Modeling signal loss in surficial marine sediments containing occluded gas

The presence of occluded gas in inland lakes, harbor muds, and surficial marine sediments is well documented. Surficial gassy sediments cause underlying beds to be acoustically impenetrable to seismic surveys; therefore, the modeling of signal loss arising from mudline reflection and transmission absorption is of particular interest. The Anderson and Hampton [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 1890-1903 (1980)] model for attenuation in gassy sediments was evaluated against the physical and acoustical properties of eight laboratory silty clay soils containing different amounts of occluded gas in bubbles of 0.2- to 1.8-mm diameter. The model was shown to give good agreement with measured data over the lower frequencies of bubble resonance and above resonance. It did not agree with measured data at frequencies below resonance, for which the model did not simulate the bulk properties of the gassy soils. The Mackenzie [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 32, 221-231 (1960)] model for reflection loss was also examined for the gassy soils. The maximum reflection losses of 6 dB, at a grazing angle of 40 degrees, does not wholly support speculation by Levin [Geophysics 27, 35-47 (1962)] of highly reflective pressure-release boundaries arising from substantial reflection and absorption losses in gassy sediments. It was found that mudlines formed from sediments with significant occluded gas may be successfully penetrated, although the substantial absorption loss arising from signal transmission through the sediment prevents penetration of the surficial layers to much beyond a meter in depth.     

Evaluation of the vibrational modes of the human skull as it relates to bone-conducted sound

Analytic and numerical models are used to study bone-conducted sound and how it relates to the vibrational modes of the human skull. The analytic model is based on the solution to the acoustic and elastic wave equations and the constraining boundary conditions for a fluid-filled elastic sphere. Both models predict that most of the acoustic energy of bone-conducted sound exists in the form of surface wave vibrations at the interface between two acoustic media rather than in the bone or cranial chamber. These surface waves have phase speeds much slower than the bulk sound speed for bone. The analytic model, based on spherical elastic shells, predicts a phase speed of 775 m/s and the first resonance frequency at 1500 Hz while the numerical solution yields approximate phase speeds of 450 m/s and provides a visual display of the surface waves and diffraction effects.     

声波在水-含气沉积物界面的反射

含气泡海洋沉积物的声学特性是海底探测的重要问题。为了研究气泡存在对水-含气沉积物界面声反射系数的影响,本文基于气泡振动修正的Biot波动方程推导了气泡存在修正的Biot弹性模量,并结合水-沉积物界面的“开孔”边界条件推导了声波从水入射到水-含气沉积物界面的反射系数。数值分析表明气泡的振动导致反射系数呈现显著的频率特性。在气泡共振频率附近,由于气泡的共振引发的强散射和强衰减,使得反射系数很大,无论以何种角度入射,声波都很难进入含气泡的沉积物。本文研究结果表明,气泡半径、含量、声波频率以及入射角度都是影响水-含气沉积物界面反射系数的主要因素。      

声波在含气泡液体中的线性传播

为了探讨含气泡液体对声波传播的影响, 研究了声波在含气泡液体中的线性传播. 在建立含气泡液体的声学模型时引入气泡含量的影响,建立气泡模型时引用 Keller的气泡振动模型并同时考虑气泡间的声相互作用,得到了经过修正的气泡振动方程. 通过对含气泡液体的声传播方程和气泡振动方程联立并线性化求解,在满足 (ω R₀)/c << 1 的前提下,得到了描述含气泡液体对声波传播的衰减系数和传播速度. 通过数值分析发现,在驱动声场频率一定的情况下,气泡含量的增加及气泡的变小均会导致衰减系数增加和声速减小;气泡的体积分数和大小一定时, 驱动声场频率在远小于气泡谐振频率的情况下,声速会随驱动频率的增加而减小; 气泡间的声相互作用对声波传播速度及含气泡液体衰减系数的影响不明显.最终认为气泡的大小、 数量和驱动声场频率是影响声波在含气泡液体中线性传播的主要因素. 关键词： 含气泡液体 线性声波 声衰减系数 声速     

重塑砂质含气沉积物的声响应特性与模型预测分析

海洋沉积物中气泡的存在对沉积物的声学特性有显著影响.为实现在实验室内对不同初始应力条件下含气沉积物的声学特性测量,研制了一套可用于土工三轴仪的双探针声学测量系统,基于CT扫描试验获得重塑含气砂样品中气泡群的尺寸分布,确定其共振频率范围.试验结果表明:细砂沉积物声速随气体含量的增加呈指数型降低,衰减系数随气体含量的增加呈...     

