Numerical Investigation of the Stability of Flows induced by a Surface Acoustic Wave along a Slab

The stability of flows induced by a surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagating along the deformable walls in a confined parallel-plane microchannel or slab in the laminar flow regime is investigated. The governing equation which was derived by considering the nonlinear coupling between the deformable or waving interface and viscous fluids is linearized and then the problem is solved by a verified code based on the spectral method together with the associated interface and boundary conditions. The value of the critical Reynolds number was found to be near 1439 which is much smaller than the rigid-wall case: 5772 for conventional pressure-driven flows.