• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.68-77
• /
• 1999

The paper looked into the effects of the spectral properties (waveform) of the high intensity focused ultrasound on suppression of the ultrasonic cavitation. Three different types of ultrasound were considered in the study, which were sinusoidal (1 MHz, 5 MPa), frequency modulated (from 1 MHz to 6 MHz for 10 ㎲, 5 MPa), asymmetrically shocked (fundamental frequency 1 MHz, peak positive pressure 12 MPa, peak negative pressure -4 MPa). The temporal response of an air bubble in water initially 1 ㎛ in radius to each type of the ultrasound was predicted using Gilmore bubble dynamic model and Church's rectified gas diffusion equation. It was shown that the radially pulsating amplitude of the bubble was greatly reduced for the frequency modulated wave and was little decreased for the shock wave, compared to the case that the bubble was exposed to the sinusoidal wave. It is interesting that the bubble response to the frequency modulated wave remains similar when the frequency component of the modulated ultrasound is beyond the bubble resonant frequency 3 MHz. This implies that, although the ultrasound is modulated up to 3MHz rather than up to the present 6 MHz, it is likely to produce similar cavitation suppression effects. In practice, it means that a typical narrow band ultrasonic transducer can be taken to generate an appropriate frequency modulated ultrasound to reduce cavitation activity. The present study indicates that ultrasonic cavitation may be suppressed to some extent by a proper spectral modification of high intensity ultrasound.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.92-98
• /
• 2015

The physical effect induced by acoustic cavitation was investigated to accumulate basic data for the design of ultrasonic soil washing processes using aluminum foil erosion tests. A square aluminum foil was placed on the glass beads in the pyrex vessel submerged in the sonoreactor equipped with a 36 kHz ultrasound transducer module at the bottom. Cavitational erosion of foils was quantitatively analyzed for various glass bead diameter conditions (1, 2, and 4 mm), glass bead height conditions (5, 10, 15, and 20 mm), and water height conditions (5, 10, 15, and 20 mm). It was found that aluminum foil erosion significantly increased as the glass bead diameter increased and water height over the glass bead increased due to less attenuation of ultrasound and the optimization of sound field for cavitation. Moreover mechanical mixing was suggested to move constantly particles to the bottom area where the acoustic cavitation occurs most violently. It was because aluminium foil erosion by ultrasound transmitted through glass beads was relatively too weak.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.39-45
• /
• 2013

Many researchers have studied the effectiveness of ultrasound in chemical and environmental engineering fields including material synthesis, pollutant removal, cleaning, extraction, and disinfection. Acoustic cavitation induced by ultrasound irradiation in aqueous phase can cause various sonophysical and sonochemical reactions without any chemicals. However most of the previous studies focused only on the relationships between ultrasonic conditions and the results of sonochemical reactions in lab-scale sonoreactors. As a results of this, only a few studies have been devoted to design and optimization of industrial scale sonoreactors. In this study, the effect of the distance between two opposite transducer modules on sonochemical reactions was investigated in single and dual irradiation systems (334 kHz) for four distances including 50, 100, 150, and 200 mm using KI dosimetry. It was found that the dual irradiation systems provided higher performance in terms of the zeroth reaction coefficient and the cavitation yield compared to the single irradiation systems. The sonochemiluminescence (SCL) images for the visualization of the cavitation field showed that cavitation active zone was larger and sonochemical reaction intensity was much higher in the dual irradiation system than in the single irradiation system.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.29 no.2E
• /
• pp.55-63
• /
• 2010

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is a noninvasive surgical method mainly targeting deeply located cancer tissue. Ultrasound is generated from an extemally located transducer and the beam is focused at the target volume, so that selective damage can be achieved without harm to overlying or surrounding tissues. The mechanism for cell killing can be combination of thermal and cavitational damage. Although cavitation can be an effective means of tissue destruction, the possibility of massive hemorrhage and the unpredictable nature of cavitational events prevent clinical application of cavitation. Hence, thermal damage has been a main focus related to HIFU research. 2D phased array transducer systems allow electronic scanning of focus, multi-foci, and anti-focus with multi-foci, so that HIFU becomes more applicable in clinical use. Currently, lack of noninvasive monitoring means of HIFU is the main factor to limit clinical applications, but development in MRI and Ultrasound Imaging techniques may be able to provide solutions to overcome this problem. With the development of advanced focusing algorithm and monitoring means, complete noninvasive surgery is expected to be implemented in the near future.

• Advances in nano research
• /
• v.2 no.2
• /
• pp.121-133
• /
• 2014

Polymer nanocomposites are advanced nanomaterials which exhibit dramatic improvements in various mechanical, thermal and barrier properties as compared with the neat polymer. Polystyrene/ alumina nanocomposites were prepared by an ultrasound-assisted solution casting method at filler loadings ranging from 0.2 to 2% and also at different ultrasonic frequencies, viz. 58 kHz, 192/58 kHz, 430 kHz, 470 kHz and 1 MHz. The composites were subjected to mechanical property tests (tensile and impact tests) and cavitation erosion tests to study the enhancement in functional properties. Filler dispersion in the polymer matrix was observed by SEM analysis. The effect of frequency on filler dispersion in the matrix was studied by SEM analysis and functional property enhancement of the composite material. The composites prepared at dual (high/ low) frequency (192/58 kHz) were found to show better property enhancement at low filler loadings as compared with neat polymer and also with composites prepared without ultrasound, thus reinforcing the finding that ultrasound-assisted synthesis is a promising method for the synthesis of nanocomposites.

