with respect to the cavitation transducer. Both the interrogating pulse and the cavitation pulse arrive simultaneously at the common focus, which is the region of cavitation. With the test chamber filled with clean water, no cavitation is observed, even when the cavitation transducer is driven to give its peak output of 22 bar peak negative. Cavitation is, however, observed when polystyrene microparticles are added to the host water. Our view of how these smooth, spherical, monodispersed microparticles give rise to cavitation is described with some estimates. An attempt has been made to understand whether the presence of "streaming" affects the thresholds, and it has been found that the active detector field affects the cavitation process.     

An objective comparison of commercially-available cavitation meters

With a number of cavitation meters on the market which claim to characterise fields in ultrasonic cleaning baths, this paper provides an objective comparison of a selection of these devices and establishes the extent to which their claims are met. The National Physical Laboratory’s multi-frequency ultrasonic reference vessel provided the stable 21.06 kHz field, above and below the inertial cavitation threshold, as a test bed for the sensor comparison. Measurements from these devices were evaluated in relation to the known acoustic pressure distribution in the cavitating vessel as a means of identifying the mode of operation of the sensors and to examine the particular indicator of cavitation activity which they deliver. Through the comparison with megahertz filtered acoustic signals generated by inertial cavitation, it was determined that the majority of the cavitation meters used in this study responded to acoustic pressure generated by the direct applied acoustic field and therefore tended to overestimate the occurrence of cavitation within the vessel, giving non-zero responses under conditions when there was known to be no inertial cavitation occurring with the reference vessel. This has implications for interpreting the data they provide in user applications.     

The cavitation erosion of ultrasonic sonotrode during large-scale metallic casting: Experiment and simulation

Ultrasonic sonotrodes play an essential role in transmitting power ultrasound into the large-scale metallic casting. However, cavitation erosion considerably impairs the in-service performance of ultrasonic sonotrodes, leading to marginal microstructural refinement. In this work, the cavitation erosion behaviour of ultrasonic sonotrodes in large-scale castings was explored using the industry-level experiments of Al alloy cylindrical ingots (i.e. 630 mm in diameter and 6000 mm in length). When introducing power ultrasound, severe cavitation erosion was found to reproducibly occur at some specific positions on ultrasonic sonotrodes. However, there is no cavitation erosion present on the ultrasonic sonotrodes that were not driven by electric generator. Vibratory examination showed cavitation erosion depended on the vibration state of ultrasonic sonotrodes. Moreover, a finite element (FE) model was developed to simulate the evolution and distribution of acoustic pressure in 3-D solidification volume. FE simulation results confirmed that significant dynamic interaction between sonotrodes and melts only happened at some specific positions corresponding to severe cavitation erosion. This work will allow for developing more advanced ultrasonic sonotrodes with better cavitation erosion-resistance, in particular for large-scale castings, from the perspectives of ultrasonic physics and mechanical design.     

Study on the bubble transport mechanism in an acoustic standing wave field

The use of bubbles in applications such as surface chemistry, drug delivery, and ultrasonic cleaning etc. has been enormously popular in the past two decades. It has been recognized that acoustically-driven bubbles can be used to disturb the flow field near a boundary in order to accelerate physical or chemical reactions on the surface. The interactions between bubbles and a surface have been studied experimentally and analytically. However, most of the investigations focused on violently oscillating bubbles (also known as cavitation bubble), less attention has been given to understand the interactions between moderately oscillating bubbles and a boundary. Moreover, cavitation bubbles were normally generated in situ by a high intensity laser beam, little experimental work has been carried out to study the translational trajectory of a moderately oscillating bubble in an acoustic field and subsequent interactions with the surface. This paper describes the design of an ultrasonic test cell and explores the mechanism of bubble manipulation within the test cell. The test cell consists of a transducer, a liquid medium and a glass backing plate. The acoustic field within the multi-layered stack was designed in such a way that it was effectively one dimensional. This was then successfully simulated by a one dimensional network model. The model can accurately predict the impedance of the test cell as well as the mode shape (distribution of particle velocity and stress/pressure field) within the whole assembly. The mode shape of the stack was designed so that bubbles can be pushed from their injection point onto a backing glass plate. Bubble radial oscillation was simulated by a modified Keller–Miksis equation and bubble translational motion was derived from an equation obtained by applying Newton’s second law to a bubble in a liquid medium. Results indicated that the bubble trajectory depends on the acoustic pressure amplitude and initial bubble size: an increase of pressure amplitude or a decrease of bubble size forces bubbles larger than their resonant size to arrive at the target plate at lower heights, while the trajectories of smaller bubbles are less influenced by these factors. The test cell is also suitable for testing the effects of drag force on the bubble motion and for studying the bubble behavior near a surface.     

