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The acoustic field and the location of cavitation bubble are computed in vials used for freeze-drying, insonified from the bottom by a vibrating plate. The calculations rely on a nonlinear model of sound propagation in a cavitating liquid [Louisnard, Ultrason. Sonochem., 19, (2012) 56–65]. Both the vibration amplitude and the liquid level in the vial are parametrically varied. For low liquid levels, a threshold amplitude is required to form a cavitation zone at the bottom of the vial. For increasing vibration amplitudes, the bubble field slightly thickens but remains at the vial bottom, and the acoustic field saturates, which cannot be captured by linear acoustics. On the other hand, increasing the liquid level may promote the formation of a secondary bubble structure near the glass wall, a few centimeters below the free liquid surface. These predictions suggest that rather complex acoustic fields and bubble structures can arise even in such small volumes. As the acoustic and bubble fields govern ice nucleation during the freezing step, the final crystal’s size distribution in the frozen product may crucially depend on the liquid level in the vial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a companion paper, a reduced model for propagation of acoustic waves in a cloud of inertial cavitation bubbles was proposed. The wave attenuation was calculated directly from the energy dissipated by a single bubble, the latter being estimated directly from the fully nonlinear radial dynamics. The use of this model in a mono-dimensional configuration has shown that the attenuation near the vibrating emitter was much higher than predictions obtained from linear theory, and that this strong attenuation creates a large traveling wave contribution, even for closed domain where standing waves are normally expected. In this paper, we show that, owing to the appearance of traveling waves, the primary Bjerknes force near the emitter becomes very large and tends to expel the bubbles up to a stagnation point. Two-dimensional axi-symmetric computations of the acoustic field created by a large area immersed sonotrode are also performed, and the paths of the bubbles in the resulting Bjerknes force field are sketched. Cone bubble structures are recovered and compare reasonably well to reported experimental results. The underlying mechanisms yielding such structures is examined, and it is found that the conical structure is generic and results from the appearance a sound velocity gradient along the transducer area. Finally, a more complex system, similar to an ultrasonic bath, in which the sound field results from the flexural vibrations of a thin plate, is also simulated. The calculated bubble paths reveal the appearance of other commonly observed structures in such configurations, such as streamers and flare structures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cleaning and erosion of objects by ultrasound in liquids are caused by the action of acoustic cavitation bubbles. Experiments have been performed with respect to the erosive effect of multibubble structures on painted glass surfaces and on aluminium foils in an ultrasonic standing wave field at 40 kHz. High-speed imaging techniques have been employed to investigate the mechanisms at work, in particular bubble interaction and cluster formation near and at the object surfaces. It was found that different prototype bubble structures can contribute to the erosion process. Some are bound to the surface, which seems to act as a bubble source in this case, while others also exist independently from the object. Cleaning and erosion effects at the pressure antinodes can vary strongly as they depend on the emerging bubble structures. These, in turn, seem to be substantially influenced by properties and the history of the surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]