Effects of viscosity and acoustic streaming on the interparticle radiation force between rigid spheres in a standing wave.

Abstract

The total acoustic radiation force acting on interacting spheres in a viscous fluid consists of the primary and secondary forces. The primary force pushes rigid spheres to the pressure node due to the incident standing wave. The secondary force is the interparticle force caused by the interaction between spheres in the standing wave. In this study, an algorithm based on the multipole series expansion and Stokeslet method is proposed for calculating the primary and secondary radiation forces acting on a pair of spheres in a viscous fluid. It is concluded that the acoustical interaction between a pair of spheres is considerably stronger in a viscous fluid compared to the inviscid case due to the streaming effects in the viscous fluid. For spheres located far from each other, the interaction becomes considerably weak; thus, the spheres move mainly due to the primary radiation force.