Acoustic Doppler velocimeter-induced acoustic streaming and its implications for measurement

Abstract

The acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) is widely used for the characterization of fluid flow. Secondary flows (“acoustic streaming”) generated by the ADV’s acoustic pulses may affect the accuracy of measurements in experiments with small velocities. We assessed the impact of acoustic streaming on flow measurement using particle image velocimetry. The probes of two different ADVs were successively mounted in a tank of quiescent water. The probes’ ultrasound emitters were aligned with a laser light sheet. Observed flow was primarily in the axial direction, accelerating from the ultrasound emitter and peaking within centimeters of the velocimeter sampling volume before dropping off. We measured the dependence of acoustic streaming velocity on ADV configuration, finding that different settings induce streaming ranging from negligible to more than 2.0 cm s−1. From these results, we describe cases where acoustic streaming affects velocity measurements and also cases where ADVs accurately measure their own acoustic streaming.