超声空化与超声医学

随着超声技术应用广泛而迅速的发展,整整一个世纪来,超声空化成了经久不衰的研究课题,特别近１０年来,超声空化成了多种学科的基础研究热点。本扼要地介绍了起声空化的最新研究进展,以及超声空化与超声医学发展的密切关系。     

声空化工程初步*

声空化气泡内的高温、高压和高密度是声空化工程的机理和基础。该文简要回顾了国内外声空化理论和实验研究的进展,针对当前在液体中进行工业规模声处理等声能应用方面的现状和存在的问题,提出了扩大声能应用的一种可能途径——声空化空间分布控制并在实验室内进行了实验研究。结果表明该方法具有可行性。在此基础上,文中给出了基于空化空间分布控制方法在稠油井口辅助降粘和高固污泥预处理方面取得声空化工程初步应用的两个例子。现场的试验结果表明,这两种声空化工程化样机在实际现场工况条件下,均取得了较好的应用效果。最后,对当前声空化工程应用前景进行了初步探讨。     

Physical and chemical characterization of shock-induced cavitation

A strong impact on a water surface induces a shock wave propagation with a significant pressure variation leading to cavitation bubble formation. A new shock induced cavitation reactor described in this work was characterized by physical and chemical techniques. Water hammer model verification with Joukowsky approach allowed to determine the wave speed propagation and gas fraction in water submitted to shock. These values were used for frequency analysis and compared with direct bubble visualization in order to estimate the influence of the experimental parameters on the shock-induced cavitation. Thereby, the shock wave contains a broad spectrum as decomposed into frequencies. This multi-frequency nature induces heterogeneous bubbles with calculated radii of 0.01 to 3.5 mm and observed radii of 0.01 to 2.8 mm depending on experimental conditions (initial pressure, impact height, gas atmosphere). For the first time, the formation of hydroxyl radicals was proven under impact-induced cavitation. The concentration of radicals increases with increasing number of successive impacts, reaching ca. 1.3 µmol.L⁻¹ after 500 impacts in the presence of 20% O₂-Ar as saturating gas. Radical generation seems to be relatively independent of the impact height but strongly depend on the type of gas saturating water, being substantially lower in the presence of air. Moreover, radical generation increases when decreasing the initial pressure and depends on the frequency at which water is impacted by the piston. Nevertheless, yield of OH radicals during shock-induced cavitation remains much lower than that produced by power ultrasound.     

Degradation of organic wastewater by hydrodynamic cavitation combined with acoustic cavitation

In this paper, the decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) by hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), acoustic cavitation (AC) and the combination of these individual methods (HAC) have been investigated. The degradation of 20 L RhB aqueous solution was carried out in a self-designed HAC reactor, where hydrodynamic cavitation and acoustic cavitation could take place in the same space simultaneously. The effects of initial concentration, inlet pressure, solution temperature and ultrasonic power were studied and discussed. Obvious synergies were found in the HAC process. The combined method achieved the best conversion, and the synergistic effect in HAC was even up to 119% with the ultrasonic power of 220 W in a treatment time of 30 min. The time-independent synergistic factor based on rate constant was introduced and the maximum value reached 40% in the HAC system. Besides, the hybrid HAC method showed great superiority in energy efficiency at lower ultrasonic power (88–176 W). Therefore, HAC technology can be visualized as a promising method for wastewater treatment with good scale-up possibilities.     

