The selection of layer thicknesses to control acoustic radiation force profiles in layered resonators

Ultrasonic standing waves can be used to generate radiation forces on particles within a fluid. A number of authors have derived detailed representations of these forces but these are most commonly applied using an approximation to the energy distribution based upon an idealized standing wave within a mode based upon rigid boundaries. An electro-acoustic model of the acoustic energy distribution within a standing wave with arbitrary thickness boundaries has been expanded to model the radiation force on an example particle within the acoustic field. This is used to examine the force profile on a particle at resonances other than those predicted with rigid boundaries, and with pressure nodes at different positions. A simple analytical method for predicting modal conditions for combinations of frequencies and layer thickness characteristics is presented, which predicts that resonances can exist that will produce a pressure node at arbitrary positions in the fluid layer of such a system. This can be used to design resonators that will drive particles to positions other than the center of the fluid layer, including the fluid/solid boundary of the layer, with significant potential applications in sensing systems. Further, the model also predicts conditions for multiple subwavelength resonances within the fluid layer of a single resonator, each resonance having different nodal planes for particle concentration.     

High-Q oscillations in a layered elastic medium

Conditions of the existence of long-lived acoustic resonances that occur in a layered medium because of its oscillation with low damping factors are considered. A priori theoretical estimates relating the distribution of resonance frequencies in the complex plane to the parameters of inhomogeneity of the layered system are obtained. A scheme of resonance calculations in numerical modeling is described. Examples of geophysical media with long-lived resonances are presented.     

Evaluation of track stiffness and track damping

Correct estimation of track stiffness and track damping is essential for predicting the dynamic wheel loads of railway vehicles running on rough tracks. While several analytical procedures have been developed in the past to estimate track stiffness, there is no procedure readily available for estimating track damping. Experimental techniques involving the use of impulse tests have been used in this study to estimate track stiffness and track damping, on several different track structures on the Indian Railways. The results of these tests are presented.     

Numerical difficulties with boundary element solutions of interior acoustic problems

Although boundary element methods have been applied to interior problems for many years, the numerical difficulties that can occur have not been thoroughly explored. Various authors have reported low-frequency breakdowns and artificial damping due to discretization errors. In this paper, it is shown through a simple example problem that the numerical difficulties depend on the solution formulation. When the boundary conditions are imposed directly, the solution suffers from artificial damping, which may potentially lead to erroneous predictions when boundary element methods are used to evaluate the performance of damping materials. This difficulty can be alleviated by first computing an impedance or admittance matrix, and then using its reactive component to derive the solution for the acoustic field. Numerical computations are used to demonstrate that this technique eliminates artificial damping, but does not correct errors in the reactive components of the impedance or admittance matrices, which then causes nonexistence and nonuniqueness difficulties at the interior resonance frequencies for hard-wall and pressure release boundary conditions, respectively. It is shown that the admittance formulation is better suited to boundary element computations for interior problems because the resonance frequencies for pressure release boundary conditions do not begin until the smallest dimension of the boundary surface is at least one half the acoustic wavelength. Aside from producing much more accurate predictions, the admittance matrix is also much easier to interpolate at low frequencies due to the absence of interior resonances. For the example problem considered, only the formulation using the reactive component of the admittance matrix produces accurate solutions as long as the surface element discretization satisfies the standard six-element-per-wavelength rule.     

Electromagnetic cross sections of double giant dipole resonances in 136Xe and 208Pb within the phonon damping model

The electromagnetic cross sections of the double giant dipole resonances (DGDR) in 136Xe and 208Pb are calculated using the strength functions obtained within the phonon damping model. The parameters of the model have been selected to describe reasonably well the single giant dipole resonance in these nuclei. The results are found in an overall agreement with the recent experimental data for the DGDR cross sections in exclusive measurements at near-relativistic energies.     

