arXiv subjects

Bruce W. Drinkwater

Publications and source records attributed to Bruce W. Drinkwater.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Mid-Air Single-Sided Acoustic Levitation in High-Pressure Regions of Zero-Order Bessel Beams

Acoustic levitation enables non-contact manipulation using sound waves. While conventional methods entrap particles at pressure nodes (zero-pressure region surrounded by high-pressure), we demonstrate stable acoustic levitation and translation in mid-air within a high-pressure axial core of a single-sided zero-order Bessel beam for the first time. The trap operates at a long working distance, up to 397 mm ($46.6 λ$), supports simultaneous multi-particle levitation, and maintains stability over obstacles. Our work establishes a new paradigm for single-sided acoustic manipulation in mid-air.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2025

Experimental and Numerical Study of Acoustic Streaming in Mid-Air Phased Arrays

Mid-air acoustic streaming, where ultrasound induces steady fluid motion, could significantly affect the perception of haptic sensations, stability of levitation systems, and enable controlled transfer of odours (smells) through air by directing volatile compounds to specific locations. Despite its importance, the streaming behavior in airborne phased-array transducers remains poorly understood. Here, we use particle image velocimetry and numerical simulations to investigate streaming dynamics in single- and multi-focus acoustic fields. Experimental measurements reveal streaming velocities exceeding $0.4~\text{m/s}$ in single-focus configurations and up to $0.3~\text{m/s}$ in multi-focus setups, with distinct grating lobe-induced lateral jets. While multi-physics finite-element models effectively capture central streaming, they exhibit subtle differences and perform poorly in capturing flow in the side lobes. These findings provide valuable insights into the interplay between acoustic field design and streaming dynamics, offering guidance for optimizing ultrasonic technologies in haptics and levitation applications.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2023

Transformation twinning to create isospectral cavities

Bounded domains have discrete eigenfrequencies/spectra, and cavities with different boundaries and areas have different spectra. A general methodology for isospectral twinning, whereby the spectra of different cavities are made to coincide, is created by combining ideas from across physics including transformation optics, inverse problems and metamaterial cloaking. We twin a hexagonal drum with a deformed hexagonal drum using a non-singular coordinate transform that adjusts the deformed shape by mapping a near boundary domain to a zone of heterogeneous anisotropic medium. Splines define the mapping zone for twinning these two drums and we verify isospectrality by finite element analysis.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Exploring high-frequency eddy-current testing for sub-aperture defect characterisation using parametric-manifold mapping

Accurate characterisation of small defects remains a challenge in non-destructive testing (NDT). In this paper, a principle-component parametric-manifold mapping approach is applied to single-frequency eddy-current defect characterisation problems for surface breaking defects in a planar half-space. A broad 1-8 MHz frequency-range FE-circuit model & calibration approach is developed & validated to simulate eddy-current scans of surface-breaking notch defects. This model is used to generate parametric defect databases for surface breaking defects in an aluminium planar half-space and defect characterisation of experimental measurements performed. Parametric-manifold mapping was conducted in N-dimensional principle component space, reducing the dimensionality of the characterisation problem. In a study characterising slot depth, the model & characterisation approach is shown to accurately invert the depth with greater accuracy than a simple amplitude inversion method with normalised percentage characterisation errors of 38% and 17% respectively measured at 2.0 MHz across 5 slot depths between 0.26 - 2.15 mm. The approach is used to characterise the depth of a sloped slot demonstrating good accuracy up to ~2.0 mm in depth over a broad range of sub-resonance frequencies, indicating applications in geometric feature inversion. Finally the technique is applied to finite rectangular notch defects of surface extents smaller than the diameter of the inspection coil (sub-aperture) over a range of frequencies. The results highlight the limitations in characterising these defects and indicate how the inherent instabilities in resonance can severely limit characterisation at these frequencies.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2017

Metamaterial bricks and quantization of meta-surfaces

Controlling acoustic fields is crucial in diverse applications such as loudspeaker design, ultrasound imaging and therapy, or acoustic particle manipulation. The current approaches use fixed lenses or expensive phased arrays. Here, using a process of analogue-to-digital conversion and wavelet decomposition, we develop the notion of quantal meta-surfaces. The quanta here are small, pre-manufactured three-dimensional units - which we call metamaterial bricks - each encoding a specific phase delay. These bricks can be assembled into meta-surfaces to generate any diffraction-limited acoustic field. We apply this methodology to show experimental examples of acoustic focusing, steering and, after stacking single meta-surfaces into layers, the more complex field of an acoustic tractor beam. We demonstrate experimentally single-sided air-borne acoustic levitation using meta-layers at various bit-rates: from a 4-bit uniform to 3-bit non-uniform quantization in phase. This powerful methodology dramatically simplifies the design of acoustic devices and provides a key-step towards realising spatial sound modulators.

physics.class-ph↗