Acoustically driven instability of a liquid drop under microgravity

Abstract

When the media surrounding a heated liquid drop is excited by an acoustic wave, acoustic streaming can modify the transfer of heat from the drop's surface. Spatial variations in the heat transfer can result in an adverse surface tension gradient and as well as internal flows in the drop. These flows can also result in unstable modes of vibration. The stability of surface waves on a liquid drop suspended by a plane acoustic wave in a microgravity environment will be discussed. In particular, how acoustic streaming affects the stability and heat transfer at the liquid‐gas interface will be addressed.