Design and implementation of an efficient acoustically levitated drop reactor for in stillo measurements

Development of an Acoustic Levitation Linear Transportation System Based on a Ring-Type Structure

A linear acoustic levitation transportation system based on a ring-type vibrator is presented. The system is composed by two 21-kHz Langevin transducers connected to a ring-shaped structure formed by two semicircular sections and two flat plates. In this system, a flexural standing wave is generated along the ring structure, producing an acoustic standing wave between the vibrating ring and a plane reflector located at a distance of approximately a half wavelength from the ring. The acoustic standing wave in air has a series of pressure nodes, where small particles can be levitated and transported. The ring-type transportation system was designed and analyzed by using the finite element method. Additionally, a prototype was built and the acoustic levitation and transport of a small polystyrene particle was demonstrated.

Development of a Tandem Electrodynamic Trap Apparatus for Merging Charged Droplets and Spectroscopic Characterization of Resultant Dried Particles

Materials work in multicomponent forms. A wide range of compositions must be tested to obtain the optimum composition for a specific application. We propose optimization using a series of small levitated single particles. We describe a tandem-trap apparatus for merging liquid droplets and analyzing the merged droplets and/or dried particles that are produced from the merged droplets under levitation conditions. Droplet merging was confirmed by Raman spectroscopic studies of the levitated particles. The tandem-trap apparatus enables the synthesis of a particle and spectroscopic investigation of its properties. This provides a basis for future investigation of the properties of levitated single particles.

Effect of acoustic field parameters on arc acoustic binding during ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding

As a newly developed arc welding method, power ultrasound has been successfully introduced into arc and weld pool during ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding process. The advanced process for molten metals can be realized by utilizing additional ultrasonic field. Under the action of the acoustic wave, the plasma arc as weld heat source is regulated and its characteristics make an obvious change. Compared with the conventional arc, the ultrasonic wave-assisted arc plasma is bound significantly and becomes brighter. To reveal the dependence of the acoustic binding force on acoustic field parameters, a two-dimensional acoustic field model for ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding device is established. The influences of the radiator height, the central pore radius, the radiator radius, and curvature radius or depth of concave radiator surface are discussed using the boundary element method. Then the authors analyze the resonant mode by this relationship curve between acoustic radiation power and radiator height. Furthermore, the best acoustic binding ability is obtained by optimizing the geometric parameters of acoustic radiator. In addition, three concave radiator surfaces including spherical cap surface, paraboloid of revolution, and rotating single curved surface are investigated systematically. Finally, both the calculation and experiment suggest that, to obtain the best acoustic binding ability, the ultrasonic wave-assisted arc welding setup should be operated under the first resonant mode using a radiator with a spherical cap surface, a small central pore, a large section radius and an appropriate curvature radius.

Effects of acoustic levitation on the development of zebrafish, Danio rerio, embryos

Acoustic levitation provides potential to characterize and manipulate material such as solid particles and fluid in a wall-less environment. While attempts to levitate small animals have been made, the biological effects of such levitation have been scarcely documented. Here, our goal was to explore if zebrafish embryos can be levitated (peak pressures at the pressure node and anti-node: 135 dB and 144 dB, respectively) with no effects on early development. We levitated the embryos (n = 94) at 2–14 hours post fertilization (hpf) for 1000 (n = 47) or 2000 seconds (n = 47). We compared the size and number of trunk neuromasts and otoliths in sonicated samples to controls (n = 94), and found no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). While mortality rate was lower in the control group (22.3%) compared to that in the 1000 s (34.0%) and 2000 s (42.6%) levitation groups, the differences were statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). The results suggest that acoustic levitation for less than 2000 sec does not interfere with the development of zebrafish embryos, but may affect mortality rate. Acoustic levitation could potentially be used as a non-contacting wall-less platform for characterizing and manipulating vertebrae embryos without causing major adverse effects to their development.

Nonlinear characterization of a single-axis acoustic levitator

The nonlinear behavior of a 20.3 kHz single-axis acoustic levitator formed by a Langevin transducer with a concave radiating surface and a concave reflector is experimentally investigated. In this study, a laser Doppler vibrometer is applied to measure the nonlinear sound field in the air gap between the transducer and the reflector. Additionally, an electronic balance is used in the measurement of the acoustic radiation force on the reflector as a function of the distance between the transducer and the reflector. The experimental results show some effects that cannot be described by the linear acoustic theory, such as the jump phenomenon, harmonic generation, and the hysteresis effect. The influence of these nonlinear effects on the acoustic levitation of small particles is discussed.

Contactless transport of matter in the first five resonance modes of a line-focused acoustic manipulator

The first five resonance modes for transport of matter in a line-focused acoustic levitation system are investigated. Contactless transport was achieved by varying the height between the radiating plate and the reflector. Transport and levitation of droplets in particular involve two limits of the acoustic forces. The lower limit corresponds to the minimum force required to overcome the gravitational force. The upper limit corresponds to the maximum acoustic pressure beyond which atomization of the droplet occurs. As the droplet size increases, the lower limit increases and the upper limit decreases. Therefore to have large droplets levitated, relatively flat radiation pressure amplitude during the translation is needed. In this study, using a finite element model, the Gor'kov potential was calculated for different heights between the reflector and the radiating plate. The application of the Gor'kov potential was extended to study the range of droplet sizes for which the droplets can be levitated and transported without atomization. It was found that the third resonant mode (H(3)-mode) represents the best compromise between high levitation force and smooth pattern transition, and water droplets of millimeter radius can be levitated and transported. The H(3)-mode also allows for three translation lines in parallel.

