Numerical simulation of cavitation performance in a scaled-up bath-type sonoreactor considering inhomogeneous bubble cloud

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2023-06, Vol.465, p.143070, Article 143070
• Main Authors: Wang, Zedong, Shi, Zhiping, Liu, Liyan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bath-type sonoreactor; Cavitation performance; Geometry design; Inhomogeneous bubble cloud; Numerical simulation
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2023.143070

•The realistic amplitude of the transducer is measured and applied as the simulated ultrasound input.•The simulated pressure field with inhomogeneous attenuation agrees well with the experiment result.•This model predicts abnormal attenuation caused by inhomogeneous bubble clouds.•Recommendations for the optimal design of a scale-up bath-type sonoreactor are provided. The bath-type sonoreactor holds great potential in industrial applications of process intensification. However, the scale-up of this bath-type sonoreactor is limited by a lack of investigation into sonoreactor design. In this work, we employed linearized wave equation considering inhomogeneous bubble distribution for simulation of scale-up bath-type sonoreactor design. Comprehensive validation experiments were conducted to verify simulation accuracy. This model predicts abnormal attenuation phenomenon during sound waves transmission that pose challenges for optimal design of sonoreactors. The result implies that increasing driving pressure cannot constantly increase conversion rate of cavitation energy. For example, as driving pressure increases, cavitation rate become stabilized to be a constant value of 0.4 and average cavitation pressure tends to be 1.1 times of driving pressure. Reactor width determines cavitation area and a width of 350 mm generates most cavitation volume under a liquid level of 100 mm. Regardless of the liquid level, increasing the driving pressure causes sound pressure in the near-field decrease due to abnormal attenuation. Once sound wave has travelled to a distance of 60–80 mm, cavitation will not make a noticeable difference.