4 THC FD Conference
4 THC FD Conference
4 THC FD Conference
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Mahdieh Abolhasani1, Masoud Rahimi1 , Maryam Dehbani1 and Sayed Reza Shabanian1,2
1
CFD research center, Chemical Engineering Department, Razi University Kermanshah, Iran
2
Dipartimento di Chimica, Materiali e Ingegneria Chimica, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
masoudrahimi@yahoo.com
Abstract. The effects of different ultrasonic wave frequencies are studied in this paper. The flow behavior of a
liquid in a vessel with ultrasound transducer is numerically investigated using CFD calculations and FLUENT
software. Liquid is exposed periodic changes in pressure by the transducer which was installed at the bottom of
the vessel. The pressure inlet boundary condition is set for the ultrasound transducer at different frequencies of
24 kHz, 200 kHz and 1.7 MHz. Mixture model was used to predict the cavitation field inside the liquid. In the
modeling, the time step is set to quarter period of ultrasound wave. The modeling results show the pressure and
cavitation fields for different frequencies. Velocity vectors are also used to investigate the mixing of the liquid
exposing the ultrasound waves. Finally, the effect of ultrasound on the heat transfer from a heated platinum wire
to its surrounding water is also investigated and the results show the improvement of heat transfer in the
presence of ultrasound waves.
Key Words: wave frequency, cavitation, CFD modeling, wave equation, pressure field, ultrasound, mixing.
1. Introduction
Ultrasound is a cyclic sound pressure with a frequency greater than the upper limit of
human hearing that is approximately 20 kHz. Ultrasonic waves have chemical and mechanical
effects and are used in many different scientific and medical fields like cleaning,
humidification, sonochemistry, disintegration, crystallization, degassing, depolymerization,
dissolution, drying, extraction, homogenization, increasing the reaction rate, etc.
The experimental results showed that ultrasonic vibration accompanied the effects like
agitation, acoustic streaming, cavitation and oscillating fluid motion. Whenever ambient
pressure is reduced, the boiling point of a liquid is also lowered. If the pressure is reduced far
enough then the liquid will begin to boil without needing to be heated. When this happens on a
small scale, due to localized pressure reduction, small bubbles of vapor are formed, this is
called cavitation. The collapse of each bubble happens in a microscopically small volume but
gives a strong uniform ultrasonic field, millions of them throughout the liquid will be formed
and destroyed thousands of times per second, so they can affect the bulk properties of the
liquid.
The effects of ultrasound waves on fluid flow have been studied in some papers. Trujillo
and Knoerzer [1] modeled the acoustic streaming induced by an ultrasonic horn reactor.
Servant et al. [2] used high frequency ultrasound in chemical systems. Their study showed that
because of the collapse of transient cavitation bubbles and pulsation of stable cavitation
bubbles, chemical reactions are enhanced. Osterman et al. [3] simulated a near wall bubble
collapse in an ultrasonic field.
The 4rd National Conference on CFD Applications in Chemical & Petroleum Industries
16 May 2012, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
One of the best methods for enhancing of heat transfer is use of ultrasonic vibration. Kim
et al. [4] studied the heat transfer rate with and without ultrasonic vibration in natural
convection and pool boiling. They concluded that natural convection heat transfer
enhancement by ultrasonic waves is stronger than boiling heat transfer regimes. Cai et al. [5]
investigated natural convection heat transfer of liquid in a square enclosure with and without
acoustic cavitation. They found that under the action of ultrasonic beam, the temperature
gradients in most regions of the square enclosure drop. Hyun et al. [6] investigated the effect of
acoustic streaming induced by ultrasonic vibration on convective heat transfer experimentally
and numerically. The ultrasonic vibrations affect phase changes too. Oh et al. [7] investigated
the effect of ultrasonic vibrations on the melting process. They found that ultrasonic vibration
accelerate the melting process as much as 2.5 times.
The objective of the present work is to study the flow behavior and the cavitation field of
a liquid exposed by the ultrasonic waves with different frequencies. The effect of different
ultrasonic frequencies of 24 kHz, 200 kHz and 1.7 MHz was studied using the CFD
modeling.
2. CFD modeling
The geometry of the simulation area is shown in Fig. 1. This apparatus includes a vessel
with a height of 15.8 cm and a diameter of 6 cm, and ultrasonic transducer with a diameter of
2.5 cm. Different ultrasonic sources (ultrasound transducers) with frequencies of 24 kHz, 200
kHz and 1.7 MHz are installed at the bottom of the vessel and are activated by an electrical
actuator.
Water level
Air-water
interface
15.8 cm
cm
Water
Piezoelectric
actuator circuit
2.5 cm
Piezoelectric
transducer 6 cm
Where pa (Pa) denotes the amplitude of the sound pressure, ω (2πf) angular frequency
(rad/s), t (s) time, z (m) space coordinate and C (m/s) sound speed in water (1480 m/s).
pa 2 I C (2)
I Pus A (3)
f (Hz) is frequency, I (W/m2) sound intensity, Pus (W) ultrasonic power and A (m2)
ultrasonic transducer area (diameter of 2.5 cm).