High nonlinearities in Langevin transducer: a comprehensive model

The design and simulation of power transducers are difficult since piezoelectric, dielectric and elastic properties of ferroelectric materials differ from linear behavior when driven at large levels. This paper is devoted to modeling of a resonant power transducer at a high level of dynamic mechanical stress. The power transducer is subjected to a sine electrical field E of varying frequency which was considered as the excitation of the transducer. The mechanical equation of the piezoelectric element is written using electrostriction. The dielectric part is written as a nonlinear function of an equivalent electric field including stress influence (scaling relationship between electric field and mechanical stress). Using various simulations, we show then that typical resonance nonlinearities are obtained, such as jump phenomenon of transducer speed amplitude and phase, resonance peak that become asymmetric, and diminution of mechanical quality factor. As a consequence, we state that those typical nonlinearities are only due to dielectric nonlinearities, in good correlation with typical ferroelectric behavior. Moreover, this demonstrates the usefulness of scaling relationships in ferroelectrics, which explain static depoling under stress and butterfly strain hysteresis loop. The same scaling law gives here several nonlinearities for resonant transducers as well.

Analysis of the particle stability in a new designed ultrasonic levitation device

The use of acoustic levitation in the fields of analytical chemistry and in the containerless processing of materials requires a good stability of the levitated particle. However, spontaneous oscillations and rotation of the levitated particle have been reported in literature, which can reduce the applicability of the acoustic levitation technique. Aiming to reduce the particle oscillations, this paper presents the analysis of the particle stability in a new acoustic levitator device. The new acoustic levitator consists of a piezoelectric transducer with a concave radiating surface and a concave reflector. The analysis is conducted by determining numerically the axial and lateral forces that act on the levitated object and by measuring the oscillations of a sphere particle by a laser Doppler vibrometer. It is shown that the new levitator design allows to increase the lateral forces and reduce significantly the lateral oscillations of the levitated object.

Acoustic levitation with self-adaptive flexible reflectors

Two kinds of flexible reflectors are proposed and examined in this paper to improve the stability of single-axis acoustic levitator, especially in the case of levitating high-density and high-temperature samples. One kind is those with a deformable reflecting surface, and the other kind is those with an elastic support, both of which are self-adaptive to the change of acoustic radiation pressure. High-density materials such as iridium (density 22.6 gcm(-3)) are stably levitated at room temperature with a soft reflector made of colloid as well as a rigid reflector supported by a spring. In addition, the containerless melting and solidification of binary In-Bi eutectic alloy (melting point 345.8 K) and ternary Ag-Cu-Ge eutectic alloy (melting point 812 K) are successfully achieved by applying the elastically supported reflector with the assistance of a laser beam.

Sample handling and chemical kinetics in an acoustically levitated drop microreactor

Accurate measurement of enzyme kinetics is an essential part of understanding the mechanisms of biochemical reactions. The typical means of studying such systems use stirred cuvettes, stopped-flow apparatus, microfluidic systems, or other small sample containers. These methods may prove to be problematic if reactants or products adsorb to or react with the container’s surface. As an alternative approach, we have developed an acoustically-levitated drop reactor eventually intended to study enzyme-catalyzed reaction kinetics related to free radical and oxidative stress chemistry. Microliter-scale droplet generation, reactant introduction, maintenance, and fluid removal are all important aspects in conducting reactions in a levitated drop. A three capillary bundle system has been developed to address these needs. We report kinetic measurements for both luminol chemiluminescence and the reaction of pyruvate with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, catalyzed by lactate dehydrogenase, to demonstrate the feasibility of using a levitated drop in conjunction with the developed capillary sample handling system as a microreactor.

Finite element analysis and optimization of a single-axis acoustic levitator

A finite element analysis and a parametric optimization of single-axis acoustic levitators are presented. The finite element method is used to simulate a levitator consisting of a Langevin ultrasonic transducer with a plane radiating surface and a plane reflector. The transducer electrical impedance, the transducer face displacement, and the acoustic radiation potential that acts on small spheres are determined by the finite element method. The numerical electrical impedance is compared with that acquired experimentally by an impedance analyzer, and the predicted displacement is compared with that obtained by a fiber-optic vibration sensor. The numerical acoustic radiation potential is verified experimentally by placing small spheres in the levitator. The same procedure is used to optimize a levitator consisting of a curved reflector and a concave-faced transducer. The numerical results show that the acoustic radiation force in the new levitator is enhanced 604 times compared with the levitator consisting of a plane transducer and a plane reflector. The optimized levitator is able to levitate 3, 2.5-mm diameter steel spheres with a power consumption of only 0.9 W.

A resonance shift prediction based on the Boltzmann-Ehrenfest principle for cylindrical cavities with a rigid sphere

An investigation on the resonance frequency shift for a plane-wave mode in a cylindrical cavity produced by a rigid sphere is reported in this paper. This change of the resonance frequency has been previously considered as a cause of oscillational instabilities in single-mode acoustic levitation devices. It is shown that the use of the Boltzmann-Ehrenfest principle of adiabatic invariance allows the derivation of an expression for the resonance frequency shift in a simpler and more direct way than a method based on a Green's function reported in literature. The position of the sphere can be any point along the axis of the cavity. Obtained predictions of the resonance frequency shift with the deduced equation agree quite well with numerical simulations based on the boundary element method. The results are also confirmed by experiments. The equation derived from the Boltzmann-Ehrenfest principle appears to be more general, and for large spheres, it gives a better approximation than the equation previously reported.