No Arabic abstract
The acoustic radiation force produced by ultrasonic waves is the workhorse of particle manipulation in acoustofluidics. Nonspherical particles are also subjected to a mean torque known as the acoustic radiation torque. Together they constitute the mean-acoustic fields exerted on the particle. Analytical methods alone cannot calculate these fields on arbitrarily shaped particles in actual fluids and no longer fit for purpose. Here, a semi-analytical approach is introduced for handling subwavelength axisymmetric particles immersed in an isotropic Newtonian fluid. The obtained mean-acoustic fields depend on the scattering coefficients that reflect the monopole and dipole modes. These coefficients are determined by numerically solving the scattering problem. Our method is benchmarked by comparison with the exact result for a subwavelength rigid sphere in water. Besides, a more realistic case of a red blood cell immersed in blood plasma under a standing ultrasonic wave is investigated with our methodology.
The nonlinear interaction of ultrasonic waves with a nonspherical particle may give rise to the acoustic radiation torque on the particle. This phenomenon is investigated here considering a rigid prolate spheroidal particle of subwavelength dimensions that is much smaller than the wavelength. Using the partial wave expansion in spheroidal coordinates, the radiation torque of a traveling and standing plane wave with arbitrary orientation is exactly derived in the dipole approximation. We obtain asymptotic expressions of the torque as the particle geometry approaches a sphere and a straight line. As the particle is trapped in a pressure node of a standing plane wave, its radiation torque equals that of a traveling plane wave. We also find how the torque changes with the particle aspect ratio. Our findings are in excellent agreement with previous numerical computations. Also, by analyzing the torque potential energy, we determine the stable and unstable spatial configuration available for a particle.
This paper presents a microfluidic device that implements standing surface acoustic waves in order to handle single cells, droplets, and generally particles. The particles are moved in a very controlled manner by the two-dimensional drifting of a standing wave array, using a slight frequency modulation of two ultrasound emitters around their resonance. These acoustic tweezers allow any type of motion at velocities up to few 10mm/s, while the device transparency is adapted for optical studies. The possibility of automation provides a critical step in the development of lab-on-a-chip cell sorters and it should find applications in biology, chemistry, and engineering domains.
We demonstrate that the acoustic spin of a first-order Bessel beam can be transferred to a subwavelength (prolate) spheroidal particle at the beam axis in a viscous fluid. The induced radiation torque is proportional to the acoustic spin, which scales with the beam energy density. The analysis of the particle rotational dynamics in a Stokes flow regime reveals that its angular velocity varies linearly with the acoustic spin. Asymptotic expressions of the radiation torque and angular velocity are obtained for a quasispherical and infinitely thin particle. Excellent agreement is found between the theoretical results of radiation torque and finite element simulations. The induced particle spin is predicted and analyzed using the typical parameter values of the acoustical vortex tweezer and levitation devices. We discuss how the beam energy density and fluid viscosity can be assessed by measuring the induced spin of the particle.
Considerable effort has been expended over the last 2 centuries into explaining the behavior of fluid flow after the onset of turbulence. While perturbations in the velocity field have been shown to explain turbulent transitions, a physical explanation of why flows become turbulent, based on the forces felt by the fluid particles, has remained elusive. In this work a new theory is proposed that attempts to explain the transition of fluid flow from laminar to turbulent as explained by the fluid material undergoing failure. In a vaguely similar sense to how fractures can occur in solids once the balance of momentum exceeds the capacity of the material, so too in a fluid, after sufficient kinetic energy has been achieved by a fluid packet, the viscous forces are unable to maintain the laminar behavior and the fluid packets receive a boost as the stored energy in the viscous bonds are transferred to the kinetic energy of the fluid. This new model is described in terms of fluid packets and the forces on a mass element and commonly-known turbulent flows are used as examples to test the theory. Predicted flow profiles from the theory match the experimental observations of averaged flow profiles and a new equation to predict the onset of turbulence for any flow is presented. This process of the fluid undergoing failure can be seen as a natural continuation of the prevailing wisdom of turbulence when viewed from a different frame of reference.
We provide a detailed analysis on the acoustic radiation force and torque exerted on a homogeneous viscoelastic particle in the long-wave limit (the particle radius is much smaller than the incident wavelength) by an arbitrary wave. We assume that the particle behaves as a linear viscoelastic solid, which obeys the fractional Kelvin-Voigt model. Simple analytical expressions for the radiation force and torque are obtained considering the low- and high-frequency approximation in the viscoelastic model. The developed theory is used to describe the interaction of acoustic waves (traveling and standing plane waves, and zero- and first-order Bessel beams) with a low- and high-density polyethylene particle chosen as examples. Negative axial radiation force and torque are predicted when the ratio of the longitudinal to shear relaxation times is smaller than a constant that depends on the speed of sound in the particle. In addition, a full 3D tractor Bessel vortex beam acting on the high-density polyethylene is depicted. These predictions may enable new possibilities of particle handling in acoustophoretic techniques.