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Modeling Acoustic Microfluidic Phenomena In Unconventional Geometries, Andrew Ledbetter

McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In this work, the performance of a piezoelectrically-actuated ultrasonic droplet generator is analyzed by modeling the harmonic response of a two-dimensional representation of the device cross-section. Observed vibrational and acoustic resonances provide insight into optimal design conditions to achieve efficient, robust droplet ejection. Numerical simulations highlight the importance of the coupled electrical and mechanical behavior of the resonator assembly and show that elastic modes can effectively amplify or dampen acoustic modes within the fluid chamber. Experimentally-validated modeling results guide development of an optimization strategy to further improve device performance. In addition, the standing acoustic field that is the focus of …