Optimal acoustic fields in compact thermoacoustic refrigerators

Thermoacoustic refrigerators have been developed during the last 15 years, employing quasi-standing resonant acoustic waves inside fluid-filled cavities to transfer heat along a stack region. Because higher efficiency can be reached when a significant travelling wave component exists in the resonator, specific resonant thermoacoustic devices have been designed allowing to adjust more or less the ratio of travelling and standing wave components. However, the acoustic pressure field and the particle velocity field do not appear to be the optimal ones, for the thermal quantities of interest. Thus, it is the aim of the paper to present a new kind of thermoacoustic standing wave-like device which allows to control easily and independently the pressure field and the particle velocity field, after investigating the optimal acoustic field, in the stack region, for the main parameters of interest, i.e. the temperature gradient, the thermoacoustic heat flow and the coefficient of performance.     

Geometric and number effect on damping capacity of Helmholtz resonators in a model chamber

An acoustic cavity was selected as a stabilization device to control high-frequency combustion instabilities in gas turbines or liquid rocket engine combustors, and the acoustic damping capacity of the acoustic cavity was investigated for various geometric configurations under atmospheric non-reacting conditions. The tuning frequency of the acoustic cavity and the acoustic responses of a model chamber with a single acoustic cavity were studied first. Damping capacity was initially quantified through the frequency width of two split modes and the amplitude-damped ratio. The results showed that the cavity with the largest orifice area or the shortest orifice length was the most effective in acoustic damping of the harmful resonant mode. The effect of the number of cavities on acoustic damping capacity was also studied. Damping capacity was improved by increasing the number of cavities. For a better evaluation of acoustic damping capacity, two quantified parameters; the acoustic absorption, meaning the damping efficiency, and acoustic conductance, meaning the acoustic power loss, were introduced. The case was observed that has had insufficient loss of acoustic power in spite of having the highest absorption efficiency. As a result, fine geometric tuning for the acoustic cavity is required for the sufficient passive control. Also, the choice of the number of cavities is important to optimize the damping efficiency and absolute damping loss in consideration of the restriction of the cavity volume.     

Noseleaf furrows in a horseshoe bat act as resonance cavities shaping the biosonar beam

Horseshoe bats emit their ultrasonic biosonar pulses through nostrils surrounded by intricately shaped protuberances (noseleaves). While these noseleaves have been hypothesized to affect the sonar beam, their physical function has never been analyzed. Using numerical methods, we show that conspicuous furrows in the noseleaf act as resonance cavities shaping the sonar beam. This demonstrates that (a) animals can use resonances in external, half-open cavities to direct sound emissions, (b) structural detail in the faces of bats can have acoustic effects even if it is not adjacent to the emission sites, and (c) specializations in the biosonar system of horseshoe bats allow for differential processing of subbands of the pulse in the acoustic domain.     

A standing wave model for acoustic pumping effect in microchannels

An acoustic impedance pump is comprised of a compressible section coupled at both ends to sections of different acoustic impedances. Liquid can be pumped from one end to another if the compressible section is actuated at certain locations. This paper presents an analytical model on the acoustic pumping effect in microchannels. A one-dimensional wave equation is developed for acoustic pressures in the compressible section, taking into account the actuations as acoustic source terms. The solution for the acoustic pressure is a set of standing waves established inside the compressible section, corresponding to the actuations. The pumping effect is attributed to the second-order terms of the acoustic pressures. Two control parameters are identified. One is the resonance frequency associated with the sound wave speed and length of the compressible section, and the other is the damping factor. The analytical results are compared with the experimental data, and a qualitative agreement is observed in terms of frequency characteristics of the pumping pressure.     

Identification of the dominant precession-damping mechanism in Fe, Co, and Ni by first-principles calculations

The Landau-Lifshitz equation reliably describes magnetization dynamics using a phenomenological treatment of damping. This Letter presents first-principles calculations of the damping parameters for Fe, Co, and Ni that quantitatively agree with existing ferromagnetic resonance measurements. This agreement establishes the dominant damping mechanism for these systems and takes a significant step toward predicting and tailoring the damping constants of new materials.     

