Method and apparatus for separating particulate from a flowing fluid
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsStuart C. Dickinson, Robert Kuklinski
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for filtering particulate matter from a fluid traveg proximate a surface containing a port. First and second ultrasonic wave generators produce superposed ultrasonic waves to define a composite wave pattern in a region of the fluid body upstream of the port. Nodes and antinodes in the composite wave region define regions at which the particulate matter accumulates. The accumulating particulate matter is displaced out of the fluid that enters the port.
Claims16
A method for filtering particulate matter of a preselected size and density from fluid entering a port in a surface in which the surface and fluid undergo relative motion that establishes a flow boundary spaced from the surface and between a first fluid flow portion contiguous the surface that enters the port and a second fluid flow portion that is spaced from the surface and that bypasses the port, said method comprising the steps of:
- generating first and second ultrasonic waves;
- and
- superposing the first and second ultrasonic waves in the first fluid flow portion to define a composite wave pattern in a first region of the first fluid flow portion upstream of the port such that particulate matter in the fluid passing through the region is transported to the second fluid flow portion and fluid entering the port from the first fluid flow portion is substantially free of such particulate matter.
Apparatus for removing entrained particulate matter from fluid entering a port in a surface in which the surface and fluid undergo relative motion that establishes a flow boundary between a first fluid flow portion that extends from the surface and that enters the port and a second fluid flow portion that is spaced from the surface and that bypasses the port, said apparatus comprising:
- first ultrasonic wave generating means for generating first ultrasonic waves over a distance from the surface to include the first fluid flow portion;
- and
- a second ultrasonic wave generating means for generating second ultrasonic waves over a distance from the surface to include the first fluid flow portion such that the second ultrasonic waves superpose with said first ultrasonic waves to define a composite wave in a region of the fluid body upstream of the port and traversing the first fluid flow portion such that the composite wave transports particulate matter in the first fluid flow portion away from the port and into the second fluid flow portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.