The complex scenario of a vortex ring impinging on a concave cavity is a key feature of Tracheoesophageal Speech (TES). The goal of this investigation is to experimentally determine the main physics of a vortex ring impinging on hemicylindrical cavities of different radius.The objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the key physics of a vortex ring impinging on hemicylindrical cavities with varying radii. A piston-cylinder vortex ring generator was used in a water tank to produce vortex rings with a radius of Rvortex = 2.54 cm, a formation number of F = 2.00, and a Reynolds number of ReΓ = 1,500. Five different ratios of hemicylindrical cavity radius (Rcavity) to vortex ring radius (Rvortex) were examined; namely, γ = 4, 3, 2 1/2, 2, and 1 1/2. Flow visualization and particle image velocimetry were conducted. Due to the asymmetric impact, significantly different flow physics were observed in the two primary planes of interaction (i.e., the transverse and longitudinal planes). In the longitudinal plane, the induced secondary vortex ring (SVR) moved away from the impact surface instead of rotating around the primary vortex ring (PVR), and the SVR's trajectory varied as a function of γ\gammaγ. For large cavity sizes (γ > 2), the SVR moves towards the PVR axis. As cavity size decreases (γ <= 2), the SVR is ejected further out and away from the PVR axis.
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