Abstract
In this paper, vapor-bubble dynamics confined in a microspace under the effect of an acoustic field, defined as acoustic-thermal-bubble dynamics, is investigated not only for theoretical understanding of this complex bubble dynamic phenomenon but also for development of new microfluidic devices. The micro thermal bubble is generated by a microheater which is fabricated by a standard MEMS (microelectromechanical system) technique and integrated into a transparent channel. Using a high-speed digital camera, the thermal-bubble dynamics is studied qualitatively under two different conditions: normal condition and acoustic condition. The fluid is stationary for the experiments and the effect of the flow rate is not determined in the current research. Through theoretical analysis, the whole complex bubble dynamic process under two conditions can be roughly divided into four steps: (1) bubble generation, (2) satellite bubble movement, (3) bubble evolution and (4) bubble shrinkage/removal. The effects of acoustic vibration on all these four steps are found to be distinctly different. The mechanisms behind these effects are examined by analyzing the high-speed visualization results of two-phase flow phenomena. The current experimental investigation has a number of potential applications in the development of novel microfluidic devices.
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