Mean acoustic fields exerted on a subwavelength axisymmetric particle.

Abstract

The acoustic radiation force produced by ultrasonic waves is the "workhorse" of particle manipulation in acoustofluidics. Nonspherical particles are also subjected to a mean torque known as the acoustic radiation torque. Together they constitute the mean acoustic fields exerted on the particle. Analytical methods alone cannot calculate these fields on arbitrarily shaped particles in actual fluids and are no longer fit for purpose. Here, a semi-analytical approach is introduced for handling subwavelength axisymmetric particles immersed in an isotropic Newtonian fluid. The obtained mean acoustic fields depend on the scattering coefficients that reflect the monopole and dipole modes. These coefficients are determined by numerically solving the scattering problem. Our method is benchmarked by comparison with the exact result for a subwavelength rigid sphere in water. Besides, a more realistic case of a red blood cell immersed in blood plasma under a standing ultrasonic wave is investigated with our methodology.