Mechanisms of effective gold shell on Fe3O4 core nanoparticles formation using sonochemistry method

Sonochemical synthesis (sonochemistry) is one of the most effective techniques of breaking down large clusters of nanoparticles (NPs) into smaller clusters or even individual NPs, which ensures their dispersibility (stability) in a solution over a long duration. This paper demonstrates the potential of sonochemistry becoming a valuable tool for the deposition of gold (Au) shell on iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) by explaining the underlying complex processes that control the deposition mechanism. This review summarizes the principles of the sonochemistry method and highlights the resulting phenomenon of acoustic cavitation and its associated physical, chemical and thermal effects. The effect of sonochemistry on the deposition of Au NPs on the Fe₃O₄ surface of various sizes is presented and discussed. A Vibra-Cell ultrasonic solid horn with tip size, frequency, power output of ½ inch, 20 kHz and 750 W respectively was used in core@shell synthesis. The sonochemical process was shown to affect the surface and structure of Fe₃O₄ NPs via acoustic cavitation, which prevents the agglomeration of clusters in a solution, resulting in a more stable dispersion. Deciphering the mechanism that governs the formation of Au shell on Fe₃O₄ core NPs has emphasized the potential of sonication in enhancing the chemical activity in solutions.     

Disinfection characteristics of an advanced rotational hydrodynamic cavitation reactor in pilot scale

Hydrodynamic cavitation is a promising technique for water disinfection. In the present paper, the disinfection characteristics of an advanced hydrodynamic cavitation reactor (ARHCR) in pilot scale were studied. The effects of various flow rates (1.4–2.6 m³/h) and rotational speeds (2600–4200 rpm) on the removal of Escherichia coli (E. coli) were revealed and analyzed. The variation regularities of the log reduction and reaction rate constant at various cavitation numbers were established. A disinfection rate of 100% was achieved in only 4 min for 15 L of simulated effluent under 4200 rpm and 1.4 m³/h, with energy efficiency at 0.0499 kWh/L. A comprehensive comparison with previously introduced HCRs demonstrates the superior performance of the presented ARHCR system. The morphological changes in E. coli were studied by scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that the ARHCR can lead to serious cleavage and surface damages to E. coli, which cannot be obtained by conventional HCRs. Finally, a possible damage mechanism of the ARHCR, including both the hydrodynamical and sonochemical effects, was proposed. The findings of the present study can provide strong support to the fundamental understanding and applications of ARHCRs for water disinfection.     

Acoustic cavitation structures produced by artificial implants of nuclei

High-density controllable bubble structures are produced in the vicinity of radiating surface by artificially implant nuclei. Two kinds of typical cavitation structures produced by artificially implant nuclei are investigated. The focusing action and the physical origin of jet-induced cone-like bubble structure are analyzed. The sonochemical activity of cavitation structures is measured by using the standard method of potassium iodide dosimetry. The controllability of cavitation bubble cluster in the acoustic field is also discussed in this work.     

Numerical investigation of the inertial cavitation threshold by dual-frequency excitation in the fluid and tissue

Inertial cavitation thresholds, which are defined as bubble growth by 2-fold from the equilibrium radius, by two types of ultrasonic excitation (at the classical single-frequency mode and dual-frequency mode) were calculated. The effect of the dual-frequency excitation on the inertial cavitation threshold in the different surrounding media (fluid and tissue) was studied, and the paramount parameters (driving frequency, amplitude ratio, phase difference, and frequency ratio) were also optimized to maximize the inertial cavitation. The numerical prediction confirms the previous experimental results that the dual-frequency excitation is capable of reducing the inertial cavitation threshold in comparison to the single-frequency one at the same output power. The dual-frequency excitation at the high frequency (i.e., 3.1 + 3.5 MHz vs. 1.1 + 1.3 MHz) is preferred in this study. The simulation results suggest that the same amplitudes of individual components, zero phase difference, and large frequency difference are beneficial for enhancing the bubble cavitation. Overall, this work may provide a theoretical model for further investigation of dual-frequency excitation and guidance of its applications for a better outcome.     

