PIV quantification of the flow induced by an ultrasonic horn and numerical modeling of the flow and related processing times.

The flow in a confined container induced by an ultrasonic horn is measured by Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). This flow is caused by acoustic streaming and highly influenced by the presence of cavitation. The jet-like experimentally observed flow is compared with the available theoretical solution for a turbulent free round jet. The similarity between both flows enables a simplified numerical model to be made, whilst the phenomenon is very difficult to simulate otherwise. The numerical model requires only two parameters, i.e. the flow momentum and turbulent kinetic energy at the position of the horn tip. The simulated flow is used as a basis for the calculation of the time required for the entire liquid volume to pass through the active cavitation region.