气泡线性振动时近海面气泡群的声散射

海洋中的不同成因的气泡群是常见的水下声学目标及声呐混响源,因此对水下气泡群进行声学建模意义重大。利用有效媒质理论描述气泡群内部的相速度及声衰减变化,并考虑到海洋中气泡群往往产生于不同界面附近,进一步利用球面波叠加原理描述海面对气泡群散射声波的再辐射,导出了平海面作用下气泡群声散射截面的一般表达式,建立了其声散射模型,研究了单一尺寸及混合尺寸气泡群的声学特性。数值分析表明,气泡群的谐振频率会随其半径或孔隙率增加而降低;由于海面的存在,气泡群声散射截面会随频率进行周期性变化,且随气泡群远离海面,这一变化逐渐加剧。此外,若气泡的黏滞阻尼项在全部阻尼项中占比较高,气泡群声散射强度会在谐振频率附近存在起伏振荡。该模型可为近海面鱼群、气泡羽流及海底泄漏的甲烷气体的声学建模提供一定的理论基础。     

含少量气泡流体饱和孔隙介质中的弹性波

考虑孔隙流体中含有少量气泡,且气泡在声波作用下线性振动,研究声波在这种孔隙介质中的传播特性.本文先由流体质量守恒方程和孔隙度微分与流体压力微分的关系推导出了含有气泡形式的渗流连续性方程;在处理渗流连续性方程中的气体体积分数时间导数时,应用Commander气泡线性振动理论导出气体体积分数时间导数与流体压强时间导数的关系,进而得到了修正的Biot形式的渗流连续性方程;最后结合Biot动力学方程求得了含气泡形式的位移场方程,便可得到两类纵波及一类横波的声学特性.通过对快、慢纵波的频散、衰减及两类波引起的流体位移与固体位移关系的考察,发现少量气泡的存在对快纵波和慢纵波的传播特性影响较大.     

Counting bubbles acoustically: a review

The acoustical resonance characteristics of bubbles are the key to their detection by backscatter, excess attenuation and sound speed dispersion in bubbly liquids. The linear, lumped-constant, behaviour of single bubbles is reviewed and formulated in terms of the physical constants of the medium liquid, the bubble gas and the interface between. Acoustical techniques for bubble counting are discussed using in-situ experiments at sea as an example.     

气泡体积分数对沙质沉积物低频声学特性的影响

由于有机物质分解等原因,实际的海底沉积物中存在气泡,气泡的存在会显著影响沉积物低频段的声学特性,因此研究气泡对沉积物低频段声速的影响机理具有重要意义.考虑到外场环境的不可控性,在室内水池中搭建了大尺度含气非饱和沙质沉积物声学特性获取平台,在有界空间中应用多水听器反演方法首次获取了含气非饱和沙质沉积物300—3000 Hz频段内的声速数据(79—142 m/s),并同时利用双水听器法获取了同一频段的数据(112—121 m/s).在声波频率远低于沉积物中最大气泡的共振频率时,根据等效介质理论,将孔隙水和气泡等效为一种均匀流体,改进了水饱和等效密度流体近似模型.模型揭示了气泡对沉积物低频段声学特性的影响规律,理论上解释了沉积物中声速的降低.通过分析模型预报声速对模型参数的敏感性,根据测量得到的声速分布反演得到了沉积物不同区域的气泡体积分数,气泡体积分数从1.07%变化到2.81%.改进的模型为沉积物中气泡体积分数估计提供了一种新方法.     

浅海起伏海面下气泡层对声传播的影响

分析了起伏海面下风浪引起的气泡层对海面反射损失和对声传播的影响.一方面,气泡层会改变原来水中的声速剖面;另一方面,气泡层会对声波产生散射和吸收作用.考虑以上两方面的因素,分析了不同风速下气泡层对海面反射损失和声传播损失的影响,仿真发现,在风速大于10 m/s时,对于2 k Hz以上频率时气泡层对小掠射角下海面反射损失的影响不可忽视.在给定的水声环境中,当声源深度和接收深度都为7 m时,风速为16 m/s的风浪下生成的气泡层,在10 km处对3 k Hz的声传播损失的影响达到8.1 d B.当声源深度和接收深度都为18 m时,风速为16 m/s的风浪下生成的气泡层,在10 km处对3 k Hz的声传播损失的影响达到4 d B.     

