Study of acoustic nonlinearity parameter imaging methods in reflection mode for biological tissues

Three novel methods for acoustic nonlinearity parameter B/A imaging in reflection mode are developed in this paper. They are: (1) the acoustic nonlinearity parameter B/A tomography by detecting reflective second harmonic wave, (2) the B/A tomography in reflection mode via the measurement of the difference frequency wave generated by a parametric array, and (3) the C-scan imaging of B/A via the measurement of the echo second-harmonic signal. A theoretical analysis and the experimental imaging of normal and pathological biological tissues by using these methods are also present and discussed. Results show that using the acoustic nonlinearity parameter imaging we can more easily distinguish the diseased tissue from the normal one than using the linear acoustic parameters.     

非线性声参量成像及其在医学诊断中应用

本文介绍了我们对于反射模式非线性参量B／A的成像技术的研究结果，包括：(1)基于二次谐波的非线性参量层析成像(2)基于参量阵差频波的非线性参量层析成像(3)非线性参量的等深度C-扫成像。利用这三种成像方法对多种生物组织，特别对正常和病变的生物组织进行非线性参量成像。结果表明，非线性声参量成像可以比线性声参量更容易地判别生物组织的病理状态，从而展示了它在医学超声诊断中的应用前景。     

An alternative method to measure the on-axis difference-frequency sound in a parametric loudspeaker without using an acoustic filter

The self-demodulation characteristic of finite-amplitude ultrasonic sound waves can be applied with parametric loudspeaker to reproduce audible sound with highly directivity. But measuring the difference-frequency sound is still a problem due to the spurious sound generated as a result of nonlinearity caused by the product of the primary waves at the receiving system. In this paper, based on the phase-cancellation method and the Gaussian beam expansion technique, an alternative method is proposed to measure the on-axis difference-frequency sound accurately without using any traditional acoustic filter, where the spurious sound can be greatly reduced or even eliminated. The proposed method is more suitable for the case where the piston source in the parametric loudspeaker comprises multiple small piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) and each transducer element in the array may have different frequency response. The validity of the proposed method is confirmed both by simulations and experiments.     

Nonlinear parameter estimation in water-saturated sandy sediment with difference frequency acoustic wave

Difference frequency acoustic wave from nonlinear interaction of two primary acoustic waves at frequencies of 76 and 114 kHz was utilized with a parametric acoustic array theory to estimate the nonlinearity parameter of water-saturated sandy sediment. Such nonlinearity parameter can be used as background information for the nonlinear acoustic investigation of bottom or sub-bottom profiling in the ocean sandy sediments. Because of its lower attenuation the difference frequency acoustic wave method can be usefully applied to estimate the nonlinearity parameter of ocean sediment in the ocean as well as under laboratory conditions. The nonlinearity parameter β for the water-saturated sandy sediment used as a reference in this study was estimated as β = 80.5 ± 5.1 at the difference frequency of 38 kHz. It was agreed very well with that estimated at the difference frequency of 67 kHz, when two primary frequencies were 137 and 204 kHz. The estimated nonlinearity parameter of water-saturated sandy sediment in this study was also compared and analyzed with those estimated in previously published literatures. It was suggested that the difference frequency wave method used to estimate the nonlinearity parameter of water-saturated sandy sediment can be employed as a good method to estimate the nonlinearity parameters of fluid-like granular media.     

有限长号筒中非线性声传播的数值模拟研究

研究了大振幅活塞声源经有限长号筒向外辐射声波的非线性声学问题。采用具有频散保持特性的高精度计算格式求解了适用于变截面管道的一维非线性声场模型,并考虑到声波的非线性畸变及管口处的声反射,加入了宽频时域声阻抗边界条件。宽频阻抗模型的共轭复数系数采用优化拟合方法近似求解,并采用递推卷积算法快速求解出时域声阻抗。在弱非线性条件下模拟指数形号筒中的声传播取得了与已有实验相一致的结果,表明模型能够描述声波非线性畸变带来的宽频特性。进而采用本模型数值模拟了大振幅活塞声源在双曲形、锥形、指数形和正弦形号筒中的非线性声传播问题,结果表明号筒出口声压级受活塞振动速度、频率以及号筒形状的影响,并分析讨论了波形畸变与号筒几何形状之间的关系。      

