Second-harmonic pressure generation of a non-diffracting acoustical high-order Bessel vortex beam of fractional type α

Background and motivation: Generalized Bessel vortex beams are regaining interest from the standpoint of acoustic scattering and radiation force theories for applications in particle rotation, mixing and manipulation. Other possible applications may include medical and nondestructive imaging. To manipulate heavy particles in a host medium, a minimum threshold of the incident sound field intensity is required at relatively high wave amplitudes such that nonlinear wave propagation occurs and the generation of harmonics may be detected. Thus, predictions of the harmonics generation become crucial from the standpoint of experimental design, and the present analysis should assist in the development of more complete models related to the (nonlinear) scattering and radiation forces under such circumstances. The purpose of this research is to construct a theoretical model for the second-harmonic pressure generation associated with a category of non-diffracting Bessel vortex beams known as high-order Bessel vortex beams of fractional type alpha (HOBVBs-F alpha). Method: The weakly nonlinear wave propagation of a HOBVB-F alpha is investigated based on Lighthill's formalism. Analytical solutions up to the second-order level of approximation are derived and discussed. Closed-form solutions are obtained, which are expressed as a function of first-order quantities available from the classical linear theory. Lateral profiles of the HOBVB-F alpha are computed and compared. Results and conclusion: The results show that the beam's width reduces and becomes narrower, the side-lobes decrease in magnitude, and the hollow region diameter (or null in magnitude) increases as the order of nonlinearity increases. Furthermore, the nonlinearity of the medium preserves the non-diffracting feature of the beam's second-harmonic generation within the pre-shock range. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.