声-流耦合空化场观测与量化表征探索*

该文利用搭建的高速摄影和空化噪声同步观测的声-流耦合空化实验平台,观察分析了声-流耦合场中空化云的演化规律及相应的空化噪声特征。通过引入空化状态变量,给出了空化强度的一种新的明确表述,并提出了一种基于高速摄影图像分析来测量和表征空化状态变量及空化强度的方法。利用该方法进一步对声-流耦合空化时间演化周期性和空间强度分布进行了定量计算。结果表明,声-流耦合空化强度和作用范围相比单独声空化和单独水力空化有显著的提升。     

Monitoring of transient cavitation induced by ultrasound and intense pulsed light in presence of gold nanoparticles

One of the most important challenges in medical treatment is invention of a minimally invasive approach in order to induce lethal damages to cancer cells. Application of high intensity focused ultrasound can be beneficial to achieve this goal via the cavitation process. Existence of the particles and vapor in a liquid decreases the ultrasonic intensity threshold required for cavitation onset. In this study, synergism of intense pulsed light (IPL) and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) has been investigated as a means of providing nucleation sites for acoustic cavitation. Several approaches have been reported with the aim of cavitation monitoring. We conducted the experiments on the basis of sonochemiluminescence (SCL) and chemical dosimetric methods. The acoustic cavitation activity was investigated by determining the integrated SCL signal acquired over polyacrylamide gel phantoms containing luminol in the presence and absence of GNPs in the wavelength range of 400–500 nm using a spectrometer equipped with cooled charged coupled devices (CCD) during irradiation by different intensities of 1 MHz ultrasound and IPL pulses. In order to confirm these results, the terephthalic acid chemical dosimeter was utilized as well. The SCL signal recorded in the gel phantoms containing GNPs at different intensities of ultrasound in the presence of intense pulsed light was higher than the gel phantoms without GNPs. These results have been confirmed by the obtained data from the chemical dosimetry method. Acoustic cavitation in the presence of GNPs and intense pulsed light has been suggested as a new approach designed for decreasing threshold intensity of acoustic cavitation and improving targeted therapeutic effects.     

Treatment of cyanide containing wastewater using cavitation based approach

Industrial wastewater streams containing high concentrations of biorefractory materials like cyanides should ideally be treated at source. In the present work, degradation of potassium ferrocyanide (K₄F_e(CN)₆) as a model pollutant has been investigated using cavitational reactors with possible intensification studies using different approaches. Effect of different operating parameters such as initial concentration, temperature and pH on the extent of degradation using acoustic cavitation has been investigated. For the case of hydrodynamic cavitation, flow characteristics of cavitating device (venturi) have been established initially followed by the effect of inlet pressure and pH on the extent of degradation. Under the optimized set of operating parameters, the addition of hydrogen peroxide (ratio of K₄F_e(CN)₆:H₂O₂ varied from 1:1 to 1:30 mol basis) as process intensifying approach has been investigated. The present work has conclusively established that under the set of optimized operating parameters, cavitation can be effectively used for degradation of potassium ferrocyanide. The comparative study of hydrodynamic cavitation and acoustic cavitation suggested that hydrodynamic cavitation is more energy efficient and gives higher degradation as compared to acoustic cavitation for equivalent power/energy dissipation. The present work is the first one to report comparison of cavitation based treatment schemes for degradation of cyanide containing wastewaters.     

超声空化的研究方法及进展

综述了超声空化研究的各种方法及研究进展,总结了空化研究中存在的问题,简要介绍了超声空化在基因导入方面应用的新进展。     

Sonothrombolysis with an acoustic net-assisted boiling histotripsy: A proof-of-concept study

