Design of a new ultrasonic horn for viscosity reduction of heavy oil

Abstract

Based on the basic principle of the sandwich piezoelectric transducer, a high-power ultrasonic horn which can be used for viscosity reduction of heavy oil and pour point reduction of crude oil with high pour point was proposed and designed. The basic frequency of the horn is 16.86 KHz, and its input electrical power is 1 kW. It can operate continuously at 100 centigrade on the industrial scale. Firstly, according to the working environment, the modal of the ultrasonic horn was designed. Based on the equivalent circuit method and the transfer matrix method, the parameters of the horn were calculated. Secondly, the optimum operation mode and frequency were determined by modal analysis and harmonic response analysis using the FEM (finite element method) software ANSYS. At last, a prototype was made, and its basic frequency is in good agreement with the FEM simulation. The results show that this high-power ultrasonic horn can be applied on the industrial scale in viscosity reduction of heavy oil and ultrasonic sludge disintegration.