Evaluating an Ultrasonic Magnetostrictive Transducer with Conical Nickel Core: Performance and Application

Abstract

In recent years, ultrasonic machining has been developing rapidly, and it is used in areas such as abrasive machining, cleaning, and welding. In this research, a magnetostrictive device with pure nickel conical core with cone angle of 30° was constructed. The observed sound pressure level was used as a measure of transducer performance. Also, the ability of the device to reduce the residual pesticide on cucumber surface due to cavitation was evaluated. The results showed that the sound pressure from simulation by JMAG-Designer software is almost the same as the sound pressure produced in the constructed transducer. To assess the performance of the device in removing residual pesticide from cucumber surface and evaluate the changes in peel texture of cucumber, the gas chromatography (GC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) methods were used, respectively. The GC results showed that with 20 min treatment, the removal of pesticide based on height and chromatogram area was 75% and 83%, respectively. The SEM results showed that by increasing the treatment time, the stomatal pore area reduced from 144.74 \({\mathrm{\mu m}}^{2}\) (reference) to 30.56 \({\mathrm{\mu m}}^{2}\) (20 min treatment). These results are promising; hence, further research is suggested towards enhancing the device for commercial use in biomaterials processing operations such as cleaning and removing pesticides from fruits and vegetables.Graphical Abstract