The nonlinear propagation of acoustic waves in a viscoelastic medium containing cylindrical micropores

Based on an equivalent medium approach, this paper presents a model describing the nonlinear propagation of acoustic waves in a viscoelastic medium containing cylindrical micropores. The influences of pores' nonlinear oscillations on sound attenuation, sound dispersion and an equivalent acoustic nonlinearity parameter are discussed. The calculated results show that the attenuation increases with an increasing volume fraction of micropores. The peak of sound velocity and attenuation occurs at the resonant frequency of the micropores while the peak of the equivalent acoustic nonlinearity parameter occurs at the half of the resonant frequency of the micropores. Furthermore, multiple scattering has been taken into account, which leads to a modification to the effective wave number in the equivalent medium approach. We find that these linear and nonlinear acoustic parameters need to be corrected when the volume fraction of micropores is larger than 0.1%.     

非线性对大气介质中阵列聚焦声场分布影响的研究

基于时域有限差分算法将大气中近似到二阶微小项的非线性声波波动方程进行离散化,得到了模拟采用的差分波动方程.在此基础上,数值模拟了初始声压强弱不同的5个点声源组成的线阵列垂直或斜向辐射的连续正弦波在大气中传播时二维声场的分布情况.将线性条件下的模拟结果与非线性条件下的模拟结果进行比较后发现:弱非线性会对声场的分布和阵列聚焦增益产生一定的影响,使声场分布波形比线性条件下的声场分布波形更加靠近阵列,聚焦效果变差;强非线性会使波形发生更严重畸变,这是由于产生了基频以外的其他频率声波引起的;非线性对斜向传播时声场分布的影响与垂直传播时的影响效果基本相同,但由于斜向辐射时的声波几何扩展造成的轴向声压衰减要大于垂直辐射时的轴向声压衰减,因此聚焦增益和强非线性的影响都将小于垂直辐射时的情况.     

Numerical simulation of nonlinear propagation of sound waves in a finite horn

Nonlinear acoustic propagation generated by a piston in a finite horn is numerically studied.A quasi-one-dimensional nonlinear model with varying cross-section uses high-order low-dispersion numerical schemes to solve the governing equation.Because of the nonlinear wave distortion and reflected sound waves at the mouth,broadband time-domain impedance boundary conditions are employed.The impedance approximation can be optimized to identify the complex-conjugate pole-residue pairs of the impedance functions,which can be calculated by fast and efficient recursive convolution.The numerical results agree very well with experimental data in the situations of weak nonlinear wave propagation in an exponential horn,it is shown that the model can describe the broadband characteristics caused by nonlinear distortion.Moreover,finite-amplitude acoustic propagation in types of horns is simulated,including hyperbolic,conical,exponential and sinusoidal horns.It is found that sound pressure levels at the horn mouth are strongly affected by the horn profiles,the driving velocity and frequency of the piston.The paper also discusses the influence of the horn geometry on nonlinear waveform distortion.     

声波在有裂纹的固体中的非经典非线性传播

固体材料的无损检测是一个非常重要的课题,带裂纹的固体材料显示非经典非线性声学现象,本文对此现象进行了实验和理论研究。从实验上一维观察到此现象,发现奇次谐波振幅与基波振幅呈平方关系,与理论预计基本吻合;理论上从二维的角度数值模拟了声波在有损耗的带裂纹的固体中的声传播,并讨论了经典非线性和非经典非线性对声传播的影响,发现裂纹的贡献主要体现在非经典非线性上。分析了样品中裂纹的宽度和位置与非线性声参数的关系,在靠近样品中心的两个对称区域以及距离声源较近点,非线性声参数对样品的破损较为敏感,而在中央和距声源最远端敏感性较低;随着裂纹宽度的扩大,非线性声参数也开始变大,但在破损区域蔓延到棒边缘之前,有下降的趋势。      

含气泡液体中的非线性声传播

考虑到分布在液体中的气泡是声波在含气泡液体中传播时引起非线性的一个很重要的因素,本文研究了声波在含气泡液体中的非线性传播.将气体含量的影响引入到声波在液体中传播的方程中,从而得到声波在气液混合物中传播的数学模型.通过对该模型进行数值模拟发现,气体含量、驱动声场声压幅值及驱动声场作用时间均会影响到气液混合物中的声场分布及声压幅值大小.液体中的气泡会"阻滞"液体中声场的传播并将能量"聚集"在声源附近.对于连续大功率的驱动声场来说,液体中的气泡会"阻滞"气液混合物中声场及其能量的传播.     

