Suppression of Acoustic Streaming in Shape-Optimized Channels

Phys Rev Lett. 2020 May 29;124(21):214501. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.124.214501.

Abstract

Acoustic streaming is an ubiquitous phenomenon resulting from time-averaged nonlinear dynamics in oscillating fluids. In this theoretical study, we show that acoustic streaming can be suppressed by two orders of magnitude in major regions of a fluid by optimizing the shape of its confining walls. Remarkably, the acoustic pressure is not suppressed in this shape-optimized cavity, and neither is the acoustic radiation force on suspended particles. This basic insight may lead to applications, such as acoustophoretic handling of nm-sized particles, which is otherwise impaired by the streaming.