Answered Question

teff torb...

M$3 January 11, 2009 06:49 PM

Why does an ultrasonic cleaner work better with pure water than with an H20/Isopropanol mix?

I honestly don't expect an answer as this question is so... esoteric. If you have no experience in dealing with this, please don't respond.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_cleaner

Specifically - why is the turbulence level significantly lower when and IPA + H20 mix is present in the tank? The IPA needs to be there, but with it, turbulence and cleaning effectiveness is reduced.

If you need more specific details, I can send them privately.

Honestly, if you're just going to grab a couple of links off the internet that are generalized and about ultrasonic cleaning, don't bother. If you have experience with this issue or know of a specific reference that discusses this sort of issue in detail, I want to hear it, and I'm willing to tip extra for the trouble.

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Best Answer Chosen by Asker

mrgunn

January 11, 2009 09:30 PM

I don't think an ultrasonic cleaner does work better with pure water. Using something to increase the penetration(IPA) or the wetting(surfactant) would increase the cleaning efficiency. Lowering the surface tension, which would be achieved with both solvents or surfactants, will increase cavitation.

I presume you don't need me to give you a link supporting the fact that surfactants lower surface tension, and the fact that lowered surface tension leads to more cavitation seems to follow rather directly from that.

Asker's Rating:

• Thanks for the useful info in here and in private. It might not be groundbreaking, but I've at least got a point to work off of, and this is significantly more than I expected when I asked the question :D

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jp95zm6

January 12, 2009 04:42 AM

Water has higher surface tension, thus imparts more energy for a given rate of cavitation than fluids with lower surface tension, such as water/IPA mix. So the cleaning action is more vigorous if you can apply enough energy to achieve equal cavitation rates with water only, and thus can clean parts faster and/or break stronger bonds using water alone. Damage (surface erosion) can thus occur more quickly, too. A fresh water bath will work even better after it runs awhile to degas, too - the surface tension (average) is reduced by the dissolved gas.

In cases where the contamination is soluble in IPA, however, the solvent affect of the added alcohol could equal or surpass the lost mechanical cleaning power of the mix.

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mrgunn

January 12, 2009 05:06 AM

We mentioned this in a private discussion, but thanks for confirming it here.

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teff torbe...

January 12, 2009 07:54 AM

Speed is of importance in this case, so going in the bath for longer isn't a serious option - both the solvent power of the IPA and mechanical cleaning action is needed, so my bet is that it is something that needs to be balanced somehow (be it frequency, power, volume of mix), and that is absurdly beyond the scope of the initial question.

Thanks again!

Anyway, I've got as much as I'd hoped to get. If it comes up again in the next couple of months I've got a couple people I can ask some private questions to :)

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