Flow analysis of acoustic streaming pattern produced by ultrasonic transducer using stereoscopic PIV

School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Catholic University of Daegu, Kyungsan, 712-702 Kyungbuk, South Korea

^a e-mail: dlee@cu.ac.kr

Received: 5 July 2011
Revised: 12 September 2012
Accepted: 9 October 2012
Published online: 14 January 2013

Abstract

Quantitative flow fields from the acoustic streaming were measured experimentally using the stereoscopic PIV. The acoustic streaming pattern between the ultrasonic transducer and stationary plate, maximum acoustic streaming velocity, velocity variation at resonance and non-resonance, variation of flow pattern and velocity with gap variation were experimentally verified. The maximum acoustic velocity between the gap in the open channel at resonance and non-resonance was located at the ultrasonic transducer center at radial direction and at the neighborhood of the ultrasonic transducer at axial direction. In the vicinity of the ultrasonic transducer surface, larger average acoustic velocity occurred at the edge of the transducer than at the transducer center at the resonant gap. At non-resonant gap, the maximum acoustic velocity exists toward the edge of the transducer. The turbulent intensity varied with gap size and maximum value existed at the transducer center with radial direction and at surface of the stationary plate or transducer with axial direction. At resonant gaps, there was almost zero radial acoustic streaming velocity at the ultrasonic transducer center and there existed only axial streaming velocity. For axial directions, maximum acoustic streaming velocity was located at z position of −16 mm.