Controlling acoustic streaming in an ultrasonic heptagonal tweezers with application to cell manipulation

Acoustic radiation force has been demonstrated as a method for manipulating micron-scale particles, but is frequently affected by unwanted streaming. In this paper the streaming in a multi-transducer quasi-standing wave acoustic particle manipulation device is assessed, and found to be dominated by a form of Eckart streaming. The experimentally observed streaming takes the form of two main vortices that have their highest velocity in the region where the standing wave is established. A finite element model is developed that agrees well with experimental results, and shows that the Reynolds stresses that give rise to the fluid motion are strongest in the high velocity region. A technical solution to reduce the streaming is explored that entails the introduction of a biocompatible agar gel layer at the bottom of the chamber so as to reduce the fluid depth and volume. By this means, we reduce the region of fluid that experiences the Reynolds stresses; the viscous drag per unit volume of fluid is also increased. Particle Image Velocimetry data is used to observe the streaming as a function of agar-modified cavity depth. It was found that, in an optimised structure, Eckart streaming could be reduced to negligible levels so that we could make a sonotweezers device with a large working area of up to 13 mm × 13 mm.     

Characterization of acoustic streaming in water and aluminum melt during ultrasonic irradiation

It is well known that ultrasonic cavitation causes a steady flow termed acoustic streaming. In the present study, the velocity of acoustic streaming in water and molten aluminum is measured. The method is based on the measurement of oscillation frequency of Karman vortices around a cylinder immersed into liquid. For the case of acoustic streaming in molten metal, such measurements were performed for the first time. Four types of experiments were conducted in the present study: (1) Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurement in a water bath to measure the acoustic streaming velocity visually, (2) frequency measurement of Karman vortices generated around a cylinder in water, and (3) in aluminum melt, and (4) cavitation intensity measurements in molten aluminum. Based on the measurement results (1) and (2), the Strouhal number for acoustic streaming was determined. Then, using the same Strouhal number and measuring oscillation frequency of Karman vortices in aluminum melt, the acoustic streaming velocity was measured. The velocity of acoustic streaming was found to be independent of amplitude of sonotrode tip oscillation both in water and aluminum melt. This can be explained by the effect of acoustic shielding and liquid density.     

Acoustic voice analysis in patients with essential tremor

To quantify several acoustic features of the voice in patients with essentialtremor (ET), 28 patients and 28 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. ET severity was assessed with the rating scale for tremor of Fahn, Tolosa, and Marín. The Computerized Speech Lab 4300 program (Kay Elemetrics) was used. Two-second samples of a sustained /a/ and a sentence were captured with a microphone and laryngograph equipment. Measures included fundamental frequency (F₀), frequency perturbation (fitter, Koike algorithm), intensity perturbation (shimmer, Horii algorithm), and harmonic-to-noise ratio (H/N, Yumoto algorithm) of the vowel /a/, and the frequency and intensity variability of the sentence, phonational range, and dynamic range at the natural frequency, maximum phonational time, and s/z ratio. All subjects underwent indirect laryngoscopy and/or laryngeal fibroscopy. When compared with controls, ET patients showed higher jitter, lower H/N ratio (the last one only with laryngographic signal), of the vowel /a/, lower frequency variability in the microphonc signal, lower intensity variability in the laryngographic signal of the sentence, and significantly lower dynamic range at natural frequency of phonation. ET patients reported higher frequency of the presence of high voice intensity, tremor, and struggle. Several acoustic parameters were influenced by the severity of the disease, including shimmer, jitter, H/N ratio, frequency variability of the sentence, and s/z ratio, although neither of the acoustic analysis values or the phonetometric measurements were affected by the presence of voice tremor or by a successful pharmacological treatment of ET.     

空气源热泵机组结霜问题的实验分析

基于空气源热泵在低温寒冷地区运行中遇到的结霜问题,对不同风速工况下,结霜过程中设备性能的变化进行分析,以换热量、换热系数为指标对不同翅型换热器的换热特性进行研究.实验结果显示:换热器结霜过程中,换热过程主要分为初始增加段、换热平稳段、缓慢衰减段、后期平稳等四段,结晶体在增加空气湍流度强化换热的同时,也增加了换热热阻使换...     

Acoustic voice analysis in patients with Parkinson''s disease treated with dopaminergic drugs

To quantify several acoustic features of the voice in patients withParkinson's disease (PD), 41 patients and 28 age and sex-matched controls were studied. PD severity was assessed with the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Hoehn and Yahr staging. The Computerized Speech Lab 4300 program (Kay Elemetrics) was used. Two seconds of a sustained /a/ and a sentence were captured with a microphone and laryngograph equipment. Measures included fundamental frequency (FO), frequency perturbation (fitter), intensity perturbation (shimmer), and harmonic/noise ratio (H/N) of the vowel /a/, and frequency and intensity variability of a sentence, phonational range, dynamic range at the natural frequency, maximum phonational time and s/z ratio. All subjects underwent indirect laryngoscopy and/or laryngeal fibroscopy. When compared with controls, PD patients showed higher jitter, lower H/N ratio, lower frequency and intensity variability of the sentence, and lower phonational range and reported a higher frequency of the presence of low voice-intensity, monopitch, voice arrests, and struggle. These features seem to be unaffected by the duration and severity of the disease.     

