Multibubble sonoluminescence enhancement by fluid flow.

Forced fluid flow can cause the enhancement of multibubble sonoluminescence (SL) under suitable conditions. The effect of directional flow with a circulator is similar to that of rotating flow with a stirrer. The mechanism of the enhancement is that both flows prevent cavitation bubbles from coalescing and clustering, which are responsible for the quenching of SL. The intensity of sonochemiluminescence (SCL) in an aqueous luminol solution increases with flow speed at higher ultrasonic powers more significantly than that of SL in distilled water. However, in the range of low ultrasonic power, the intensities of SL and SCL decrease with flow speed. Therefore, an optimum flow speed exists in relation to ultrasonic power and frequency.

A standard method to calibrate sonochemical efficiency of an individual reaction system.

Fricke reaction, KI oxidation and decomposition of porphyrin derivatives by use of seven types of sonochemical apparatus in four different laboratories were examined in the range of frequency of 19.5 kHz to 1.2 MHz. The ultrasonic energy dissipated into an apparatus was determined also by calorimetry. Sonochemical efficiency of Fricke reaction and KI oxidation was defined as the number of reacted molecule per unit ultrasonic energy. The sonochemical efficiency is independent of experimental conditions such as the shape of sample cell and irradiation instruments, but depends on the ultrasonic frequency. We propose the KI oxidation dosimetry using 0.1 moldm(-3) KI solution as a standard method to calibrate the sonochemical efficiency of an individual reaction system.

Single-bubble sonochemiluminescence in aqueous luminol solutions.

Sonochemiluminescence (SCL) of luminol due to a single bubble is studied through spectral measurement. No SCL was observed from a stable single bubble that emitted high-intensity sonoluminescence (SL). In contrast, SCL was observed under conditions of an unstable dancing bubble, where a bubble grows and ejects tiny bubbles, making it "dance" by counteraction. Furthermore, SCL was observed from dancing bubbles even when SL was not observed, depending on the dissolved gas content. The instability of bubble collapse is the key parameter governing SCL.

Influence of dissolved oxygen content on multibubble sonoluminescence with ambient-pressure reduction.

The efficiency of chemical reactions in the presence of ultrasound at reduced pressures has been monitored using the influence of dissolved oxygen (DO) content on a luminol solution undergoing multibubble sonoluminescence. From these measurements under the condition of constant ultrasonic frequency and constant amplitude of sound pressure, it is shown that the intensity of sonoluminescence is higher at subatmospheric ambient pressure than at atmospheric pressure under the same degree of saturation. Also, it is found that there is an appropriate content of DO to produce the highest intensity of the luminescence and its value varies with ambient pressure.

Influence of bubble clustering on multibubble sonoluminescence.

Influence of clustering of cavitation bubbles on multibubble sonoluminescence (MBSL) in standing wave fields is studied through measurement of MBSL intensity with a photomultiplier tube and observation of corresponding bubble behavior with a high-speed video camera and an intensified charge-coupled device one. It is clarified that, when the SL is quenched suddenly at excessive ultrasonic power, the behavior of bubbles clearly changes; the bubbles which form dendritic branches of filaments change into clusters due to the secondary Bjerknes force. The cluster is composed of several bubbles surrounded by many tiny bubbles, in which bubbles repeatedly coalesce and fragment, and run away from pressure antinodes. When the clusters are broken up by forced fluid motion, the quenching of MBSL is suppressed.

Optimization of a sonochemical reactor using a pulsing operation.

It is known that sonochemical reactions are enhanced by pulsing ultrasound. A method to optimize a sonochemical reactor using a pulsing operation was studied through the measurement of changes in sonoluminescence (SL) intensity from distilled water under various experimental conditions. It was confirmed that pulsing with a constant input power level enhanced SL intensity at lower power levels because of the higher amplitude of ultrasound. In contrast to this, a quenching effect due to excessive sound pressure appeared at higher power levels, and the pulsing operation was not effective under these conditions. Pulsing is more effective at higher frequency than at lower frequency.