Numerical simulation of the nonlinear ultrasonic pressure wave propagation in a cavitating bubbly liquid inside a sonochemical reactor

We investigate the acoustic wave propagation in bubbly liquid inside a pilot sonochemical reactor which aims to produce antibacterial medical textile fabrics by coating the textile with ZnO or CuO nanoparticles. Computational models on acoustic propagation are developed in order to aid the design procedures. The acoustic pressure wave propagation in the sonoreactor is simulated by solving the Helmholtz equation using a meshless numerical method. The paper implements both the state-of-the-art linear model and a nonlinear wave propagation model recently introduced by Louisnard (2012), and presents a novel iterative solution procedure for the nonlinear propagation model which can be implemented using any numerical method and/or programming tool. Comparative results regarding both the linear and the nonlinear wave propagation are shown. Effects of bubble size distribution and bubble volume fraction on the acoustic wave propagation are discussed in detail. The simulations demonstrate that the nonlinear model successfully captures the realistic spatial distribution of the cavitation zones and the associated acoustic pressure amplitudes.     

Mixing time analysis of a sonochemical reactor

Mixing time measurements have been carried out in a cylindrical reactor irradiated with an ultrasonic horn fitted with different size tips. Liquid phase bulk velocities induced by the vibrating horn surface have been estimated from the mixing time measurements. A relationship has been established between the mean horn surface velocities (frequency x amplitude) and the mean velocities estimated from the mixing time measurements. A correlation has been developed for the prediction of the mixing time using a method similar to that used for liquid jet mixing. This could be the first step in defining the overall flow field, the information about which can then be used to get realistic numerical solutions of the Rayleigh-Plesset equation for a travelling cavity to understand the cavity dynamics in the various parts of the ultrasonic horn reactor.     

Optimization of a sonochemical reactor using a pulsing operation

It is known that sonochemical reactions are enhanced by pulsing ultrasound. A method to optimize a sonochemical reactor using a pulsing operation was studied through the measurement of changes in sonoluminescence (SL) intensity from distilled water under various experimental conditions. It was confirmed that pulsing with a constant input power level enhanced SL intensity at lower power levels because of the higher amplitude of ultrasound. In contrast to this, a quenching effect due to excessive sound pressure appeared at higher power levels, and the pulsing operation was not effective under these conditions. Pulsing is more effective at higher frequency than at lower frequency.     

FEM calculation of an acoustic field in a sonochemical reactor

The spatial distribution of the acoustic amplitude in a sonochemical reactor has been numerically calculated using the finite element method (FEM). In the FEM program, the acoustic field in a sonochemical reactor is coupled with the vibration of the reactor's wall. The present calculations have revealed that the thin (thick) glass or stainless steel wall is nearly a free (rigid) boundary and that the glass wall is freer than the stainless steel wall. The influence of the attenuation coefficient of ultrasound on the acoustic field has also been studied in order to see the effect of bubbles on the acoustic field. As the attenuation coefficient increases, the vibration amplitude of the reactor's wall becomes smaller and the acoustic emission from the vibrating wall becomes weaker. The qualitative feature of the spatial pattern of sonochemiluminescence from an aqueous luminol solution has been reproduced by the calculation when the attenuation coefficient is in the range of 0.5-5m(-1). When the attenuation coefficient is less than about 0.05 m(-1), the standing wave pattern of an acoustic field in the liquid is very complex due to the acoustic emission from the vibrating wall. The present calculations have also revealed that some stripes of pressure antinodes have also been disconnected when the radius of the transducer is much smaller than the side length of the vibrating plate. The dependence of the acoustic field on the liquid height is also discussed.     

Estimation of absolute sound pressure in a small-sized sonochemical reactor

A small-sized sonochemical reactor in which the absolute value of the sound pressure amplitude can be estimated from the vibration velocity of the transducer was investigated. The sound pressure distribution in the reactor and the relationship between the vibration velocity and the sound pressure amplitude were derived through Helmholtz wave equation. The reactor consists of a bolt-clamped Langevin transducer and a rectangular cell with a tungsten reflector. A 3λ/4-standing-wave-field was generated in the reactor to simplify the sound pressure distribution. The sound pressure distribution was measured from the optical refractive index change of water using a laser interferometer. The experimental and theoretical results showed a good agreement in the absolute value of the sound pressure amplitude, and it was confirmed that the sound pressure in the sonochemical reactor can be estimated from the input current of the vibrator.     