Manipulation with sound and vibration: A review on the micromanipulation system based on sub-MHz acoustic waves

Manipulation of micro-objects have been playing an essential role in biochemical analysis or clinical diagnostics. Among the diverse technologies for micromanipulation, acoustic methods show the advantages of good biocompatibility, wide tunability, a label-free and contactless manner. Thus, acoustic micromanipulations have been widely exploited in micro-analysis systems. In this article, we reviewed the acoustic micromanipulation systems that were actuated by sub-MHz acoustic waves. In contrast to the high-frequency range, the acoustic microsystems operating at sub-MHz acoustic frequency are more accessible, whose acoustic sources are at low cost and even available from daily acoustic devices (e.g. buzzers, speakers, piezoelectric plates). The broad availability, with the addition of the advantages of acoustic micromanipulation, make sub-MHz microsystems promising for a variety of biomedical applications. Here, we review recent progresses in sub-MHz acoustic micromanipulation technologies, focusing on their applications in biomedical fields. These technologies are based on the basic acoustic phenomenon, such as cavitation, acoustic radiation force, and acoustic streaming. And categorized by their applications, we introduce these systems for mixing, pumping and droplet generation, separation and enrichment, patterning, rotation, propulsion and actuation. The diverse applications of these systems hold great promise for a wide range of enhancements in biomedicines and attract increasing interest for further investigation.     

基于Newmark算法的任意磁化方向铁氧体电磁散射时域有限差分分析

利用坐标系转换矩阵给出实验室坐标系中饱和磁化铁氧体的频域磁导系数张量,再通过频域到时域的转换关系jω→?/?t得到一个二阶微分方程形式的时域本构关系.然后采用Newmark方法求解时域本构关系从而给出一种适用于处理任意磁化方向铁氧体电磁问题的Newmark时域有限差分算法.利用此算法计算了饱和磁化铁氧体层的反(透)射系数和饱和磁化铁氧体球的后向雷达散射截面,所获得的结果验证了此算法的正确有效性.     

Stability analysis of second- and fourth-order finite-difference modelling of wave propagation in orthotropic media

The stability of the finite-difference approximation of elastic wave propagation in orthotropic homogeneous media in the three-dimensional case is discussed. The model applies second- and fourth-order finite-difference approaches with staggered grid and stress-free boundary conditions in the space domain and second-order finite-difference approach in the time domain. The numerical integration of the wave equation by central differences is conditionally stable and the corresponding stability criterion for the time domain discretisation has been deduced as a function of the material properties and the geometrical discretization. The problem is discussed by applying the method of VonNeumann. Solutions and the calculation of the critical time steps is presented for orthotropic material in both the second- and fourth-order case. The criterion is verified for the special case of isotropy and results in the well-known formula from the literature. In the case of orthotropy the method was verified by long time simulations and by calculating the total energy of the system.     

Acoustic analysis of voice in individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and perceptually normal vocal quality

Currently, early phonatory changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS) are not well understood. The aim of this study was to compare acoustic parameters of voice in ALS subjects who demonstrated perceptually normal vocal quality on sustained phonation with a control group. We hypothesized that objective analysis of voice would reveal significant differences on specific acoustic parameters of voice compared to the control group. Results revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups on measures related to frequency range and phonatory stability. The findings suggest that early bulbar signs affecting the laryngeal system may be present in patients with ALS before the occurrence of perceptually aberrant vocal characteristics.     

声学立靶弹着点测试数学模型与误差分析

本文根据空气动力学理论和超音速弹丸的激波特性，建立了在使用L型立靶基础上正向射击和任意角度射击时的数学模型，并进行了误差分析，提出了减小误差的修正方法。     

Acoustic analysis of the singing and speaking voice in singing students

The singing power ratio (SPR) is an objective means of quantifying the singer's formant. SPR has been shown to differentiate trained singers from nonsingers and sung from spoken tones. This study was designed to evaluate SPR and acoustic parameters in singing students to determine if the singer-intraining has an identifiable difference between sung and spoken voices. Digital audio recordings were made of both sung and spoken vowel sounds in 55 singing students for acoustic analysis. SPR values were not significantly different between the sung and spoken samples. Shimmer and noise-to-harmonic ratio were significantly higher in spoken samples. SPR analysis may provide an objective tool for monitoring the student's progress.     

