An electrochemical and high-speed imaging study of micropore decontamination by acoustic bubble entrapment.

Electrochemical and high-speed imaging techniques are used to study the abilities of ultrasonically-activated bubbles to clean out micropores. Cylindrical pores with dimensions (diameter × depth) of 500 µm × 400 µm (aspect ratio 0.8), 125 µm × 350 µm (aspect ratio 2.8) and 50 µm × 200 µm (aspect ratio 4.0) are fabricated in glass substrates. Each pore is contaminated by filling it with an electrochemically inactive blocking organic material (thickened methyl salicylate) before the substrate is placed in a solution containing an electroactive species (Fe(CN)6(3-)). An electrode is fabricated at the base of each pore and the Faradaic current is used to monitor the decontamination as a function of time. For the largest pore, decontamination driven by ultrasound (generated by a horn type transducer) and bulk fluid flow are compared. It is shown that ultrasound is much more effective than flow alone, and that bulk fluid flow at the rates used cannot decontaminate the pore completely, but that ultrasound can. In the case of the 125 µm pore, high-speed imaging is used to elucidate the cleaning mechanisms involved in ultrasonic decontamination and reveals that acoustic bubble entrapment is a key feature. The smallest pore is used to explore the limits of decontamination and it is found that ultrasound is still effective at this size under the conditions employed.

Multiple observations of cavitation cluster dynamics close to an ultrasonic horn tip.

Bubble dynamics in water close to the tip of an ultrasonic horn (∼23 kHz, 3 mm diameter) have been studied using electrochemistry, luminescence, acoustics, light scattering, and high-speed imaging. It is found that, under the conditions employed, a large bubble cluster (∼1.5 mm radius) exists at the tip of the horn. This cluster collapses periodically every three to four cycles of the fundamental frequency of the horn. Following the collapse of the cluster, a short-lived cloud of small bubbles (each tens of microns in diameter) was observed in the solution. Large amplitude pressure emissions are also recorded, which correlate temporally with the cluster collapse. Bursts of surface erosion (measured in real time using an electrochemical technique) and multibubble sonoluminescence emission both also occur at a subharmonic of the fundamental frequency of the horn and are temporally correlated with the bubble cluster collapse and the associated pressure wave emission.

Investigation of noninertial cavitation produced by an ultrasonic horn.

This paper reports on noninertial cavitation that occurs beyond the zone close to the horn tip to which the inertial cavitation is confined. The noninertial cavitation is characterized by collating the data from a range of measurements of bubbles trapped on a solid surface in this noninertial zone. Specifically, the electrochemical measurement of mass transfer to an electrode is compared with high-speed video of the bubble oscillation. This gas bubble is shown to be a "noninertial" event by electrochemical surface erosion measurements and "ring-down" experiments showing the activity and motion of the bubble as the sound excitation was terminated. These measurements enable characterization of the complex environment produced below an operating ultrasonic horn outside of the region where inertial collapse can be detected. The extent to which solid boundaries in the liquid cause the frequencies and shapes of oscillatory modes on the bubble wall to differ from their free field values is discussed.

An activated fluid stream--New techniques for cold water cleaning.

Electrochemical, acoustic and imaging techniques are used to characterise surface cleaning with particular emphasis on the understanding of the key phenomena relevant to surface cleaning. A range of novel techniques designed to enhance and monitor the effective cleaning of a solid/liquid interface is presented. Among the techniques presented, mass transfer of material to a sensor embedded in a surface is demonstrated to be useful in the further exploration of ultrasonic cleaning of high aspect ratio micropores. In addition the effect of micropore size on the cleaning efficacy is demonstrated. The design and performance of a new cleaning system reliant on the activation of bubbles within a free flowing stream is presented. This device utilised acoustic activation of bubbles within the stream and at a variety of substrates. Finally, a controlled bubble swarm is generated in the stream using electrolysis, and its effect on both acoustic output and cleaning performance are compared to the case when no bubbles are added. This will demonstrate the active role that the electrochemically generated bubble swarm can have in extending the spatial zone over which cleaning is achieved.

Cavitation, shock waves and the invasive nature of sonoelectrochemistry.

The invasive nature of electrodes placed into sound fields is examined. In particular, perturbations of the sound field due to the presence of the electrode support are explored. The effect of an electrode on the drive sound field (at approximately 23 kHz) is shown to be negligible under the conditions investigated in this paper. However, scattering of shock waves produced by cavity collapse is shown to exhibit a significant effect. To demonstrate this, multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) and electrochemical erosion measurements are employed. These measurements show an enhancement, due to the reflection by the solid/liquid boundary at the electrode support, of pressure pulses emitted when cavitation bubbles collapse. To first order, this effect can be accounted for by a correction factor. However, this factor requires accurate knowledge of the acoustic impedance of the interface and the electrolyte media. These are measured for two commonly employed substrates (soda glass and epoxy resin, specifically Epofix). A scattering model is developed which is able to predict the acoustic pressure as a function of position over a disk-like electrode substrate. The effects of shock wave reflection and materials employed in the electrode construction are used to clarify the interpretation of the results obtained from different sonoelectrochemical experiments. Given the widespread experimentation involving the insertion of electrodes (or other sensors) into ultrasonic fields, this work represents a significant development to aid the interpretation of the results obtained.

Experimental and theoretical characterisation of sonochemical cells. Part 2: cell disruptors (Ultrasonic horns) and cavity cluster collapse.

Cavitation theory is used to predict the acoustic pressure at the boundary of the inertial/non inertial threshold for a range of bubble sizes. The sound field generated from a commonly employed sonoelectrochemical cell is modelled. The model is tested with a calibrated hydrophone far from the transducer to avoid spatial averaging. This allows the model to provide the absolute pressure amplitude as a function of axial distance from the source. An electrochemical technique for detecting both inertial and non-inertial cavitation within the solution is employed. This technique uses a dual microelectrode to map the boundary between the regions where inertial cavitation occurs (associated with surface erosion), and where it does not. This zone occurs close to the transducer for the microelectrode employed (<1.5 mm). Further characterisation of the inertial cavitation zone is achieved by imaging of multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL). The pressures at the boundary between inertial and non inertial cavitation that are determined from the electrochemical and imaging experiments are compared to a sound field model and cavitation theory. Qualitative arguments for the invasive nature of the electrode into the sound field are proposed. Evidence for cavity cluster collapse and shock wave emission is presented and discussed in relation to luminescence, the electrochemical experiments and cavitation theory.