Aerosol removal is a process demanded by industries for product recovery and particulate matter emission control. Acoustics induced aerosol manipulation was limited to agglomeration. The aims of this study were to extend the capability from agglomeration to enhancing deposition. Subsequently, providing an alternative system, which had comparative advantages over traditional removal methods. An acoustics aerosols removal system was proposed and studied in this thesis. The system was engineered to enhance the depositions of aerosols as they were transported through an acoustic field in an air channel. The augmentation was facilitated by acoustic streaming, a second order acoustic effect previously neglected in the field of acoustic aerosol manipulation. This phenomenon, along wi...[ Read more ]

Aerosol removal is a process demanded by industries for product recovery and particulate matter emission control. Acoustics induced aerosol manipulation was limited to agglomeration. The aims of this study were to extend the capability from agglomeration to enhancing deposition. Subsequently, providing an alternative system, which had comparative advantages over traditional removal methods. An acoustics aerosols removal system was proposed and studied in this thesis. The system was engineered to enhance the depositions of aerosols as they were transported through an acoustic field in an air channel. The augmentation was facilitated by acoustic streaming, a second order acoustic effect previously neglected in the field of acoustic aerosol manipulation. This phenomenon, along with acoustic radiation force, were initially affirmed by visualisation. Experimental studies were perform to validate the effectiveness of aerosol removal by the above-mentioned mechanisms.

Aerosol depositions and agglomerations were observed by quantitatively analysed. Experimental results concluded that input aerosol characteristics and acoustic field patterns substantially influenced the aerosol removal efficiency of the system. The computational approach was chosen to establish a framework for the optimisation of the system. Its capabilities complimented the limitations in the experiments. Simulated particle dynamics and acoustic field patterns were analysed and new underlying governing dimensionless parameters, near-wall vorticity magnitude and deposition cell ratios, were identified.

This thesis reported results that validated the feasibility of the proposed system as an alternative aerosol removal technique; it served as an essential educational tool for future researches conducted in the acoustics-aerosol manipulation field and prospective applications in industries.