Dislodgement and removal of dust-particles from a surface by a technique combining acoustic standing wave and airflow

It is known that there are many fine particles on the moon and Mars. Their existence may cause risk for the success of a long-term project for NASA, i.e., exploration and habitation of the moon and Mars. These dust-particles might cover the solar panels, making them fail to generate electricity, and they might also penetrate through seals on space suits, hatches, and vehicle wheels causing many incidents. The fine particles would be hazardous to human health if they were inhaled. Development of robust dust mitigation technology is urgently needed for the viable long-term exploration and habilitation of either the moon or Mars. A feasibility study to develop a dust removal technique, which may be used in space-stations or other enclosures for habitation, is reported. It is shown experimentally that the acoustic radiation force produced by a 13.8 kHz 128 dB sound-level standing wave between a 3 cm-aperture tweeter and a reflector separated by 9 cm is strong enough to overcome the van der Waals adhesive force between the dust-particles and the reflector-surface. Thus the majority of fine particles (>2 microm diameter) on a reflector-surface can be dislodged and removed by a technique combining acoustic levitation and airflow methods. The removal efficiency deteriorates for particles of less than 2 microm in size.