Measurements of the acoustic target strengths of fish in dorsal aspect,including swimbladder resonance

The need for measurements of the acoustic target strength of fish is discussed. The phenomenon of swimbladder resonance of small deep ocean fish is well known and is a useful means of estimating their sizes. For larger commercial fish in shallower seas the resonant frequency is much lower and resonance is very difficult to observe in the field. A method of observing and measuring the swimbladder resonance of a captive live fish in controlled conditions is described, and results on several gadoids are given. Reasons for the observed resonant frequencies being higher than predicted are given; the damping of resonance is high, which is expected. Application of these results to acoustic sizing at sea appears remote. They are relevant, however, to studies of low-frequency sound propagation, and the experimental technique is offered as a useful tool in physiological studies involving swim-bladder function.     

Toward broadband electroacoustic resonators through optimized feedback control strategies

This paper presents a methodology for the design of broadband electroacoustic resonators for low-frequency room equalization. An electroacoustic resonator denotes a loudspeaker used as a membrane resonator, the acoustic impedance of which can be modified through proportional feedback control, to match a target impedance. However, such impedance matching only occurs over a limited bandwidth around resonance, which can limit its use for the low-frequency equalization of rooms, requiring an effective control at least up to the Schroeder frequency. Previous experiments have shown that impedance matching can be achieved over a range of a few octaves using a simple proportional control law. But there is still a limit to the feedback gain, beyond which the feedback-controlled loudspeaker becomes non-dissipative. This paper evaluates the benefits of using PID control and phase compensation techniques to improve the overall performance of the electroacoustic resonator. More specifically, it is shown that some adverse effects due to high-order dynamics in the moving-coil transducer can be mitigated. The corresponding control settings are also identified with equivalent electroacoustic resonator parameters, allowing a straightforward design of the controller. Experimental results using PID control and phase compensation are finally compared in terms of sound absorption performances. As a conclusion the overall performances of electroacoustic resonators for damping the modal resonances inside a duct are presented, along with general discussions on practical implementation and the extension to actual room modes damping.     

Resonance identification in loudspeaker driver units: A comparison of techniques

A number of techniques with the scope of identifying loudspeaker cone resonances have been examined. Namely, the waterfall plot, the wavelet transform and the empirical mode decomposition scheme were compared on the basis of time-frequency resolution and damping estimation. The commonly used waterfall plot is only acceptable at the upper range of the acoustic spectrum. The wavelet transform is especially well suited for the analysis of transient signals from loudspeakers and is a significant improvement over the waterfall method. The newly developed EMD scheme has the highest potential in separating the modal components. By application of the EMD both instantaneous amplitude and frequency can be accurately determined.     

Coupling of the relaxation and resonant elements in the autonomous chaotic relaxation oscillator (ACRO)

If a harmonic oscillator is embedded in a relaxation oscillator, the resulting system may behave like an autonomous chaotic relaxation oscillator (ACRO). The discharge transient of the relaxation oscillator excites sinusoidal oscillations in the harmonic oscillator and these sinusoids affect when the next discharge occurs. This can lead to chaotic intervals in the oscillator periods. A simple electronic model of the ACRO is studied over a wide range of parameters using numerical, analytic, and experimental techniques. The dynamics of the ACRO is found to be determined by three parameters: (1) tuning, (2) coupling, and (3) damping. Complex, intermittent outputs can always be inhibited by increasing the damping of the harmonic oscillator. For weak damping, strong coupling yields chaotic periods. With weak damping and weak coupling, complex behavior only occurs if the relaxation oscillator is tuned near a resonance of the harmonic oscillator. A new path to chaos, called a disruption bifurcation, is the source for intermittency in the ACRO. This bifurcation occurs when the amplitude of internal resonances is excited to the degree that existing limit cycles are disrupted.     

