Review of High-Power Ultrasound-Industrial Applications and Measurement Methods

Applications involving high-power ultrasound are expanding rapidly as ultrasonic intensification opportunities are identified in new fields. This is facilitated through new technological developments and an evolution of current systems to tackle challenging problems. It is therefore important to continually update both the scientific and commercial communities on current system performance and limitations. To achieve this objective, this paper addresses two key aspects of high-power ultrasonic systems. In the first part, the review of high-power applications focuses on industrial applications and documents the developing technology from its early cleaning applications through to the advanced sonochemistry, cutting, and water treatment applications used today. The second part provides a comprehensive overview of measurement techniques used in conjunction with high-power ultrasonic systems. This is an important and evolving field which enables design and process engineers to optimize the behavior and/or operation of key metrics of system performance, such as field distribution or cavitation intensity.