Acoustic microcavitation: enhancement and applications

Experimental investigation into acoustic microcavitation is extended to include "cavitation activity" in addition to the threshold measurements using acoustic detectors. The primary setup incorporates two detectors: an unfocused, untuned 1-MHz transducer, which serves as a passive detector, and a focused 30-MHz transducer used in pulse-echo mode as the active detector. Cavitation itself is brought about by a focused piezoelectric transducer driven in pulse mode. The active detector is arranged confocally with respect to the cavitation transducer. Both the interrogating pulse and the cavitation pulse arrive simultaneously at the common focus which is the region of cavitation. Cavitation is conducted primarily at 0.75 MHz and 1% duty cycle in clean water using microparticles to seed the events. Cavitation activity appears to be directly proportional to the number density of the particles present in the cavitation medium. The fact that the active detector affects the cavitation process can be further exploited to seek interesting applications leading possibly to submicronic particle counting and testing of surface characteristics of silica particles used in liquid chromatography.     

Combining COMSOL modeling with acoustic pressure maps to design sono-reactors

Scaled-up and economically viable sonochemical systems are critical for increased use of ultrasound in environmental and chemical processing applications. In this study, computational simulations and acoustic pressure maps were used to design a larger-scale sono-reactor containing a multi-stepped ultrasonic horn. Simulations in COMSOL Multiphysics showed ultrasonic waves emitted from the horn neck and tip, generating multiple regions of high acoustic pressure. The volume of these regions surrounding the horn neck were larger compared with those below the horn tip. The simulated acoustic field was verified by acoustic pressure contour maps generated from hydrophone measurements in a plexiglass box filled with water. These acoustic pressure contour maps revealed an asymmetric and discrete distribution of acoustic pressure due to acoustic cavitation, wave interaction, and water movement by ultrasonic irradiation. The acoustic pressure contour maps were consistent with simulation results in terms of the effective scale of cavitation zones (∼10 cm and <5 cm above and below horn tip, respectively). With the mapped acoustic field and identified cavitation location, a cylindrically-shaped sono-reactor with a conical bottom was designed to evaluate the treatment capacity (∼5 L) for the multi-stepped horn using COMSOL simulations. In this study, verification of simulation results with experiments demonstrates that coupling of COMSOL simulations with hydrophone measurements is a simple, effective and reliable scientific method to evaluate reactor designs of ultrasonic systems.     

Use of focused ultrasonic receivers for remote measurements in biological tissues

The feasibility of using a focusing ultrasonic transducer as a sound pressure receiver is discussed. It is shown theoretically that, at certain angular apertures of the receiver, its output signal is proportional to the sound pressure in the field point coincident with the receiver center of curvature. The receivers of this type have been demonstrated suitable for remote measurements of field spatial distribution of plane and focused ultrasonic radiators. Data are presented on the experimental testing of focused receivers in measuring acoustic fields in water, air, and certain samples of biological tissues. The instruments are sufficiently universal and allow the measurement not only of acoustic fields, but also of temperature increments in locally heated media, as well as permit one to follow the initiation and development of ultrasonic cavitation and study nonlinear effects. The remote sensing ability and high sensitivity of focused ultrasonic receivers allow their practical use in biomedical acoustics for noninvasive measurements.     

Sonar-induced pressure fields in a post-mortem common dolphin

Potential physical effects of sonar transmissions on marine mammals were investigated by measuring pressure fields induced in a 119-kg, 211-cm-long, young adult male common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) cadaver. The specimen was instrumented with tourmaline acoustic pressure gauges used as receiving sensors. Gauge implantation near critical tissues was guided by intraoperative, high-resolution, computerized tomography (CT) scanning. Instrumented structures included the melon, nares, ear, thoracic wall, lungs, epaxial muscle, and lower abdomen. The specimen was suspended from a frame equipped with a standard 50.8-mm-diameter spherical transducer used as the acoustic source and additional receiving sensors to monitor the transmitted and external, scattered field. Following immersion, the transducer transmitted pulsed sinusoidal signals at 5, 7, and 10 kHz. Quantitative internal pressure fields are reported for all cases except those in which the gauge failed or no received signal was detected. A full necropsy was performed immediately after the experiment to examine instrumented areas and all major organs. No lesions attributable to acoustic transmissions were found, consistent with the low source level and source-receiver distances.     

球形集声器在生物组织中形成的组织损伤

球形集声器可在亚波长焦域内形成高强度声压,在高强度聚焦超声治疗中具有潜在应用前景.本文结合非线性声传播理论及生物传热学理论,研究球形集声器在生物组织中形成的组织损伤.实验中采用430 kHz,内径为240 mm的球形集声器对肝组织作用,结果表明:集声器表面声压为53 kPa时作用2 s,可以形成小于波长尺度的组织损伤.理论计算结果与实验结果符合得较好,并且理论模型可优化球形集声器的开口孔径.研究结果表明,球形集声器可应用于肿瘤的精细超声治疗.