Optimization of Ultrasonic Waves in an Acrylic Pipe Powder Transport System

Abstract

The transport of powder materials is an important aspect of process engineering. Various industries such as the food, chemical, pharmaceutical, coating, information and telecommunication industries have set a high demand on the performances of existing plants, which are mainly for bulk powder transfer. Modern systems demand powder transport systems which have a high quantitative accuracy. Therefore, the ultrasonic material transport process technology has in the last few years developed into an attractive alternative compared to the classical technologies. This technology involves transfer of powder through a pipe in which the ultrasonic waves are transmitted. However, this technology is not refined. In this research, the traveling ultrasonic waves in an acrylic pipe were optimized by investigating the optimal placement of the transducer on the pipe, the optimal length and thickness of the pipe and the optimal frequency. The finite element analysis was used in modeling, due to its ability to analyze a material in small cells and then combine the results for the whole material. Thereafter, experiments were conducted in order to validate the model. An optimal ultrasonic traveling wave was obtained at the resonant frequency of 48.4kHz at an optimal amplitude of 0.6mm can be used for powder transportation. The results showed that the optimal position of placing the transducer was 3mm from the edge of the acrylic pipe of optimal length of 500mm and internal and external diameter of 9mm and 14mm respectively. This optimization is important in developing new powder feeding mechanisms which have simple design, consume low power and exhibit high accuracy. Such a powder feeding device is useful where accurate control of powder in small quantities is required in industries such as pharmaceutical, manufacturing and chemical processing industries.