Compress gases using Ultrasound

[nugen]

Can we compress gases using ultrasound produced by piezoelectric crystals? Will the vibrations compress the gas column? What will be the excitation voltage required to produce ultrasound using piezoelectric crystal?

[Externet]

Venturing to speculate, a compressor needs valves to isolate the compressed gas from the rarified gas when exposed to a pulsating wavefront.

 

A piezoelectric transducer has a deflection measured in microns; and cannot see how such microvalve could be built to react at over 20KHz with such a tiny gap.

 

The amplitude of wavefronts is also equally small. Lower audio frequencies -say 60Hz- do create more convenient compression amplitudes and standing waves in a calibrated length acoustical port duct. Tapping the compressor outlet at that location on the duct, could raise pressure, but not much flow unless an inlet is provided at the standing wave antinode.

 

Search for acoustical wave compressor, I read something about it a long ago.

 

Miguel

 

Edited: added----> Fig 10 at patent 5167124 is supposed to be in ultrasonics. I did not guess too bad!

Edited June 28, 2009 by Externet
Found link.