Acoustic phase conjugation in a three-phase medium

Acoustic phase conjugation is studied in a sandy marine sediment that contains air bubbles in its fluid fraction. The considered phase conjugation is a four-wave nonlinear parametric sound interaction caused by nonlinear bubble oscillations which are known to be dominant in acoustic nonlinear interactions in three-phase marine sediments. Two various mechanisms of phase conjugation are studied. One of them is based on the stimulated Raman-type sound scattering on resonance bubble oscillations. The other is associated with sound interactions with bubble oscillations whose frequencies are far from resonance bubble frequencies. Nonlinear equations to solve the phase conjugation problem are derived, expressions for acoustic wave amplitudes with a conjugate wave front are obtained and compared for various frequencies of the excited bubble oscillations.     

The low-frequency sound speed of fluid-like gas-bearing sediments

The low-frequency sound speed in a fluid-like kaolinite sediment containing air bubbles was measured using an acoustic resonator technique and found to be 114 ms with negligible dispersion between 100 and 400 Hz. The sediment's void fraction and bubble size distribution was determined from volumetric images obtained from x-ray computed tomography scans. A simplified version of Wood's effective medium model, which is dependent only upon the ambient pressure, the void fraction, the sediment's bulk mass density, and the assumption that all the bubbles are smaller than resonance size at the highest frequency of interest, described the measured sound speed.     

超声波作用下泡群的共振声响应

从球状泡群气泡动力学方程出发, 考虑泡群间次级声辐射的影响, 得到了声场中两泡群共同存在时气泡振动的动力学方程, 并以此为基础探讨声波驱动下双泡群振动系统的共振响应特征. 由于泡群间气泡间的相互作用, 系统存在低频共振和高频共振现象, 两不同共振频率的数值与泡群内气泡的本征频率相关. 泡群内气泡的本征频率又受到初始半径、泡群大小和泡群内气泡数量的影响. 气泡自由振动和驱动声波的耦合激起泡群内气泡的受迫振动, 气泡初始半径、气泡数密度和驱动声波频率等都会影响泡群内气泡的振动幅值和初相位. 关键词： 气泡群 共振 声响应 超声空化     

An acoustic study of soils that model seabed sediments containing gas bubbles

The acoustic response of gassy seabed sediment is unique. It is a dispersive and extraordinarily attenuative natural material at frequencies which cause gas bubble resonance. It conceals the structure of the seabed from seismic profiling and it dampens acoustic signals that, for example, trigger acoustic mines. In the past, theoretical studies have formulated the probable cause of this response and crude experimental work has partially corroborated theory. This study measures compressional wave velocity and attenuation in a laboratory soil simulating natural gassy soil, and it investigates the structural properties that cause the unique acoustic response. It was confirmed that below the frequencies which cause resonance the soil behaves as a compressible material (containing gas), and above as a relatively incompressible material (containing no gas). Over the frequency range producing bubble resonance it is suggested that the soil should be modeled as a biphasic material of gas and a relatively incompressible saturated soil matrix (particles and fluid). Velocities for gassy soil were found to be as low as 220 m/s at frequencies below resonance and 1500 m/s above resonance; attenuations were found to be as high as 60 dB/cm for moderately gassy soil and as low as 1 dB/cm for soil with almost no gas.     

Sound propagation in water containing large tethered spherical encapsulated gas bubbles with resonance frequencies in the 50 Hz to 100 Hz range

The efficacy of large tethered encapsulated gas bubbles for the mitigation of low frequency underwater noise was investigated with an acoustic resonator technique. Tethered latex balloons were used as the bubbles, which had radii of approximately 5 cm. Phase speeds were inferred from the resonances of a water and balloon-filled waveguide approximately 1.8 m in length. The Commander and Prosperetti effective-medium model [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 85, 732-746 (1989)] quantitatively described the observed dispersion from well below to just below the individual bubble resonance frequency, and it qualitatively predicted the frequency range of high attenuation for void fractions between 2% and 5% for collections of stationary balloons within the waveguide. A finite-element model was used to investigate the sensitivity of the waveguide resonance frequencies, and hence the inferred phase speeds, to changes in individual bubble size and position. The results indicate that large tethered encapsulated bubbles could be used mitigate low frequency underwater noise and that the Commander and Prosperetti model would be useful in the design of such a system.     

Measurements of bubbles in sea water by nonstationary sound scattering

Methods for the characterization of bubbles in sea water by acoustic scattering are analyzed. Nonstationary linear and nonlinear sound scattering methods are proposed. The transient linear and nonlinear sound scattering allows the scattering by resonant gas bubbles to be distinguished from the scattering by other microinhomogeneities. The application of parametric arrays in oceanic experiments, together with the broadband frequency analysis of the backscattering coefficient, allows information about bubbles in sea water to be obtained. Experimental results on sound scattering and gas bubble distribution functions are presented for different conditions in the ocean.     

