Inertial wave observations in liquid metal by means of ultrasound Doppler velocimetry

This experimental study considers the transient flow inside a liquid metal column exposed to a pulsed rotating magnetic field. To measure two-dimensional velocity fields of the secondary flow in the radial-meridional plane a novel ultrasound Doppler system was used. A linear ultrasound transducer array equipped with 25 transducer elements is used to measure the flow field in a square plane of 67 x 67 mm². The application of advanced processing techniques like a simultaneous excitation of multiple transducer elements and a segmented array technique enable high data acquisition rates as well as a high spatial resolution. The measurements revealed transient flow regimes showing distinct inertial oscillations and coherent vortex structures.