Interactions H.I.F.U. / polymer films

International audienceIn order to obtain the modification of a defined volume of a polymer layer, preliminary tests of sonication (HIFU 0.75 and 3 MHz) were carried out to obtain an accurate characterization of the acoustic fields as well as convective flow velocities measured close to the surface by Particle Image Velocimetry and luminol mapping. Then, sonication of a delimited zone of an acrylic resin deposited upon a stainless steel thin substrate highlighted a strong dependence of the polymerization or reticulation degree, with different exposure times and different power thresholds for the same final modification. The point was to examine the ability of the thin polymer film to absorb ultrasonic energy or to act as a perfect reflector which induces asymmetric cavitation and therefore violent collapses to take place close to the surface. In the first case, the wave absorption by the film is converted into heat and then acts for the polymer alteration under the high convective flow velocities. For the highest acoustic intensities and for the hardest films, cavitation occurs and the produced microbubbles oscillated and grow close to the surface. Then, the shocks resulting of the bubble collapse eroded mechanically the film

International Conference on Ultrasonics

International audienc

Enhancement and quenching of high-intensity focused ultrasound cavitation activity via short frequency sweep gaps

This letter reports on the use of frequency sweeps to probe acoustic cavitation activity generated by high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Unprecedented enhancement and quenching of HIFU cavitation activity were observed when short frequency sweep gaps were applied in negative and positive directions, respectively. It was revealed that irrespective of the frequency gap, it is the direction and frequency sweep rate that govern the cavitation activity. These effects are related to the response of bubbles generated by the starting frequency to the direction of the frequency sweep, and the influence of the sweep rate on growth and coalescence of bubbles, which in turn affects the active bubble population. These findings are relevant for the use of HIFU in chemical and therapeutic applications, where greater control of cavitation bubble population is critical

Ultrasonically elaborated Au/PTFE composite coatings

The deposition of finely dispersed particles in a metal matrix by electrolytic co-deposition process led to new generated composite coatings. Previous works have been devoted to the characterisation of gold – PTFE composite coatings performed by electrolysis. The aim of the present work is to develop a new process for the electrolytic co-deposition of PTFE particles in an Au – Ni matrix, which consists in using an ultrasonic stirring.
This study shows that the use of 500 kHz ultrasounds improves both the coating deposition rate and the inclusion rate of PTFE particles, leading to a significant improvement of wear resistance