Boring or penetrating the earth – Processes – Boring with specific fluid
Patent
1998-09-04
2000-06-27
Schoeppel, Roger
Boring or penetrating the earth
Processes
Boring with specific fluid
175 88, 175206, 175207, 73587, 73594, 73648, E21B 4100
Patent
active
060795085
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to ultrasonic processors for the treatment, for example, dispersing, emulsifying, dissolving, mixing or deagglomerating of materials. In particular, the present invention relates to an ultrasonic processor capable of large scale treatment, for example, dispersing, emulsifying, dissolving, mixing or deagglomerating of materials by the application of ultrasonic waves thereto.
Intense ultrasonic waves travelling through liquids generate small cavities that enlarge and then implode, creating tremendous heat. This phenomenon named "cavitation" provides an unusual chemical environment and process conditions which are quite unique.
Cavitation makes available a range of energies on time scales that are not available from other sources. When cavitation is induced in a liquid by applying sound waves thereto, alternating regions of compression and expansion are created. The resulting micron size bubbles implode violently in less than a microsecond, heating their contents to approximately 5500.degree. C. However, the surrounding liquid remains at ambient temperature due to the localisation of the temperature increase as "hotspots", which rapidly dissipate and cool.
In the case of solid particles in a carrier medium, at the point of implosion, as a result of the passing of the sound waves through the medium, the solid particles clash at speeds of up to 500 KMs per hour. This can result in a series of phenomenas ranging from the actual melting together of metals, to "clean" separation of solids from liquids due to the inherent aggression exhibited by such a process.
Realising the need to harness such useful unique ultrasound energies produced by cavitation, many types of apparatus capable of inducing cavitation have been developed.
In this connection, this led to the development of ultrasonic processors, capable of inducing such cavitation, comprising an enclosure member with transducers affixed thereon. However, due to the physical limitations of such ultrasonic processors, they could only be used for the treatment of materials on a small scale and accordingly, were not capable of large scale industrial application. For example, since the high powered transducers had a very short range of action, consequently, the walls of such enclosure member were required to be as close together as possible, in this connection, it was preferable that the width of such enclosure member was 25 mm or less. Therefore, the size of the materials which were to be treated by such ultrasonic processors had to be relatively small. Hence, the practical application, having regard to the particle size of the materials to be treated, of such ultrasonic processors was limited.
Furthermore, such closely spaced walls of such enclosure member were also required to be as thin as possible for efficient transmission of the ultrasonic waves. In this connection, such ultrasonic processors could not be used in situ, since there was always the risk that due to constant exposure of such walls to such ultrasonic waves, such walls could rupture resulting in the escape of the materials being treated, which, in some instances may be toxic or flammable and accordingly, may have adverse affects on the surrounding area, as well as placing life in the surrounding area at risk.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic processor which can at least minimise the disadvantages outlined above. Moreover, such ultrasonic processor is capable of large scale industrial application and can be erected in situ. For example, over recent years much attention has been focused on the potential for pollution, caused to the natural habitat in the vicinity of oil and gas rigs. In particular, the discharge of drilling muds and drilling by-products is now thought to have an accumulative and harmful effect on the surrounding marine life. In this connection, the ultrasonic processor of the present invention, described below, may be used in combination with other apparatus for the washing, separation, and
REFERENCES:
patent: 4015319 (1977-04-01), Levine
patent: 4081889 (1978-04-01), Levine
patent: 4163917 (1979-08-01), Levine
Advanced Assured Homes 17 Public Limited Company
Schoeppel Roger
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