Parametric study of acoustically-driven microbubble cavitations in a sonochemical reactor

The bubble cavitation along a solid wall is investigated with a three-dimensional model based on the indirect boundary element method. Kinetic energy and Kelvin impulse are calculated in order to quantify the strength of cavitation. The influences of acoustic wave amplitude and frequency and liquid properties on the strength of cavitation are investigated. This study was carried out in order to better understand the relation between microscale processes and macroscale parameters in a sonochemical reactor used for impregnation of fabrics with nanoparticles.     

The effects of acoustic flow and mechanical flow on the sonochemical efficiency in a rectangular sonochemical reactor

Visualization of cavitation behavior in a rectangular sonochemical reactor at 490 kHz was carried out by a laser sheet technique and the distribution of liquid flow was measured by a laser Doppler velocimeter. The pattern of liquid flow and distribution of acoustic pressure of the rectangular sonochemical reactor were investigated as a function of the input power from 10 to 50 W. The liquid moved upward above the transducer at every power. As increasing the input power, the random flow out side the cylindrical part above the transducer changed into the convective one and the region of the visualized standing wave which was formed in the cylindrical part changed with the input power. The position showing the sonochemical luminescence exists inside or near the region where the standing wave was visualized. Introduction of a stirrer resulted in disturbance of liquid flow and expanded the position showing the sonochemical luminescence, but the luminescence intensity was weakened. The sonochemical efficiency was enhanced by about twice by introduction of the stirrer. From these results, we discussed the effects of liquid flow on sonochemical efficiency with and without a stirrer.     

The velocity distribution of desorbing molecules: a simulation study

The distribution of velocity and directions of dissolved carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon molecules escaping from liquid water into the vapour has been analysed. The distributions were found to agree well with those predicted from the thermal flux distribution and not with the recent theory for evaporation proposed by Phillips. Possible reasons for this are discussed.     

Numerical simulation of natural convection in a sessile liquid droplet

Heat transfer in a sessile liquid droplet was studied with numerical methods. A computer code was developed for solving the problem of convection in an axisymmetric hemispherical droplet and in a spherical layer as well. The problem of establishing an equilibrium state in a droplet was solved using several variables: temperature, stream function, and vorticity. Simulation was performed for droplets of water, ethyl alcohol, and model liquids. Variable parameters: intensity of heat transfer from droplet surface, Rayleigh and Marangoni dimensionless criteria, and the characteristic temperature difference. It was revealed that the curve of convective flow intensity versus heat transfer intensity at droplet surface has a maximum. A dual-vortex structure was obtained in a stationary hemispherical profile of liquid droplet for the case of close values for thermocapillary and thermogravitational forces. Either thermocapillary or thermogravitational vortex might be dominating phenomena in the flow structure.     

Numerical simulation of pool boiling of a Lennard-Jones liquid

We performed a numerical simulation of pool boiling by a molecular dynamics model. In the simulation, a liquid composed of Lennard-Jones particles in a uniform gravitational field is heated by a heat source at the bottom of the system. The model successfully reproduces the change in regimes of boiling from nucleate boiling to film boiling with the increase of the heat source temperature. We present the pool boiling curve by the model, whose general behavior is consistent with those observed in experiments of pool boiling.     

Numerical simulation of intense helical electron beams with the calculation of the velocity distribution functions

The method of calculation of intense helical electron beams which allows to find the distribution function of electrons with respect to their transverse (oscillatory) and longitudinal velocities is developed. The initial velocity distribution function can be arbitrary. The data obtained in numerical simulation and experimental measurements for beams with various topologies are compared. The evolution of the transverse velocity distribution function with the beam current growth is traced. It is found that the transformation of the velocity distribution function may indicate a possible instability in a real beam.     

Numerical simulation of laser ignition of a liquid fuel film

Numerical simulations were used to examine a set of interrelated physicochemical processes involved in the ignition of a liquid fuel film by a low-power laser beam. The delay time of ignition of a liquid fuel film and the ignition zone location were determined. The scale of influence of the power and radius of the laser beam on the ignition characteristics was determined. The ignition criteria of ignition were identified.     

