Finite element model for ultrasonic cleaning

Abstract

Ultrasonic cleaning is modeled as a plane wave striking a sphere at the interface between a solid and a fluid (an axisymmetric fluid-structure interaction problem). To study this problem the [phi]-U-P0 finite element method has been used with direct time integration in a large bounded domain. Two well established analytical solutions approximate the conditions described in the current analysis and have been used to verify the time step size and finite element mesh. The force on the sphere due to the passage of the wave front has then been found for three wave frequencies. The maximum force occurs when the wavelength is comparable to the sphere diameter.