Welcome Back!

After three + months of sheltering in place, things are slowly returning to the “new normal” here in New York state which is where I write this blog.  We all know all too well what’s been going on around the world over the past several months so I’m not going to belabor those details here.  …

Aluminum Foil Test for Ultrasonic Performance – Potential Problems

Task At Hand – In a previous blog I declared that I am not a fan of the aluminum foil test for evaluating ultrasonic performance.  I question its validity and relevance on a number of fronts.  If my purpose here is to question my own skepticism, then I guess I should probably define the factors …

Aluminum Foil Test – Foil Perforation Mechanism

Until recently, I was only able to theorize about the mechanism involved in the perforation of aluminum foil by ultrasonic cavitation.  I no longer have to theorize! My theory had always been that perforation of aluminum foil was due to the repeated flexing of aluminum foil as cavitation implosions occurring on opposite sides of the foil …

Aluminum Foil Test

If you’ve heard of ultrasonic cleaning you’ve probably heard of the aluminum foil test.  The practice of putting a piece of aluminum foil into an ultrasonically activated tank of water probably began as a novelty demonstration.  The holes produced in the aluminum foil by the collapse of cavitation bubbles at least showed that something interesting …

What Is It?

It was in 1962 during my junior year in high school when my chemistry teacher, Mr. McBain, described an unusual phenomenon related to a specific element.  At the time, I think it was more intended as a test question to see who had studied their notes.     I recently witnessed this phenomenon for the first …

How Much Chemistry – Liquid

Using the right amount of chemistry is important to successful industrial cleaning.  Since there is no standard convention for expressing the amount of chemistry to use, it sometimes takes a little effort to sort things out.  Chemistry is supplied in either liquid or powder form with several different conventions for each.  Let’s look at liquids …

Hot Air Drying – Tips and Pitfalls

Drying is the last and often a critical part of a cleaning process.  In many cases it is also the most time and energy consuming.  It is often the most difficult part of the process to specify and control.  Although there are several drying technologies available, blowing with hot air is simple and by far …

Stainless Steel Compatibility

With its well-deserved credentials for chemical resistance and durability, stainless steel and particularly 316 grade stainless steel is a “go to” for the fabrication of ultrasonic cleaning tanks.  Although it performs well in most applications, there are still those where stainless steel has its limitations.  Stainless steel achieves its “stainless” characteristic by developing a very …

Ultrasonics – Near Field and BEYOND!

The term “near field” is not new to ultrasonic cleaning.  In general, it refers to cleaning parts in near proximity to the ultrasound source.  It is well known that increasing ultrasonic power density can produce improved cleaning results in many cases.  Increasing power density can be accomplished by reducing the size of the cleaning vessel to …