游船空调降温过程舱内温度场及速度场的动态模拟

以工程中广泛采用的k-ε方程湍流模式为基础,运用计算流体力学的有限差分法和SIMPLE法对船舱的三维温度场进行动态数值模拟,为舱内空调的优化设计和空调设备节能研究提供一定的理论依据。     

Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanone to epsilon-caprolactone in airlift sonochemical reactor

Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanone to epsilon-caprolactone was studied in a new type reactor--the airlift loop sonochemical reactor. The reactor plays a synergistic effect of sonochemsity and higher oxygen transfer rate. The influences of ultrasound intensity, reaction temperature, the molar ratio of benzaldehyde to cyclohexanone and oxygen gas flow rate on the conversion and selectivity of cyclohexanone were investigated and discussed. Under ultrasound, the amount of benzaldehyde can be reduced from 75% to 67%. Ultrasound not only intensified the rates of reactions but also increased the yield of product. The optimized operation conditions are listed as follows: the reaction temperature is 30 degrees C, the molar ratio of cyclohexanone to benzaldehyde is 1:2, the oxygen gas flow rate is 1.15 cm s(-1), and ultrasonic irradiations 2h at 40 kHz, 2.25 W cm(-2). Under the optimum operation conditions, the average molar yield of epsilon-caprolactone comes up to 87.7%.     

Numerical simulation of two droplets impacting upon a dynamic liquid film

The impact of droplets on the liquid film is widely involved in industrial and agricultural fields. In recent years, plenty of works are limited to dry walls or stationary liquid films, and the research of multi-droplet impact dynamic films is not sufficient. Based on this, this paper employs a coupled level set and volume of fluid (CLSVOF) method to numerically simulate two-droplet impingement on a dynamic liquid film. In our work, the dynamic film thickness, horizontal central distance between the droplets, droplets' initial impact speed, and simultaneously the flow velocity of the moving film are analyzed. The evolution phenomenon and mechanism caused by the collision are analyzed in detail. We find that within a certain period of time, the droplet spacing does not affect the peripheral crown height; when the droplet spacing decreases or the initial impact velocity increases, the height of the peripheral crown increases at the beginning, and then, because the crown splashed under Rayleigh-Plateau instability, this results in the reduction of the crown height. At the same time, it is found that when the initial impact velocity increases, the angle between the upstream peripheral jet and the dynamic film becomes larger. The more obvious the horizontal movement characteristics, the more restrained the crown height; the spread length increases with the increase of the dynamic film speed, droplet spacing and the initial impact velocity. When the liquid film is thicker, more fluid enters the crown, due to the crown being unstable, the surface tension is not enough to overcome the weight of the rim at the end of the crown, resulting in droplets falling off.     

Numerical simulation of cavitation bubble dynamics induced by ultrasound waves in a high frequency reactor

The use of high frequency ultrasound in chemical systems is of major interest to optimize chemical procedures. Characterization of an open air 477 kHz ultrasound reactor shows that, because of the collapse of transient cavitation bubbles and pulsation of stable cavitation bubbles, chemical reactions are enhanced. Numerical modelling is undertaken to determine the spatio-temporal evolution of cavitation bubbles. The calculus of the emergence of cavitation bubbles due to the acoustic driving (by taking into account interactions between the sound field and bubbles' distribution) gives a cartography of bubbles' emergence within the reactor. Computation of their motion induced by the pressure gradients occurring in the reactor show that they migrate to the pressure nodes. Computed bubbles levitation sites gives a cartography of the chemical activity of ultrasound. Modelling of stable cavitation bubbles' motion induced by the motion of the liquid gives some insight on degassing phenomena.     

Quantitative calculation of reaction performance in sonochemical reactor by bubble dynamics

In order to design a sonochemical reactor with high reaction efficiency, it is important to clarify the size and intensity of the sonochemical reaction field. In this study, the reaction field in a sonochemical reactor is estimated from the distribution of pressure above the threshold for cavitation. The quantitation of hydroxide radical in a sonochemical reactor is obtained from the calculation of bubble dynamics and reaction equations. The distribution of the reaction field of the numerical simulation is consistent with that of the sonochemical luminescence. The sound absorption coefficient of liquid in the sonochemical reactor is much larger than that attributed to classical contributions which are heat conduction and shear viscosity. Under the dual irradiation, the reaction field becomes extensive and intensive because the acoustic pressure amplitude is intensified by the interference of two ultrasonic waves.     

液氢贮箱零蒸发数值模拟与分析

采用CFD技术,对处于微重力下的零蒸发(ZBO)液氢贮箱内采用喷嘴棒强迫混合的流场进行稳态数值模拟,建立了二维轴对称模型,预测了在不同几何参数下贮箱内温度场及速度场分布情况。研究表明,喷嘴棒伸入贮箱长度、入口直径等因素均会对系统内温度场产生影响。贮箱内平均温度和最大温度随喷嘴棒长度和入口直径的增大而减小,而喷口直径对贮箱内温度场影响不明显。由上述可以看出,通过增大入口直径、选择合适的喷嘴棒伸入长度,可以改善系统性能。