Acoustophoresis of disk-shaped microparticles: A numerical and experimental study of acoustic radiation forces and torques

Disk-shaped microparticles experience an acoustic radiation force and torque in an ultrasonic standing wave. Hence, they are translated by the acoustic field, an effect called acoustophoresis, and rotated. The torque effect is also known from the "Rayleigh disk" which is described in literature for sound intensity measurements. In this paper, inviscid numerical simulations of acoustic radiation forces and torques for disks with radius ≪ wavelength in water are developed in good agreement with former analytical solutions, and the dependence on disk geometry, density, and orientation is discussed. Experiments with alumina disks (diameter 7.5 μm), suspended in an aqueous liquid in a silicon microchannel, confirm the theoretical results qualitatively at the microscale and ultrasonic frequencies around 2 MHz. These results can potentially be applied for the synthesis of disk-reinforced composite materials. The insights are also relevant for the acoustic handling of various disk-shaped particles, such as red blood cells.