Improving the Descaling Rate of an In-situ Ultrasonic Fouling Removal Method for Industrial Water-filled Pipelines

Abstract

Introducing innovative and environmentally friendly fouling removal methods for water-filled pipelines is essential nowadays to increase pipelines' safety and productivity and eliminate the limitations of traditional descaling methods. In this paper, we investigate the capability of high-power ultrasonic waves and cavitation phenomenon as an influential online fouling removal tool to remove the build-up fouling with a thickness of 1 mm on the inner surface of 4-inch low-carbon stainless steel pipes filled with water. First, we developed a FEM simulation to investigate the effect of ultrasonic power on the acoustic pressure at different distances from the transducer attached point on the pipe using Comsol Multiphysics. After that, we conducted an experimental and statistical investigation to validate our result from FEM analysis using a transducer set and PZT-4 piezoelectric attached to the pipes' outer surface. The results showed that increasing the transducer's electrical power would raise the fluid's acoustic pressure. Furthermore, we indicate that increasing the electrical power to 400 W results in a higher fouling removal rate in the pipe.