In this part of modeling, Eq. (1) is used as pressure inlet which is set for the boundary
condition of transducer using a user defined function (UDF) at z=0.
κ-ε standard turbulence model is used as viscous model. For this kind of simulation
including the wave motion in a liquid, the time step of unsteady-state solution should be set
smaller than the period of the sound wave [5].
s 1 f (4)
Where τs (s) is the period of the ultrasound wave. In this study time step is set to quarter
period.
In this study, the ultrasound frequencies are 24 kHz, 200 kHz and 1.7 MHz. Time period
of different wave frequencies are listed in Table 1.
Fig. 2. Time evolution of liquid pressure field (total pressure (Pa)) for f =24 kHz.
The 4rd National Conference on CFD Applications in Chemical & Petroleum Industries
16 May 2012, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
Fig. 3. Time evolution of liquid pressure field (total pressure (Pa)) for f = 1.7 MHz.
Fig. 4. Time evolution of cavitation field (vapor volume fraction) for f = 1.7 MHz
The distributions of the cavitation field for different frequencies of 24 kHz, 200 kHz and
1.7 MHz after one period of the wave are illustrated in Fig. 5. According to this figure, at low
frequency (24 kHz) maximum volume fraction is formed near the bottom of the vessel. The
area with the maximum volume fraction of vapor expands for the frequency of 200 kHz and
finally for 1.7 MHz the most uniformity of vapor volume fraction will be observed all over the
The 4rd National Conference on CFD Applications in Chemical & Petroleum Industries
16 May 2012, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
liquid. For 1.7 MHz, volume fraction of vapor is smaller than two other frequencies. On the
other hand, the amount of the volume fraction of vapor decreases with increasing the
frequency, while the uniformity of vapor volume fraction increases with increasing the
frequency. So, high frequency ultrasound wave generates lowest vapor volume fraction, while
its cavitation bubbles are smallest and the most uniform comparing the low and medium
frequencies. Therefore, using the high frequency ultrasound, we can generate the fluid with
the uniform bubbles in all over the fluid especially for the long vessels.
Fig. 5. Comparison of cavitation field (vapor volume fraction) for different frequencies (a) f = 24 kHz, (b) f =
200 kHz and (c) f = 1.7 MHz.
(a)
(b) (c)
Fig. 6. Velocity vectors (a) f =24 kHz (b) f =200 kHz (c) f = 1.7 MHz
Jet flow
The pressure changes around the wire and all over the water lead to cavitation
phenomenon (see Figs. 3, 4). The simulation results reveal that disturbances and mixing of the
liquid around the wire increases (Fig 6(c)). Collapsing of the cavitation bubbles leads to jet
streaming and micro jets. The flow velocity decreases along the axial direction of the vessel.
But, still, the flow passing over the wire has high speed, which will bring the fresh and cold
water into the hot wire. So, uniformity of the temperature gradient will be improved and
thermal boundary layer around the wire will be destroyed. So, heat transfer rate will increase
and the wire will tend to be cool.
The 4rd National Conference on CFD Applications in Chemical & Petroleum Industries
16 May 2012, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
(a) (b)
Fig. 8. Contours of temperature gradient (K/m) (a) without ultrasound, (b) with ultrasound.
4. Conclusions
In this paper, CFD simulations of the effect of ultrasound frequency on the flow behavior
of the liquid imposing the ultrasound waves are studied using CFD. The ultrasonic transducers
with different frequencies of 24 and 200 kHz and 1.7 MHz are used in the simulations. The
contours of total pressure and vapor volume fractions are compared for these frequencies. The
simulation results show that the volume fraction of vapor are more uniform in the highest
frequency, So that the cavitatin bubbles will have very small size comparing two other
frequencies. For investigating the effect of mixing on the fluid, velocity vectors are also
compared in addition to the volume fraction field. Finally, the investigations of the effect of
ultrasound on the heat transfer show the improvement of heat transfer in the presence of active
ultrasonic transducer.
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to Iranian gas company- kermanshah province for financial
support of this work.
Nomenclature
A ultrasonic transducer area, m2
C sound speed in water, m/s
f frequency, Hz
I sound intensity, W/m2
pa amplitude of the sound pressure, Pa
pu sound pressure, Pa
Pus ultrasonic power, W
t time, s
z space coordinate, m
ρ water density, kg/m3
τs period of the ultrasound wave, s
angular frequency, rad/s
The 4rd National Conference on CFD Applications in Chemical & Petroleum Industries
16 May 2012, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
References
[1] F.J. Trujillo, K. Knoerzer, CFD modeling of the acoustic streaming induced by an
ultrasonic horn reactor, Proceedings of Seventh International Conference on CFD in the
Mineral and Process Indusries, CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia, 2009.
[2] G. Servant, J.P. Caltagirone, A. Gérard, J.L. Laborde, A. Hita, Numerical simulation of
cavitation bubble dynamics induced by ultrasound waves in a high frequency reactor,
Ultrasonics Sonochemistry 7 (2000) 217-227.
[3] A. Osterman, M. Dular, B. Širok, Numerical simulation of a near-wall bubble collaps in an
ultrasonic field, Journal of Fluid Science and Technology 4 (1) (2009) 210-221.