Theory of parametric excitation of acoustic waves

A theory of parametric excitation of acoustic waves is constructed. It is shown that nonlinear attenuation is the main restriction mechanism for a parametrically generated sound wave. The intensity of generated waves is directly proportional to the difference ε between the value of pumping and bare attenuation. The calculated proportionality coefficient depends on the shape of the generated sound wave. Why an ordinary pattern does not form for acoustic waves is explained. The structure of the spectrum of excited waves was studied. It is shown that this structure has exponential asymptotic behavior at the frequency. The width of the intensity distribution depends on the shape of a wave. For different cases it behaves as ε ^α with α=1, 8/7, and 4/3. The results are compared with the experimental data of Ref. 5. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1630–1648 (November 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

The penetration of highly directional acoustic beams into sediments

A planar array of seven hydrophones buried in a sand sediment was used to study the propagation of 20 kHz sound waves through a water/sediment interface. Two different sources were used: one a parametric source with a beamwidth near 2°, and the other a linear source with a beamwidth near 10°. Measurements were made with each source at four grazing angles between 14° and 78°. It was found that at low grazing angles the behavior of the wave produced by the parametric source departed significantly from the prediction of plane wave theory for a lossy sediment. When the parametric source was used, the wave fronts penetrated more steeply into the sediment and the attenuation with depth was less than predicted by plane wave theory. It was observed experimentally that near the critical grazing angle the narrow acoustic beam is displaced along the interface before entering the sediment.     

Time-domain modeling of finite-amplitude sound beams in three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system

A three-dimensional time-domain algorithm,which is based on the augmented KZK (Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov) equation,is proposed to simulate the nonlinear field of the parametric array.First,KZK equation is transformed into TBE(Transformed beam equation). Then,the effects of diffraction(in parabolic approximation),thermoviscous absorption,relaxation, and nonlinearity are solved with finite difference methods.The numerical results of this code agree well with the theoretical and experimental results presented in previous studies, which demonstrates the validity of the three-dimensional algorithm.Using this code to calculate the nonlinear field of the parametric array in air,it is found that the small time interval is important to the accuracy of the simulation results of the difference frequency wave in the case of high sound pressure level,and the errors caused by taking relaxation absorption for thermoviscous absorption are influenced by the characteristic frequency.     

Harmonic propagation of finite amplitude sound beams: experimental determination of the nonlinearity parameter B/A

We propose a method to determine the nonlinearity parameter B/A of a liquid from the spatial evolution of harmonic components. We describe an analytical model, in the parabolic and quasi-linear approximations, that predicts the continuous finite amplitude sound beam propagation radiated by a plane piston source. This model takes into consideration attenuation, diffraction and nonlinear effects. The fundamental and second harmonic ultrasonic fields are expressed as the superposition of Gaussian beams. Axial propagation curves are then compared with those obtained by direct numerical solution of the transformed beam equation using the finite difference method, and with experimental results. Accurate measurements of pressure levels for the nonlinearly generated harmonics in water are performed along and across the propagation axis for different pressure values delivered at the piston surface. Experimental results, for water and ethanol, are in agreement with those of our model, which allows us to obtain the expected value of the nonlinearity parameter B/A.     

Multifrequency radiation force of acoustic waves in fluids

In this article we introduce the concept of multifrequency radiation force produced by a polychromatic acoustic beam propagating in a fluid. This force is a generalization of dynamic radiation force due to a bichromatic wave. We analyse the force exerted on a rigid sphere by a plane wave with N frequency components. Our approach is based on solving the related scattering problem, taking into account the nonlinearity of the fluid. The radiation force is calculated by integrating the excess of pressure in the quasilinear approximation over the surface of the sphere. Results reveal that the spectrum of the multifrequency radiation force is composed of up to N(N−1)/2 distinct frequency components. In addition, the radiation force generated by plane progressive waves is predominantly caused by parametric amplification. This is a phenomenon due to the nonlinear nature of wave propagation in fluids.     

