Ultrasonic wave solids

Tokuoka T., Iwashitnizu Yu., Acoustical birefringence of ultrasonic waves in deformed isotropic elastic materials, Int. J. Solids Structures, 4 (1968), 383—389. 

The Doppler meter may be used wherever small particulate solids, bubbles or droplets are dispersed in the fluid and are moving at essentially the same velocity as the fluid stream which is to be metered. A continuous ultrasonic wave is transmitted, again at an acute angle to the wall of the duct, and the shift in frequency between the transmitted and scattered waves is measured. This method of measurement of flowrate is frequently used for slurries and dispersions which present considerable difficulties when other methods are used. 

Fig. 1.4 The calculated results for one acoustic cycle when a bubble in water at 3 °C is irradiated by an ultrasonic wave of 52 kHz and 1.52 bar in frequency and pressure amplitude, respectively. The ambient bubble radius is 3.6 pm. (a) The bubble radius, (b) The dissolution rate of OH radicals into the liquid from the interior of the bubble (solid line) and its time integral (dotted line). Reprinted with permission from Yasui K, Tuziuti T, Sivaknmar M, Iida Y (2005) Theoretical study of single-bubble sonochemistry. J Chem Phys 122 224706. Copyright 2005, American Institute of Physics...

The pioneering work on the chemical applications of ultrasound was conducted in the 1920 s by Richards and Loomis in their classic survey of the effects of high frequency sound waves on a variety of solutions, solids and pure liquidsQ). Ultrasonic waves are usually defined as those sound waves with a frequency of 20 kHz or higher. The human ear is most sensitive to frequencies in the 1-5 kHz range with upper and lower limits of 0.3 and 20 kHz, respectively. A brief but useful general treatment of the theory and applications of ultrasound has been given by Cracknel 1(2). 

Sonication using ultrasonic cleaner baths remains a popular extraction approach particularly for controlled-release products. In sonication, an ultrasonic wave of 20-40 kHz generated by a piezoelectric transducer is used to produce the formation and collapse of thousands of microscopic bubbles (cavitations) in the water bath to facilitate the break up of the solid particles and the subsequent dissolution of the API. Note that parameters such as the wattage power of the sonicator, presence of the perforated tray, depth of the water level, bath temperature and the number of sample flasks sonicated might all affect the extraction rate. For... 

Rose, J.L. Ultrasonic Waves in Solid Media, Cambridge University Press. New York, NY. 1999. 

The velocity is therefore determined by two fundamental physical properties of a material its elastic modulus and density. The less dense a material or the more resistant it is to deformation the faster an ultrasonic wave propagates. Usually, differences in the moduli of materials are greater than those in density and so the ultrasonic velocity is determined more by the elastic moduli than by the density. This explains why the ultrasonic velocity of solids is greater than that of fluids, even though fluids are less dense [1],... 

However, this commonly accepted theory is incomplete and applies with much difficulty to systems involving nonvolatile substances. The most relevant example is metals. For a heterogeneous system, only the mechanical effects of sonic waves govern the sonochemical processes. Such an effect as agitation, or cleaning of a solid surface, has a mechanical nature. Thus, ultrasound transforms potassium into its dispersed form. This transformation accelerates electron transfer from the metal to the organic acceptor see Chapter 2. Of course, ultrasonic waves interact with the metal by their cavitational effects. 

Sample levitation can be accomplished in different ways, one of which is by using ultrasonic energy. The phenomenon by which small samples of solids, liquids or suspensions can be levitated at the nodal points of a standing ultrasonic wave was first described by Bucks and Muller in 1933 [70]. The flexibility and potential of acoustic levitation in various fields are widely documented, mainly by studies in the analytical and bioanalytical fields [71-73]. Therefore, levitation can be considered a mature technique. Its development warrants inclusion of a dedicated section in this chapter to describe its fundamentals and compare the advantages and limitations of acoustic levitation with other levitation modes. The devices used for this purpose and the potential applications of each mode are also discussed. 

Ultrasonics is in many ways the ideal measurement method for fat crystallization studies. The ultrasonic properties of a fat are strongly sensitive to solids content and can be measured in opaque fats and through container walls. In the present work I will describe the basic physics of ultrasonic waves, their interactions with matter (particularly with semi-solid fats), and their measurement. I will then describe ultrasonic studies of fat crystallization in bulk and emulsified fats. Finally I will use some measurements of the effect of applied shear on fat crystallization as an illustration of a study that could not be easily undertaken by other methods. 

To obtain the absolute sound attenuation in the coal slurry, the diffraction loss, the acoustic mismatch loss, the attenuation due to the Teflon window, and the oil coupling must be calculated. Thus, it is difficult to accurately determine the absolute attenuation. In practice, one measures the relative attenuation with respect to a standard. The attenuation of ultrasonic waves in a solid suspension is attributed to three major factors, namely, scattering, viscosity, and thermal effects. Although the presence of particles affects the fluid viscosity and thermal conductivity, the primary source of attenuation may be due to particle scattering. Hence, one may define the relative attenuation of the HYGAS coal slurry by comparing the slurry attenuation with that of the carrier fluid, i.e., the toluene/benzene mixture. This can be expressed by the equation... 

In principle, the ultrasonic techniques described for solid-liquid flow measurement can be applied to measure air flow rate and particle velocity. Direct measurement of air flow rate by measuring upstream and downstream transit times has been demonstrated. But, the Doppler and cross-correlation techniques have never been applied to solid/gas flow because the attenuation of ultrasound in the air is high. Recent developments have shown that high-frequency (0.5-MHz) air-coupled transducers can be built and 0.5-MI Iz ultrasound can be transmitted through air for a distance of at least 1 in. Thus, the cross-correlation technique should be applicable to monitoring of solid/gas flow. Here, we present a new cross-correlation technique that does not require transmission of ultrasonic waves through the solid/gas flow. The new technique detects chiefly the noise that interacts with the acoustic field established within the pipe wall. Because noise may be related to particle concentration, as we discussed earlier, the noise-modulated sound field in the pipe wall may contain flow information that is related to the variation in particle concentration. Therefore, crosscorrelation of the noise modulation may yield a velocity-dependent correlation function. 

Because electrophoresis uses optical detection, this technique is limited to the analysis of dilute systems however, the recent development of electroacoustic methods has extended analysis to concentrated slurries containing up to 50% vol/vol solids [73], The electroacoustic effect is the response of charged particles to an applied alternating electrical or acoustical field [74], in contrast to the static field employed in electrophoresis. The acoustical response results from relative vibratory motion between particle and medium if the two phases differ in density. If an alternating electrical field is applied, charged particles vibrate in a back-and-forth motion in phase with the applied field, producing a sound wave whose pressure amplitude is proportional to the particle mobility and This technique is termed electrokinetic sonic amplitude (ESA). Alternatively, if an ultrasonic wave is applied, the particles vibrate at the sound... 

Nevertheless, the sonication is specifically beneficial for such reactions that essentially involve insoluble solids. In such a situation the ultrasonic waves help to break up the solid lumps/pieces into corresponding very small particles that ultimately facilitate tremendously the solvolysis phenomenon and hence the reaction process. 

Krautkramer J, Krautkramer H. Ultrasonic testing of materials. Springer-Verlag 1983. Rose JL. Ultrasonic waves in solid media. Cambridge University Press 1999. 

Transport of droplets by acoustics refers to the use of acoustic or ultrasonic waves in fluids or on solid surfaces to generate, manipulate, positimi, or transport liquid droplets, ranging from picoliters to microliters in volume, surrounded by a gas or immiscible liquid phase and/or attached to a solid surface. 

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