Whilst sonothrombolysis is a promising and noninvasive ultrasound technique for treating blood clots, bleeding caused by thrombolytic agents used for dissolving clots and potential obstruction of blood flow by detached clots (i.e., embolus) are the major limitations of the current approach. In the present study, a new sonothrombolysis method is proposed for treating embolus without the use of thrombolytic drugs. Our proposed method involves (a) generating a spatially localised acoustic radiation force in a blood vessel against the blood flow to trap moving blood clots (i.e., generation of an acoustic net), (b) producing acoustic cavitation to mechanically destroy the trapped embolus, and (c) acoustically monitoring the trapping and mechanical fractionation processes. Three different ultrasound transducers with different purposes were employed in the proposed method: (1) 1-MHz dual focused ultrasound (dFUS) transducers for capturing moving blood clots, (2) a 2-MHz High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) source for fractionating blood clots and (3) a passive acoustic emission detector with broad bandwidth (10 kHz to 20 MHz) for receiving and analysing acoustic waves scattered from a trapped embolus and acoustic cavitation. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method, in vitro experiments with an optically transparent blood vessel-mimicking phantom filled with a blood mimicking fluid and a blood clot (1.2 to 5 mm in diameter) were performed with varying the dFUS and HIFU exposure conditions under various flow conditions (from 1.77 to 6.19 cm/s). A high-speed camera was used to observe the production of acoustic fields, acoustic cavitation formation and blood clot fragmentation within a blood vessel by the proposed method. Numerical simulations of acoustic and temperature fields generated under a given exposure condition were also conducted to further interpret experimental results on the proposed sonothrombolysis. Our results clearly showed that fringe pattern-like acoustic pressure fields (fringe width of 1 mm) produced in a blood vessel by the dFUS captured an embolus (1.2 to 5 mm in diameter) at the flow velocity up to 6.19 cm/s. This was likely to be due to the greater magnitude of the dFUS-induced acoustic radiation force exerted on an embolus in the opposite direction to the flow in a blood vessel than that of the drag force produced by the flow. The acoustically trapped embolus was then mechanically destructed into small pieces of debris (18 to 60 μm sized residual fragments) by the HIFU-induced strong cavitation without damaging the blood vessel walls. We also observed that acoustic emissions emitted from a blood clot captured by the dFUS and cavitation produced by the HIFU were clearly distinguished in the frequency domain. Taken together, these results can suggest that our proposed sonothrombolysis method could be used as a promising tool for treating thrombosis and embolism through capturing and destroying blood clots effectively.     

Identification approach of acoustic cavitation via frequency spectrum of sound pressure wave signals in numerical simulation

In a sono-reactor, complex ultrasound pressure wave signal can be detected, containing multiple information related to acoustic cavitation. In this present study, acoustic cavitation in a cylinder is investigated numerically. Via Fast Fourier Transfer (FFT), the sound pressure signals from sonotrode emitting surface are separated into harmonics, sub/ultra-harmonics and cavitation white noise: (1) the appearance of harmonics proved the non-linear propagation of ultrasound, (2) at the vibratory amplitude from 5∼20μm, only harmonics exists in the frequency spectra, corresponding to expansion and compression of non-condensable gas (NCG), (3) at the vibratory amplitude range of 30∼50μm, the occurrence of sub/ultra-harmonics demonstrated gaseous cavitation occurred, and (4) at the vibratory amplitude higher than 55μm, cavitation white noise arose, pointing out the initiation of vaporous cavitation. Based on the combination of frequency spectra and cavitation zones distribution, the acoustic cavitation state in water liquid is determined.     

Sonoluminescence and dynamics of cavitation bubble populations in sulfuric acid

The detailed link of liquid phase sonochemical reactions and bubble dynamics is still not sufficiently known. To further clarify this issue, we image sonoluminescence and bubble oscillations, translations, and shapes in an acoustic cavitation setup at 23 kHz in sulfuric acid with dissolved sodium sulfate and xenon gas saturation. The colour of sonoluminescence varies in a way that emissions from excited non-volatile sodium atoms are prominently observed far from the acoustic horn emitter (“red region”), while such emissions are nearly absent close to the horn tip (“blue region”). High-speed images reveal the dynamics of distinct bubble populations that can partly be linked to the different emission regions. In particular, we see smaller strongly collapsing spherical bubbles within the blue region, while larger bubbles with a liquid jet during collapse dominate the red region. The jetting is induced by the fast bubble translation, which is a consequence of acoustic (Bjerknes) forces in the ultrasonic field. Numerical simulations with a spherical single bubble model reproduce quantitatively the volume oscillations and fast translation of the sodium emitting bubbles. Additionally, their intermittent stopping is explained by multistability in a hysteretic parameter range. The findings confirm the assumption that bubble deformations are responsible for pronounced sodium sonoluminescence. Notably the observed translation induced jetting appears to serve as efficient mixing mechanism of liquid into the heated gas phase of collapsing bubbles, thus potentially promoting liquid phase sonochemistry in general.     

