FEM-based time-reversal technique for an ultrasonic cleaning application
Oskari Tommiska, Joonas Mustonen, Petro Moilanen, Timo Rauhala, Maria Gritsevich, Ari Salmi, Edward Hæggström
Abstract
Ultrasound provides a way to clean fouled pipes in industrial settings without interrupting the production. Ultrasonic clamp-on cleaners are used to clean pipes, but they typically cannot focus the cleaning power. This leads to insufficient cleaning results in cases where the fouling is localized to certain parts of the pipe. To solve this issue, we propose a finite-element method -based time-reversal (FEM-TR) technique for controlling the acoustic field produced by an ultrasonic clamp-on cleaner. We demonstrate by simulations and experimental validation that FEM-TR can be used to control the acoustic field in clamp-on cleaners featuring relatively few narrow-band and high-power transducers. The proposed method allows us to focus sound to arbitrary pre-selected locations inside the structure.