Mean force on a small sphere in a sound field in a viscous fluid

Abstract

A mean force exerted on a small rigid sphere by a sound wave in a viscous fluid is calculated. The force is expressed as a sum of drag force coming from the external steady flow existing in the absence of the sphere and contributions that are cross products of velocity and velocity derivatives of the incident field. Because of the drag force and an acoustic streaming generated near the sphere, the mean force does not coincide with the acoustic radiation pressure, i.e., the mean momentum flux carried by the sound field through any surface enclosing the sphere. If the sphere radius R is considerably smaller than the viscous wave penetration depth delta, the drag force can give the leading-order contribution (in powers of delta/R) to the mean force and the latter can then be directed against the radiation pressure. In another limit, delta< or =R, the drag force and acoustic streaming play a minor role, and the mean force reduces to the radiation pressure, which can be expressed through source strengths of the scattered sound field. The effect of viscosity can then be significant only if the incident wave is locally plane traveling.