Prediction of the acoustic and bubble fields in insonified freeze-drying vials

• We predict the acoustic and bubble fields in mL-scale vials filled with supercooled water, vibrated from the bottom.
• The model accounts for wave attenuation by inertial cavitation.
• The acoustic and bubble fields saturate for increasing amplitude.
• For high liquid levels, a secondary bubble structure may appear a few millimeters below the free surface.
• Linear acoustics yields unrealistic results.

The acoustic field and the location of cavitation bubble are computed in vials used for freeze-drying, insonified from the bottom by a vibrating plate. The calculations rely on a nonlinear model of sound propagation in a cavitating liquid [Louisnard, Ultrason. Sonochem., 19, (2012) 56–65]. Both the vibration amplitude and the liquid level in the vial are parametrically varied. For low liquid levels, a threshold amplitude is required to form a cavitation zone at the bottom of the vial. For increasing vibration amplitudes, the bubble field slightly thickens but remains at the vial bottom, and the acoustic field saturates, which cannot be captured by linear acoustics. On the other hand, increasing the liquid level may promote the formation of a secondary bubble structure near the glass wall, a few centimeters below the free liquid surface. These predictions suggest that rather complex acoustic fields and bubble structures can arise even in such small volumes. As the acoustic and bubble fields govern ice nucleation during the freezing step, the final crystal’s size distribution in the frozen product may crucially depend on the liquid level in the vial.