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  • Open Access

Phenomenology of laminar acoustic streaming jets

Bjarne Vincent1,2, Daniel Henry1, Abhishek Kumar2, Valéry Botton1,*, Alban Pothérat2, and Sophie Miralles1,†

  • *Contact author: valery.botton@insa-lyon.fr
  • †Contact author: sophie.miralles@insa-lyon.fr
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 114103 – Published 25 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ylrm-gsxl

Abstract

This work identifies the physical mechanisms at play in the different flow regions along an Eckart acoustic streaming jet by means of numerical simulation based on a modeling of the driving acoustic force including attenuation effects. The flow is forced by an axisymmetric beam of progressive sound waves attenuating over a significant part of a closed cylindrical vessel where the jet is confined. We focus on the steady, axisymmetric, and laminar regime. The jet typically displays a strong acceleration close to the source before reaching a peak velocity. At further distances from the transducer, the on-axis jet velocity smoothly decays before reaching the opposite wall. For each of these flow regions along the jet, we derive scaling laws for the on-axis velocity with the magnitude of the acoustic force and the diffraction of the driving acoustic beam. These laws highlight the different flow regimes along the jet and establish a clear picture of its spatial structure, able to inform the design of experimental or industrial setups involving Eckart streaming jets.

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Phys. Rev. Fluids 10, 114103– Published 25 November, 2025
  • Received 18 July 2024
  • Accepted 28 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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