Internal deformation of a uniform elastic solid by acoustic radiation force

Tissue elasticity estimation is a growing area of ultrasound research. One proposed approach would apply acoustic radiation force to displace tissue and use ultrasonic motion tracking techniques to measure the resultant displacement. Such a technique might allow noninvasive imaging of tissue elastic properties. The potential of this method will be limited by the magnitude of displacements which can be generated at reasonable acoustic intensity levels. This paper presents methods for estimating the internal displacements induced in an elastic solid by acoustic radiation force. These methods predict displacements on the order of 400 microns in the human vitreous body, 0.008 micron in human breast, and 0.020 micron in human liver at an acoustic intensity of 1.0 W/cm2 (in water) and an operating frequency of 10 MHz. While the displacement generated in the vitreous should be readily detectable using ultrasonic methods, the displacements generated in the breast and liver will be much more difficult to detect. Methods are also developed for predicting the time dependent temperature increases associated with attenuated acoustic fields in the absence of perfusion. These results indicate promise for radiation force imaging in the vitreous, but potential difficulties in applying these techniques in other parts of the body.     

The significance of high-order resonances of spherical bubbles to the acoustic response of fish with swimbladders

The high-order resonant response of spherical gas bubbles in seawater, when insonified by an acoustic pulse of 12 cycles of 38 kHz, used for target strength measurements, shows substantial variation in shape with only small changes in bubble radius. In contrast, the amplitude response of a gas bubble near its fundamental resonance changes predominantly in magnitude as the radius changes. The fundamental response is very similar to that of a more rigid target such as a tungsten carbide sphere. It might initially be thought that the high-order resonant response of spherical gas bubbles in seawater would have little relevance to the response of a gas-filled spheroidal swimbladder immersed in a viscous fish body. However, target responses similar to those predicted theoretically for gas bubbles have been found in data collected in situ for estimating target strength from normal fish populations. With further theoretical and experimental work, high-order resonances could be a useful aid to estimating target size and possibly target species.     

一维金属光栅的光学反射吸收

利用RCWA(rigid coupled-wave analysis)方法研究了一维金属光栅的反射特性,考察了 瑞利反常、表面等离激元驻波共振和几何共振三种共振吸收机理,分析了这三种机理的相互作用,如表面等离激元驻波共振和几何共振可以形成混合模式. 在反射式复合金属光栅中,确认了第四种共振形式,即相位共振. 数值计算表明相位共振对光学吸收的影响有两种形式: 当光栅周期大于一个波长时,相位共振导致尖锐的吸收峰,峰位在几何共振吸收峰一侧;当光栅周期小于一个波长时,相位共振导致混合模式的共振吸收峰发生劈裂. 对一维金属光栅反射特性的研究增加了对金属光栅共振吸收模式及其相互作用的认识. 关键词： 一维金属光栅 瑞利反常 表面等离激元 相位共振     

Micron-sized particle separation with standing surface acoustic wave—Experimental and numerical approaches

Traditional cell/particle isolation methods are time-consuming and expensive and can lead to morphology disruptions due to high induced shear stress. To address these problems, novel lab-on-a-chip-based purification methods have been employed. Among various methods introduced for the separation and purification of cells and synthetics particles, acoustofluidics has been one of the most effective methods. Unlike traditional separation techniques carried out in clinical laboratories based on chemical properties, the acoustofluidic process relies on the physical properties of the sample. Using acoustofluidics, manipulating cells and particles can be achieved in a label-free, contact-free, and highly biocompatible manner. To optimize the functionality of the platform, the numerical study should be taken into account before conducting experimental tests to save time and reduce fabrication expenses. Most current numerical studies have only considered one-dimensional harmonic standing waves to simulate the acoustic pressure distribution. However, one-dimensional simulations cannot calculate the actual acoustic pressure distribution inside the microchannel due to its limitation in considering longitudinal waves. To address this limitation, a two-dimensional numerical simulation was conducted in this study. Our numerical simulation investigates the effects of the platform geometrical and operational conditions on the separation efficiency. Next, the optimal values are tested in an experimental setting to validate these optimal parameters and conditions. This work provides a guideline for future acoustofluidic chip designs with a high degree of reproducibility and efficiency.