• Elastomers and Composites
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.103-121
• /
• 2003

The application of powerful ultrasound to rubber recycling is a very recent field of study. An ultrasonic field creates high frequency extension-contraction stresses by acoustic cavitation. The breakdown of rubber network occurs primarily around pulsating cavities due to the highest level of strain produced by high-power ultrasound. Stronger reductions of cross-link density were observed at a higher pressure, indicating an important role of pressure during ultrasonic recycling. Visible bubbles were observed during ultrasonic treatment as a proof of acoustic cavitation. Shearing effect has a significant influence on improving the efficiency of ultrasonic treatment. After the ultrasonic treatment, the cross-link densities of NR/SBR blends were lower than those of NR and SBR due to the reduced degree of unsaturation and chemical reactions. Carbon black fillers increase the probability of bond scission during ultrasonic treatment, due to the restricted mobility. The mechanical properties of ground tire rubber (GRT)/HDPE blends were improved by ultrasonic treatment and dynamic revulcanization. Ultrasonic treatment of GRT in the presence of HDPE matrix was found to give better mechanical properties due to the chemical reactions between rubber and plastic phases.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.66-71
• /
• 2023

This paper describes a hybrid cleaning method of silicon wafer combining nano-bubble and ultrasound to remove sub-micron particles and contaminants with minimal damage to the wafer surface. In the megasonic cleaning process of semiconductor manufacturing, the cavitation induced by ultrasound can oscillate and collapse violently often with re-entrant jet formation leading to surface damage. The smaller size of cavitation bubbles leads to more stable oscillations with more thermal and viscous damping, thus to less erosive surface cleaning. In this study, ultrasonic energy was applied to the wafer surface in the DI water to excite nano-bubbles at resonance to remove contaminant particles from the surface. A patented nano-bubble generator was developed for the generation of nano-bubbles with concentration of 1×10⁹ bubbles/ml and nominal nano-bubble diameter of 150 nm. Ultrasonic nano-bubble technology improved a contaminant removal efficiency more than 97% for artificial nano-sized particles of alumina and Latex with significant reduction in cleaning time without damage to the wafer surface.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.612-619
• /
• 2003

This work experimentally studies the fundamental mechanisms by which the ultrasonic vibration enhances convection and pool boiling heat transfer. A thin platinum wire is used as both a heat source and a temperature sensor. A high speed video imaging system is employed to observe the behavior of cavitation and thermal bubbles. It is found that when the liquid temperature is below its boiling point, cavitation takes place due to ultrasonic vibration while cavitation disappears when the liquid reaches the boiling point. Moreover, when the gas dissolved in liquid is removed by pre-degassing, the cavitation arises only locally. Depending on the liquid temperature, heat transfer rates in convection, subcooled boiling and saturated boiling regimes are examined. In convection heat transfer regime, fully agitated cavitation is the most efficient heat transfer enhancement mechanism. Subcooled boiling is most enhanced when tile local cavitation is induced after degassing. In saturated boiling regime, acoustic pressure is shown to be a dominant heat transfer enhancement mechanism.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
• /
• 2022.06a
• /
• pp.295-303
• /
• 2022

Residential heating systems in South Korea are largely based on the use of ondol pipelines. Heat is transferred to the floor by passing hot water through a metal or plastic pipe buried within the concrete of the floor. Consequently, it is difficult to clean the inside of these pipes after installation. Over time, foreign substances such as scale accumulate in the pipe when the ondol heating method is used for an extended period. Therefore, in the past, pipes were cleaned by removing foreign substances attached to the inside surfaces of the pipes using high-pressure water or by disassembling the pipes and removing foreign substances with chemical agents. Recently, a method for removing foreign substances through the cavitation effect of ultrasound has been proposed. This idea might lead to the development of new technologies for cleaning pipe interiors. Consequently, this study investigated the use of ultrasound to clean pipes embedded in concrete. In this study, devices that generated ultrasonic waves with various frequencies and directions were prepared. After preparing arbitrarily contaminated pipes, the appropriate frequency, output strength, and output direction for each foreign substance were determined through repeated experiments. The results of this experiment could provide important information for future methods of cleaning the interior of ondol piping systems.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.450-458
• /
• 2019

Passive cavitation imaging method is used to observe the ultrasonic waves generated when a group of bubbles collapses. A problem with passive cavitation imaging is a low resolution and large side lobe levels. Since ultrasound signals generated by passive cavitation take the form of a pulse, the amplitude distribution of signals received across the receive channels varies depending on the direction of incidence. Both the centroid and flatness were calculated to determine weights at imaging points in order to discriminate between the main and side lobe signals from the signal amplitude distribution of the received channel data and to reduce the side lobe levels. The centroid quantifies how the channel data are distributed across the receive channel, and the flatness measures the variance of the channel data. We applied the centroid weight and the flatness to the passive cavitation image constructed using the delay-and-sum focusing and minimum variance beamforming methods to improve the image quality. Using computer simulation and experiment, we show that the application of weighting in delay-and-sum and minimum variance beamforming reduces side lobe levels.