[4] H.-Y. Kim, Y.G. Kim, B.H. kang, Enhancement of natural convection and pool boiling
heat transfer via ultrasonic vibraton, Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 47 (2004) 2831-
2840.
[5] J. Cai, X. Huai, R. Yan, Y. Cheng, Numerical simulation on enhancement of natural
convection heat transfer by acoustic cavitation in a square enclosure, Applied Thermal
Engineering 29 (2009) 1973-1982.
[6] S. Hyun, D.-R. Lee, B.-G. Loh, Investigation of convection heat transfer augmentation
using acoustic sreaming generated by ultrasonic vibrations, Journal of Heat and Mass
Transfer 48 (2005) 703-718.
[7] Y.K. Oh, S.H. Park, Y.I. Cho, A study of the effect of ultrasonic vibrations on phase-
change heat transfer, Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 45 (2002) 4631-4641.
[8] Fluent 6.3®: Fluent Inc., Lebanon, NH, USA, 2006.
The 4rd National Conference on CFD Applications in Chemical & Petroleum Industries
16 May 2012, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran
ﭼﮑﯿﺪه:
در اﯾﻦ ﻣﻘﺎﻟﻪ اﺛﺮات اﻣﻮاج ﻣﺎﻓﻮق ﺻﻮت ﺑﺎ ﻓﺮﮐﺎﻧﺲ
ﻫﺎی ﳐﺘﻠﻒ ﻣﻄﺎﻟﻌﻪ ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ .رﻓﺘﺎر ﺟﺮﯾﺎن ﻣﺎﯾﻊ در ﯾﮏ
ﳐﺰن دارای ﻣﺒﺪل ﻣﺎﻓﻮق ﺻﻮت ﺑﻪ ﺻﻮرت ﻋﺪدی ﺑﺎ اﺳﺘﻔﺎده
از ﳏﺎﺳﺒﺎت CFDو ﻧﺮم اﻓﺰار FLUENTﺑﺮرﺳﯽ ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ.
ﻣﺎﯾﻊ در ﻣﻌﺮض ﺗﻐﯿﯿﺮات ﻣﺘﻨﺎوب ﻓﺸﺎر ﺣﺎﺻﻞ از ﻣﺒﺪل ﻧﺼﺐ
ﺷﺪه در اﻧﺘﻬﺎی ﳐﺰن ﻗﺮار ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻪ و ﺷﺮط ﻣﺮزی ﻓﺸﺎر
ورودی ﺑﺮای ﻣﺒﺪل ﻣﺎﻓﻮق ﺻﻮت در ﻓﺮﮐﺎﻧﺴﻬﺎی ﳐﺘﻠﻒ ،24 kHz
200 kHzو 1.7 MHzدر ﻧﻈﺮ ﮔﺮﻓﺘﻪ ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ .ﻣﺪل اﺧﺘﻼط ﺑﻪ
ﻣﻨﻈﻮر ﭘﯿﺶ ﺑﯿ ﻨﯽ ﻣﯿﺪان ﮐﺎوﯾﺘﺎﺳﯿﻮن داﺧﻞ ﻣﺎﯾﻊ اﺳﺘﻔﺎده
ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ .در ﻣﺪﻟﺴﺎزی ،ﮔﺎم زﻣﺎﻧﯽ ﺑﺮ روی ﯾﮏ ﭼﻬﺎرم
دوره ﺗﻨﺎوب ﻣﻮج ﺗﻨﻈﯿﻢ ﺷﺪه اﺳﺖ .ﻧﺘﺎﯾﺞ ﻣﺪﻟﺴﺎزی ﻣﯿﺪان
ﻫﺎی ﻓﺸﺎر و ﮐﺎوﯾﺘﺎﺳﯿﻮن ﺑﺮای ﻓﺮﮐﺎﻧﺲ ﻫﺎی ﳐﺘﻠﻒ را
ﻧﺸﺎن ﻣﯽ دﻫﺪ .ﺑﺮدارﻫﺎی ﺳﺮﻋﺖ ﳘﭽﻨﯿﻦ ﺑﺮای ﺑﺮرﺳﯽ اﺧﺘﻼط
ﻣﺎﯾﻊ در ﻣﻌﺮض اﻣﻮاج ﻣﺎﻓﻮق ﺻﻮت اﺳﺘﻔﺎده ﺷﺪه اﻧﺪ .در
ﺎﯾﺖ اﺛﺮ اﻣﻮاج ﺑﺮ روی اﻧﺘﻘﺎل ﺣﺮارت از ﯾﮏ ﺳﯿﻢ
ﭘﻼﺗﯿﻨﯽ داغ ﺑﻪ آب اﺣﺎﻃﻪ ﮐﻨﻨﺪه آن ﺑﺮرﺳﯽ ﺷﺪه و ﻧﺘﺎﯾﺞ
ﲠﺒﻮد اﻧﺘﻘﺎل ﺣﺮارت در ﺣﻀﻮر اﻣﻮاج ﻣﺎﻓﻮق ﺻﻮت را ﻧﺸﺎن
ﻣﯽ دﻫﺪ.