NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS AND SONOREACTOR CONFIGURATIONS FOR THE HIGHEST POSSIBILITY OF ACOUSTIC CAVITATION IN CRUDE OIL

Abstract

Abstract Pressure distribution, caused by ultrasonic wave propagation, has a crucial effect on the efficiency of a sonoreactor for crude oil upgrading. In this study, acoustic pressure distribution was computed by numerical solution of the acoustic wave propagation equation in a crude oil sonoreactor. By analyzing numerical simulation results, optimum geometrical and operational parameters, comprising type and probe size, probe depth in bulk of crude oil, dimensions, shape of reactor, frequency, and sound power, were evaluated for the highest possibility of cavitation, chemical, and physical changes. Moreover, the effect of probe location on pressure distribution was investigated. The results show the important effect of probe location on pressure distribution due to change of wave reflection angles. Keywords: Acoustic cavitationCrude oilNumerical simulationSonoreactor Notes Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/gcec.