Ultrasound Localization Microscopy in Liquid Metal Flows


Ultrasound Localization Microscopy in Liquid Metal Flows

Weik, D.; Grüter, L.; Räbiger, D.; Singh, S.; Vogt, T.; Eckert, S.; Czarske, J.; Büttner, L.

Liquid metal convection plays an important role in natural and technical processes. In experimental studies, an
instrumentation with a sub-millimeter spatial resolution is required in an opaque fluid to resolve the flow field near the
boundary layer. Using ultrasound methods, the trade-off between the frequency and imaging depth of typical laboratory
experiments limits the spatial resolution. Therefore, the method of ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) was introduced
in liquid metal experiments for the first time in this study. To isolate the intrinsic scattering particles, an adaptive nonlinear
beamformer was applied. As a result, an average spatial resolution of 188 μm could be achieved, which corresponded to a
fraction of the ultrasound wavelength of 0.28. A convection experiment was measured using ULM. Due to the increased
spatial resolution, the high-velocity gradients and the recirculation areas of a liquid metal convection experiment could be
observed for the first time. The presented technique paves the way for in-depth flow studies of convective turbulent liquid
metal flows that are close to the boundary layer.

Keywords: adaptive beamforming; magnetohydrodynamic convection; sub-diffraction imaging; ultra-fast imaging; ultrasound imaging; ultrasound localization microscopy

Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-34714
Publ.-Id: 34714