A time-domain approach to estimating the plucking point of guitar tones obtained with an under-saddle pickup

A method for estimating the plucking point of guitar tones is proposed. The algorithm is based on investigating the time lag between two consecutive pulses arriving at the bridge of the guitar. The signal is detected with an under-saddle pickup attached to the bridge. The method determines the minimum of the autocorrelation function for one period of the signal. The time lag of the minimum can be converted into the distance from the bridge where the string was plucked. The results obtained with the method are good, the error remains smaller than one centimetre, except for a few outliers. The algorithm is easy to implement and can be used to analyse playing styles. The efficiency of the method gives the potential to also use it in real-time computer music applications.     

An object-oriented designed finite-difference time-domain simulator for electromagnetic analysis and design in MRI--applications to high field analyses

This paper presents a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulator for electromagnetic analysis and design applications in MRI. It is intended to be a complete FDTD model of an MRI system including all RF and low-frequency field generating units and electrical models of the patient. The program has been constructed in an object-oriented framework. The design procedure is detailed and the numerical solver has been verified against analytical solutions for simple cases and also applied to various field calculation problems. In particular, the simulator is demonstrated for inverse RF coil design, optimized source profile generation, and parallel imaging in high-frequency situations. The examples show new developments enabled by the simulator and demonstrate that the proposed FDTD framework can be used to analyze large-scale computational electromagnetic problems in modern MRI engineering.     

高密度超细颗粒高浓度悬浊液超声衰减的数值模拟分析

以拓展耦合相ECP理论模型为基础,通过对高浓度超细二氧化钛-水悬浊液和玻璃微珠-水悬浊液中超声衰减的数值计算分析,讨论了高密度差异颗粒两相介质在高浓度情况下,超声频率、颗粒粒径大小、颗粒浓度对超声波衰减的影响,为高密度超细颗粒在高浓度悬浊液中颗粒粒度和浓度的超声波测量提供理论支持。     

A comparison measurement of nonlinear ultrasonic waves in tubes by a microphone and by an optical interferometric probe

This paper deals with the analysis of ultrasonic fields inside waveguides generated by ultrasonic waves of high amplitude. These waves behave nonlinearly, so it is not possible to use standard linear equations to describe their behaviour. Therefore, we started with an experimental determination of the acoustic pressure of air in glass tubes. We chose two methods of measurement--by a microphone and by an optical interferometric probe. The conventional method by a microphone creates numerous problems, which can be avoided by using an optical method, a heterodyne laser interferometer.     

R22与R410A热泵中冷凝器性能随支路数变化的比较

利用软件EVAP-COND,模拟对比了在室内换热器中分别采用R22与R410A制冷剂时冷凝器的性能随支路数的变化,结果表明:室内换热器作为冷凝器时,R410A的换热量比R22的要大,换热量的差别是由两排管共同造成的,两排管中R410A的换热量都比R22的要大;随支路数的增多,第一排管对冷凝器换热量差值的影响越来越显著,而第二排管的影响逐渐减弱;第一排管换热量的差别主要受传热系数的影响,而第二排管受传热温差和传热系数的综合影响。因此,支路增多时制约R410A和R22冷凝器换热量差别的因素,从传热温差和传热系数共同作用逐渐转变为传热系数起主导作用。     

Modeling and experimental analysis of the linear ultrasonic motor with in-plane bending and longitudinal mode

A novel linear ultrasonic motor based on in-plane longitudinal and bending mode vibration is presented in this paper. The stator of the motor is composed of a metal plate and eight piezoelectric ceramic patches. There are four long holes in the plate, designed for consideration of the longitudinal and bending mode coupling. The corresponding model is developed to optimize the mechanical and electrical coupling of the stator, which causes an ellipse motion at the contact tip of the stator when the composite vibrations with longitudinal and bending are excited. Its harmonic and transient responses are simulated and inspected. A prototype based on the model is fabricated and used to conduct experiments. Results show that the amplitude of the stator’s contact tips is significantly increased, which helps to amplify the driving force and speed of the motor. It is therefore feasible to implement effective linear movement using the developed prototype.     

平行因子分析法在太湖水体三维荧光峰比值分析中的应用

以太湖水样三维荧光光谱数据为例,提出在采用平行因子分析法(PARAFAC)处理后的荧光数据中提取荧光峰强度计算荧光峰比值进行水环境分析评价的方法,较直接在水样原始荧光谱图中获取的荧光峰强度更加准确客观。天然水体中各水样间由于受荧光团复杂多样性等因素的影响,某类荧光物质荧光峰的激发发射波长位置并不是固定不变的,就同一水样而言各类荧光峰之间的相互重叠干扰也将影响到荧光峰强度和位置的准确判断。而在PARAFAC模型各因子中提取相应荧光峰值可以保证各水样间同类荧光物质荧光峰在同一位置又有效减弱同一水样中各类荧光物质荧光峰之间的相互干扰,更加高效准确的利用荧光峰比值进行水环境分析。区域差异性分析时水样因子得分比值的区域变化与原始荧光峰比值变化趋势是一致的。