Interparticle force and torque on rigid spheroidal particles in acoustophoresis

The movement of the particles in acoustophoresis is driven by the acoustic radiation force acting on the particles. Particles with positive contrast factor tend to agglomerate once they are pushed by the primary force to the vicinity of the pressure node. The main driving force of this agglomeration is the interparticle force. In this study, the boundary element method is used to calculate the interparticle force and torque acting on a pair of spheroidal particles. The numerical results show that the interparticle force is dominant over the primary force when the spheroids are near the pressure nodal plane, similar to the case of two spheres. On contrary, the interparticle torque is insignificant compared to the primary torque, even when the spheroids are close to each other. The results also provide a preliminary study about how biological cells, which are mostly not spherical in shape, agglomerate and orient themselves in the vicinity of the pressure node. •Quantify acoustical interaction between spheroids in terms of force and torque.•Interparticle force is stronger than primary radiation force for spheroids.•Interparticle torque is weaker than primary torque for spheroids.•Suggest possible acoustophoretic agglomeration mechanisms for non-spherical cells.