Effect of acoustic streaming on the mass transfer from a sublimating sphere

The effect of the acoustic streaming on the mass transfer from the surface of a sphere positioned in an ultrasonic acoustic levitator is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Acoustic levitation using standing ultrasonic waves is an experimental tool for studying the heat and mass transfer from small solid or liquid samples, because it allows an almost steady positioning of a sample at a fixed location in space. However, the levitator introduces some difficulties. One of the main problems with acoustic levitation is that an acoustic streaming is induced near the sample surface, which affects the heat and mass transfer rates, as characterized by increased Nusselt and Sherwood numbers. The transfer rates are not uniform along the sample surface, and the aim of the present study is to quantify the spatial Sherwood number distribution over the surface of a sphere. The experiments are based on the measurement of the surface shape of a sphere layered with a solid substance as a function of time using a...