Although particle scavenging is investigated for many reasons, the focus of this work is on the removal of coal dust particles from mining environments. Currently, sprays play an important role in reducing the level of dust in coal mines, and also in other types of mines. However, the level of respirable dust in mines remains high and is difficult to control. We have developed an ultrasonic scrubber that uses an ultrasonic standing wave field to move particles and drops into the nodes of the standing wave field. There, they combine and tend to fall, thereby removing particles and cleaning the air.
This work was funded by a grant from the CDC through NIOSH. Current work in this area is funded by NSF and focuses and scale-up isses of this technology.
The heart of the ultrasonic scrubbe is an ultrasonic transducer. To show how ultrasonics can be used to exert a force, a picture is shown at the top left of this page of an ultrasonic transducer levitating a drop. A better view of the transducer/reflector combination is shown below.
Some information on dust in mines, click the following link:
We have also studied at the removal of particles by raindrops:
Rain Scavenging
Last Updated May 19, 2017.