Sound speed in bubble film of ship wakes

As is distinct from general gas-liquid two-phase flow, a large number of bubbles with different diameters belong to ship wakes. Feasibility of Laplace equation, used to calculate wake sound speed (WSS), is confirmed based on differential postulation. Defect for calculating the adiabatic sound speed of gases in references is showed, and a concept of WSS is proposed clearly. A minimum WSS of 24.5 m/s is got when bubble ratio reads 0.5 according to the calculation when bubble dimension is less than that of resonance. Also a weak dependence of WSS on pressures is predicted. WSS from calculation corresponds with the experimental data of references well in high frequency domain, when the actual scale of bubbles is greater than the resonant scale. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.10274046) and Pre-study Fund of Military Equipment (Grant No. 51448030101ZK1801)     

非球形效应对强声场中次Bjerknes力的影响

考虑了非球形气泡在声场中的形状振动,推导了非球形气泡和球形气泡之间的次Bjerknes力方程,数值模拟了声场中非球形气泡和球形气泡之间的次Bjerknes力和两个球形气泡之间的次Bjerknes力,并对非球形气泡和球形气泡之间的次Bjerknes力的影响因素进行了分析讨论.研究结果表明:当驱动声压振幅大于非球形气泡的Black阈值且又能使得非球形气泡稳定振动时,在第一个声驱动周期内,非球形气泡和球形气泡之间的次Bjerknes力和两个球形气泡的次Bjerknes力方向差异较大,在大小上是两个球形气泡次Bjerkens力的数倍,且有着更长的作用距离.非球形气泡和球形气泡之间的次Bjerknes力取决于非球形气泡的形状模态、两个气泡初始半径的比值、驱动声压振幅、气泡间距和两个气泡的相对位置.     

The high-frequency backscattering angular response of gassy sediments: model/data comparison from the Eel River Margin,California

A model for the high-frequency backscatter angular response of gassy sediments is proposed. For the interface backscatter contribution we adopted the model developed by Jackson et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 79, 1410-1422 (1986)], but added modifications to accommodate gas bubbles. The model parameters that are affected by gas content are the density ratio, the sound speed ratio, and the loss parameter. For the volume backscatter contribution we developed a model based on the presence and distribution of gas in the sediment. We treat the bubbles as individual discrete scatterers that sum to the total bubble contribution. This total bubble contribution is then added to the volume contribution of other scatters. The presence of gas affects both the interface and the volume contribution of the backscatter angular response in a complex way that is dependent on both grain size and water depth. The backscatter response of fine-grained gassy sediments is dominated by the volume contribution while that of coarser-grained gassy sediments is affected by both volume and interface contributions. In deep water the interface backscatter is only slightly affected by the presence of gas while the volume scattering is strongly affected. In shallow water the interface backscatter is severely reduced in the presence of gas while the volume backscatter is only slightly increased. Multibeam data acquired offshore northern California at 95 kHz provides raw measurements for the backscatter as a function of grazing angle. These raw backscatter measurements are then reduced to scattering strength for comparison with the results of the proposed model. The analysis of core samples at various locations provides local measurements of physical properties and gas content in the sediments that, when compared to the model, show general agreement.     

Nonlinear radial oscillations of encapsulated microbubbles subject to ultrasound: the effect of membrane constitutive law

The nonlinear radial oscillations of bubbles that are encapsulated in an elastic shell are investigated numerically subject to three different constitutive laws describing the viscoelastic properties of the shell: the Mooney-Rivlin (MR), the Skalak (SK), and the Kelvin-Voigt (KV) models are used in order to describe strain-softening, strain-hardening and small displacement (Hookean) behavior of the shell material, respectively. Due to the isotropic nature of the acoustic disturbances, the area dilatation modulus is the important parameter. When the membrane is strain softening (MR) the resonance frequency decreases with increasing sound amplitude, whereas the opposite happens when the membrane is strain hardening (SK). As the amplitude of the acoustic disturbance increases the total scattering cross section of a microbubble with a SK membrane tends to decrease, whereas that of a KV or a MR membrane tends to increase. The importance of strain-softening behavior in the abrupt onset of volume pulsations, that is often observed with small insonated microbubbles at moderately large sound amplitudes, is discussed.