Ultrasonics General Information Ultrasonic cleaning is effective for all levels of cleanliness. Ultrasonic cleaning may use any of the following chemistries: Water Neutral aqueous solutions Alkaline aqueous solutions Acidic aqueous solutions Ethyl lactate Alcohol Acetone N-methyl pyrrolidone Terpenes Dibasic esters Glycol ethers Ultrasonic cleaning is very effective for particle removal. This process uses nonflammable or noncombustible solutions. By codes, special equipment should be used for flammable and combustible solvents. Ultrasonic cleaning is frequently used as part of a multistage cleaning system. A multistage system could consist of the following steps: Ultrasonic wash Spray rinse Ultrasonic overflow rinse High-pressure spray rinse Air knife blow-off Vacuum dry. The basic system consists of: Tank (various materials - stainless steel is most common). Transducers (bottom- and/or side- mounted or immersion). Generator (usually 40-kHz range). Liquid supply Heaters and safety thermostats. If chemicals are added (especially surfactants), they should be low-foaming or controlled foaming. Ultrasonic cleaning uses State Information | Glossary | Conversion Checklist | Comments Home | Process Advisor | Alternatives | Links | Search All SAGE material, Copyright© 1992, Research Triangle Institute Last Update: 23 May 2001 sage@rti.org http://clean.rti.org/alt.cfm?id=ul&cat=gi