Laura A. Dudes
M. G. Prasad
R. F. McAlevy III
Dept. of Mech. Eng., Stevens Inst. of Technol., Castle Point on the Hudson, Hoboken, NJ 07030
An acoustical agglomeration system is an apparatus which can be used to enhance the efficiency of current particulate removal devices. This study presents the design and construction of an acoustical agglomeration chamber and associated measurement instrumentation. The system consists of a main chamber 3.05 m long with an inner diameter of 0.075 m. The dimensions are sufficient to develop the particulate gas stream as well as acoustical plane-wave fields up to 2500 Hz. The inlet flow velocities of the gas stream range from 0.5 to 5 m/s with operating pressures ranging from 101 to 1010 KPa. A midrange (e.g., 200--4000 Hz) heavy duty electroacoustic driver is used as the sound source. The particulate size distribution is optically measured with a Malvern 2600 laser particle sizer. A silencer was used to reduce the noise level coming out of the agglomeration chamber. The performance testing of the agglomeration apparatus was carried out using aluminum oxide particulate with frequencies of 1 and 2 kHz in the range of sound-pressure levels between 140 and 160 dB. An increase in particulate size from 16 to 26 (mu)m was achieved in the preliminary measurements. This study will have applications in reducing emission of hazardous, fine particulate into the atmosphere. [Work supported by New Jersey Hazardous Substance Management Research Center.]