Theoretical and experimental investigation of acoustic agglomeration of micro sized particles

Abstract

The acoustic agglomeration of micro-sized particles was investigated under different external conditions theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical simulation was done by using the discrete element method under external acoustic field-induced orthocinetic and acoustic wake forces. Simulation shows quicker agglomeration by increasing the sound pressure level (SPL) and decreasing the distance between particles. On the other hand, experimental investigation of the efficiency of acoustic agglomeration of 1 - 20 µm diameter particles efficiency was the best for SPL of 128.5 dB.