Acoustic Streaming Visualization in Elastic Spherical Cavities

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sznitman, J.^; | Rösgen, T.

Affiliations: Institute of Fluid Dynamics, ETH Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland | Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering & Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA. E-mail: joss@seas.upenn.edu

Abstract: Flow visualizations are presented for acoustic streaming occurring inside spherical elastic cavities oscillating in an acoustic field. Streaming flows are visualized using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and results are observed for a range of values of a dimensionless frequency parameter, M = 120-306. Over the frequency range investigated, streaming flow fields remain steady at a given value of M. The magnitude of the flows circulating inside the cavity remains small (< 1 mm/s) and follows a non-linear dependency with respect to the acoustic power of the sound wave. The present boundary-driven cavity flows may enhance particle fluid transport mechanisms, leading ultimately to potential fluid mixing applications.

Keywords: Acoustic streaming, Cavity flow, Low Reynolds number flow, PIV

Journal: Journal of Visualization, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 347-355, 2008