Several unique features of ISM’s patented Barbell Horn Ultrasonic Technology (BHUT) make it possible to directly transfer what can be accomplished in the laboratory to the plant floor, guaranteeing reproducible and predictable results at any scale.
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Advantages of High Ultrasonic Amplitudes
Liquids exposed to high-intensity ultrasound undergo ultrasonic cavitation, which produces violently and asymmetrically imploding bubbles and causes micro-jets that create extreme mechanical shear forces. These forces are responsible for the well-known ability of ultrasound
- Ultrasonic amplitudes on the order of at least 70 microns peak-to-peak (below, “microns”) are commonly necessary in order to take full advantage of this effect.
- At low amplitudes (below about 50 microns), the intensity of ultrasonic cavitation is insufficient for many processes, such as nano-crystallization, nano-emulsification, deagglomeration, extraction, as
- In order to produce sufficient cavitation intensity, ultrasonic transducers are equipped with high-gain acoustic horns
Converging Horns – Main Limitation of Conventional Ultrasonic Technology
- Conventional ultrasonic systems utilize acoustic horns that converge in the output direction. These conventional horns (CH) can only provide high ultrasonic amplitudes when their output tip diameters are small.
- Conventional horns are appropriate for studying processes on a laboratory scale, but they make it impossible to transfer the processes to an industrial scale.
- Process scale-up requires switching to horns with larger output tip diameters, able to output the ultrasonic energy into larger volumes of working liquids while still maintaining high amplitudes
Barbell Horns – Scalable High-Amplitude Ultrasound
Barbell horns, developed by ISM, are able to amplify ultrasonic amplitudes while retaining large output tip diameters. This opens up the possibility to directly scale up any high-amplitude ultrasonic process.
- Barbell horns utilized in our industrial processor, ISP-3000, commonly have output tip diameters of 45 – 50 mm (up to 70 mm in some cases) and produce extremely high ultrasonic amplitudes on the order of 100 microns.
- Our bench-scale processor, BSP-1200, utilizes Barbell horns with output tip diameters of 32 – 35 mm, which are also able to output ultrasonic amplitudes on the order of 100 microns. Barbell horns make it possible to directly reproduce any laboratory or bench-scale process optimization study in a commercial production environment.
Different Types of Available Barbell Horns – Shapes Adapted to Each Application
- Barbell horns are available in different shapes and sizes. Besides Full-wave Barbell horns (FBH) shown on this page, Half-wave Barbell Horns (HBH) and Half-wave Barbell Horns with an Opening (HBHO) are available.
- are shorter and lighter than FBH, but have approximately double the radiating area for the same output tip diameter.
- are designed to work with ISM’s reactor chambers (flow cells) in a way that directs all processed liquid through high-intensity cavitation zones, practically eliminating any possibility of bypass.
