Nonlinear change of on-axis pressure and intensity maxima positions and its relation with the linear focal shift effect

Abstract

Experimental results related with the movement of the position of pressure and intensity maxima along the axis of focused acoustic beams under increasing driving voltages and its interpretation are presented. It is shown that in the nonlinear regime the points of the pressure and intensity maximum are separated and move differently along the axis, contrary to the linear regime, where these points coincide. The considered effects are particularly strong in the case of low-Fresnel-number beams.