Time-evolving statistics of cavitation damage on metallic surfaces

The statistics of surface damage on polycrystalline aluminium plates caused by acoustic cavitation is studied experimentally as a function of time. Cavitation is shown to produce a uniform distribution of crater-like holes with different depth, area and eccentricity. Most notably, the size distribution of such craters evolves with time from a gamma function into a power law. By contrast, on the surface of a martensitic Cu–Ni–Al crystal cavitation damage generates ramified patterns, reminiscent of a fractal object.     

Acoustic resonance for contactless ultrasonic cavitation in alloy melts

Contactless ultrasound is a novel, easily implemented, technique for the Ultrasonic Treatment (UST) of liquid metals. Instead of using a vibrating sonotrode probe inside the melt, which leads to contamination, we consider a high AC frequency electromagnetic coil placed close to the metal free surface. The coil induces a rapidly changing Lorentz force, which in turn excites sound waves. To reach the necessary pressure amplitude for cavitation with the minimum electrical energy use, it was found necessary to achieve acoustic resonance in the liquid volume, by finely tuning the coil AC supply frequency. The appearance of cavitation was then detected experimentally with an externally placed ultrasonic microphone and confirmed by the reduction in grain size of the solidified metal. To predict the appearance of various resonant modes numerically, the exact dimensions of the melt volume, the holding crucible, surrounding structures and their sound properties are required. As cavitation progresses the speed of sound in the melt changes, which in practice means resonance becomes intermittent. Given the complexity of the situation, two competing numerical models are used to compute the soundfield. A high order time-domain method focusing on a particular forcing frequency and a Helmholtz frequency domain method scanning the full frequency range of the power supply. A good agreement is achieved between the two methods and experiments which means the optimal setup for the process can be predicted with some accuracy.     

Towards classification of the bifurcation structure of a spherical cavitation bubble

We focus on a single cavitation bubble driven by ultrasound, a system which is a specimen of forced nonlinear oscillators and is characterized by its extreme sensitivity to the initial conditions. The driven radial oscillations of the bubble are considered to be implicated by the principles of chaos physics and owing to specific ranges of control parameters, can be periodic or chaotic. Despite the growing number of investigations on its dynamics, there is not yet an inclusive yardstick to sort the dynamical behavior of the bubble into classes; also, the response oscillations are so complex that long term prediction on the behavior becomes difficult to accomplish. In this study, the nonlinear dynamics of a bubble oscillator was treated numerically and the simulations were proceeded with bifurcation diagrams. The calculated bifurcation diagrams were compared in an attempt to classify the bubble dynamic characteristics when varying the control parameters. The comparison reveals distinctive bifurcation patterns as a consequence of driving the systems with unequal ratios of (where R₀ is the bubble initial radius and λ is the wavelength of the driving ultrasonic wave). Results indicated that systems having the equal ratio of , share remarkable similarities in their bifurcating behavior and can be classified under a unit category.     

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.     

关于表述空化场强弱术语的讨论

声空化是声学中特别是超声学中一个极其重要的物理现象。然而,尽管对于声空化的研究已经有着极长的历史,但仍然有一些极基础的理论问题有待解决。如何来描述或表征声空化状态的强弱程度,就是这样一类的问题。该文对所谓的“空化强度”概念提出质疑,并对影响声空化现象的一些因素做出分析,相应地指出解决问题的一些建议,以期人们对这个无论在理论研究和实际应用方面都有重要意义的问题深入研究。