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Chladni Patterns in a Liquid at Microscale

Gaël Vuillermet, Pierre-Yves Gires, Fabrice Casset, and Cédric Poulain
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 184501 – Published 2 May 2016
Physics logo See Viewpoint: Particles Move to the Beat of a Microfluidic Drum
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Abstract

By means of ultrathin silicon membranes excited in the low ultrasound range, we show for the first time that it is possible to form two-dimensional Chladni patterns of microbeads in liquid. Unlike the well-known effect in a gaseous environment at the macroscale, where gravity effects are generally dominant, leading particles towards the nodal regions of displacement, we show that the combined effects of an ultrathin plate excited at low frequency (yielding to subsonic waves) together with reduced gravity (arising from buoyancy) will enhance the importance of microstreaming in the Chladni problem. Here, we report that for micrometric beads larger than the inner streaming layer, the microscale streaming in the vicinity of the plate tends to gather particles in antinodal regions of vibrations yielding to patterns in good agreement with the predicted modes for a liquid-loaded plate. Interestingly, a symmetry breaking phenomenon together with the streaming can trigger movements of beads departing from one cluster to another. We show that, for higher modes, this movement can appear as a collective rotation of the beads in the manner of a “farandole.”

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  • Received 17 December 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.184501

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Interdisciplinary PhysicsFluid Dynamics

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Particles Move to the Beat of a Microfluidic Drum

Published 2 May 2016

A thin vibrating plate can organize microscopic particles within a liquid into different patterns, an effect like that observed in 18th century studies of musical instruments.

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Authors & Affiliations

Gaël Vuillermet

  • École Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128, France

Pierre-Yves Gires, Fabrice Casset, and Cédric Poulain*

  • Université Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France and CEA LETI MlNATEC Campus, F-38054 Grenoble, France

  • *cedric.poulain@cea.fr

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Issue

Vol. 116, Iss. 18 — 6 May 2016

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