Computer simulation of acoustic nonlinear parameter tomography

I.IntroductionUltrasonicimaginghasbcenwide1yusedinthcfie1dofclinicaldiagnosis,becauseitcanvisualizethetissuetharacterizationandinternalstructureofbiologicalobjectsbyacousticwave.Usingconventionalultrasonicimagingtechnique,theimagesofacousticlinearparameterssuchassoundve1ocity,acousticimpedenccandattenuationcoefficientmaybeobtained.Thesehavebecometheeffectivemethodsofu1trasonicdiagnosis.How-ever,inordertoobscrvctheearlystageofcanccr,weintendtoobtainmoreaccurateandmorecompleteinformationaboutth…     

Formation of characteristics of a parametric acoustic array in the vicinity of a rough surface

We present an experimental study of the fields of difference frequency waves (DFW) generated by a parametric acoustic array in laboratory conditions. The spatial distribution of the DFW field of a parametric acoustic array with oblique incidence of the source radiation onto a rough water-air interface that models a disturbed ocean surface is considered. It is experimentally shown that the presence of a reflecting surface in the region of interaction of the pump wave results in a significant distortion of the angular dependences of the DFW fields in a reflected beam.State University, Nizhny Novgorod. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 38, Nos. 1–2, pp. 82–87, January–February, 1995.     

压力罐中水声材料声学特性的参量源测量法

设计了一种原波频率500 kHz、差频范围1~30 kHz的截断宽带参量阵,作为水声材料测量系统的声源。通过分析典型频率下的宽带参量源指向性理论计算和实际测量结果,发现两者结果的曲线基本吻合,证明计算模型是正确的。应用钟形短时脉冲实现水声材料声特性的宽带测量,有益于降低样品边缘衍射干扰。并建立了测量水声材料大面积板状样品声压反射系数、声压透射系数和吸声系数的压力罐测量系统,罐体内尺寸Φ4 m×12 m,最高静水压4.5 MPa,测量频率范围1~30 kHz。对标准样品(尺寸1m×1m)进行了测量实验,其测量结果和理论曲线有很好的吻合,参量源测量法得到了验证;之后,通过对一块橡胶板样品在不同静压力下的吸声性能进行了测量和有效评估,进一步确认了参量源测量法在压力罐这样有限水域中的潜在应用价值。      

Identification of a parametric loudspeaker system using an adaptive Volterra filter

Due to the parametric acoustic array effect in air, the input audible signal of a parametric loudspeaker system can be reproduced with high directivity at the target region. However, the reproduced audible signal suffers from harmonic distortion, which is the by-product of nonlinear interaction between the primary waves. In order to investigate this inherent nonlinear phenomenon, a nonlinear system identification model is developed based on an adaptive Volterra filter. Unlike the conventional loudspeaker, the nonlinear characteristic of a parametric loudspeaker system is dependent on several primary parameters in nonlinear acoustics, which include the initial pressure of the primary waves, the observing distance and angle, as well as ambient temperature and relative humidity. By using a truncated Volterra series up to the 2nd-order kernel, numerical simulations are conducted to develop a system model with one group of parameters and examine the quadratic nonlinear intensity for different parameters’ settings. Experimental measurements, which take into account of emitter’s response, are carried out to verify the modeling result and evaluate the model performance. Based on the Volterra system model, the sound pressure level and the harmonic distortion can be accurately predicted.     

Nonlinear frequency mixing in a resonant cavity: Numerical simulations in a bubbly liquid

The study of nonlinear frequency mixing for acoustic standing waves in a resonator cavity is presented. Two high frequencies are mixed in a highly nonlinear bubbly liquid filled cavity that is resonant at the difference frequency. The analysis is carried out through numerical experiments, and both linear and nonlinear regimes are compared. The results show highly efficient generation of the difference frequency at high excitation amplitude. The large acoustic nonlinearity of the bubbly liquid that is responsible for the strong difference-frequency resonance also induces significant enhancement of the parametric frequency mixing effect to generate second harmonic of the difference frequency.