Ultrasonic waterjet apparatus

A rotating-head ultrasonic waterjet apparatus comprising:

• a high-pressure water inlet for receiving a flow of high-pressure water;
• an ultrasonic generator for generating high-frequency electrical pulses;
• a control unit for controlling a frequency of the high frequency electrical pulses;
• an ultrasonic nozzle having:
• a transducer for receiving the high-frequency electrical pulses from the ultrasonic generator, the transducer vibrating ultrasonically in response to the high-frequency electrical pulses;
• a microtip comprising:
• a stub connected to the transducer;
• a sealed flange connected to the stub for isolating the transducer from the flow of high-pressure water;
• and
• a stem connected to the stub and extending downstream toward an exit orifice of the nozzle, the microtip vibrating ultrasonically to thereby generate a forced pulsed waterjet;
• and
• a rotating nozzle head that includes the exit orifice through which the forced pulsed waterjet emerges.

A method of generating a forced pulsed waterjet, the method comprising:

• forcing high-pressure water into an ultrasonic nozzle via a water inlet;
• generating high-frequency electrical pulses using an ultrasonic generator;
• controlling a frequency of the high frequency electrical pulses using a control unit;
• transmitting the high-frequency electrical pulses to a transducer to cause the transducer to vibrate ultrasonically, the transducer being connected to a stub of a microtip having a stem that vibrates ultrasonically to modulate the high-pressure water to thereby generate a forced pulsed waterjet, the stub being connected to a sealed flange that isolates the transducer from the high-pressure water.