The attenuation of Lamb waves in the presence of a fluid

When a plate bearing a Lamb wave is in contact with a fluid the wave is attenuated. This report presents a relatively simple model for calculating attention. The validity of the approach is established by comparison of calculated results and measurements.     

On the use of acoustic birefringence to determine components of plane stress

To assess the integrity of a structure containing a (known) flaw, it is necessary to know the stresses acting on the flaw. Many common structural elements (e.g. beams and plates) are subjected to either true plane stress or generalized plane stress. For either of these cases, there are three in-plane stresses (one shear stress and two normal stresses) to be determined in general.In this paper, we consider the application of the acoustic birefringence method to generalized plane stress states, where the thickness-averaged values of the shear and normal stresses are sought. It is shown that the times-of-flight are thickness-averaged effects, whereas the polarization directions depend upon local values of stress. Consequently, when the symmetric (axial) component of the stresses dominates the antisymmetric (bending) component, the acoustic birefringence method can be used to determine all three stresses, if the boundary conditions are known. For unknown boundary conditions, the normal stresses can be determined to within arbitrary functions.Problems arise in using the normal incidence technique when either the shear stress vanishes, or the symmetric (membrane) components of generalized plane stress do not dominate the bending components. In the former case, the thickness-averaged difference in normal stresses can be obtained, provided that the birefringence in the unstressed state is known. In the latter case, the (averaged) difference in normal stresses can be obtained by measuring time-of-flight differences of off-axis SH-waves propagating in the planes of material symmetry of the plate.     

The propagation of ultrasound in porous media

The equations of Ying and Truell, and Waterman and Truell, describing the propagation of ultrasound in two-phase materials are solved numerically for porous solids, and are found to give unphysical results for high porosity. A new self-consistent theory, which can be solved analytically, is presented and is shown to have reasonable behaviour at high porosity.     

Sonochemistry in non-aqueous liquids

The chemical effects of high-intensity ultrasound on organic liquids are reported. In order to probe the factors which affect sonochemistry in non-aqueous solvents, two very different chemical dosimeters have been used: radical trapping by diphenylpicrylhydrazyl and decomposition of Fe(CO)₅. In both cases, good correlation is found between the logarithm of the sonochemical rate and the solvent vapour pressure. This result is justifiable in terms of the cavitation ‘hot-spot’ mechanism of sonochemistry. Thus, decreasing solvent vapour pressure increases the intensity of cavitational collapse, the peak temperature reached during such collapse, and, consequently, the rates of sonochemical reactions.     

Interaction of therapeutic ultrasound with purified enzymes in vitro

The effects of ultrasound on the rates of the catalytic reactions of four purified enzymes in vitro have been extensively investigated under a wide range of biochemical and physical exposure conditions. In general, it can be concluded that therapeutic intensities of continuous wave 0.88 MHz ultrasound had no detectable direct effects on the rates of the reactions catalysed by creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, hexokinase and pyruvate kinase. Some minor effects were noted. These were: an indirect effect resulting from mixing within the sample chamber caused by quartz wind streaming; an effect on partially-hydrated cross-linked enzyme systems which appears to be the result of increased fluid penetration of the solid matrix in the presence of ultrasound; and an increase in the rate of spontaneous dissociation of a multimeric enzyme system. It is, therefore, concluded that a direct interaction between ultrasound and the catalytic functioning of individual enzyme molecules is unlikely to be the primary step in any acousto-biological interaction, and that this primary interaction appears to be occurring at a higher level of organizational complexity.     

Dispersion of laser generated surface waves in an epoxy-bonded layered medium

In this paper, the dispersion of laser generated surface wave in an epoxy bonded copper-aluminum layered specimen is studied. A laser ultrasonic experiment based on the point-source/point-receiver (PS/PR) technique was conducted to measure the surface wave signals in the layered specimen. The received wave signals were then processed in the frequency domain to obtain the dispersion relation of the fundamental surface wave mode. Theoretical calculations of the dispersion relations of the fundamental surface wave modes in two-layered and three-layered specimens were conducted to explore the influence of the bonding layer thickness on the dispersion relation. The experimental dispersion relation for the epoxy bonded copper-aluminum layered specimen is in good agreement with the calculated dispersion relation. The influence of the bonding layer thickness on the dispersion relation is studied and the potential application of the present results to the NDE of bonded layered media based on laser ultrasonics is also addressed.     

A new stroboscope for schlieren and photoelastic visualization of ultrasound

Conventional stroboscopes, when used for visualizing the path of ultrasound in a transparent medium, suffer from many problems including too long a flash duration, jitter and inconsistency. To overcome these limitations a new stroboscope has been developed which is based on a light emitting diode driven with very short, very high current pulses.     

Acoustoelastic evaluation of arbitrary plane residual stress states in non-homogeneous, anisotropic plates

In this paper it is shown that relative ultrasonic velocity measurements can be used to determine the difference of normal stress components (T₂₂ − T₁₁) in non-homogeneous, anisotropic plates containing arbitrary residual stress states. It has previously been demonstrated that measurements with horizontally polarized shear waves (SH-waves) can be used to determine (T₂₂ − T₁₁) unambiguously in plates with unknown material property variations. However, previously the theory relating the velocity of SH-waves to stress and material anisotropy was limited to the case where the principal directions of stress are parallel to the axes of material symmetry. In this paper, we remove this restriction by extending the theory. We also suggest possible experimental procedures for validating the new theory.     

A spacecraft shielding model for calculating exposures to radiation

A spacecraft shielding model for calculating exposure to radiation is proposed. This model is based on the concept of the randomly inhomogeneous character of the material thickness distribution both in separate equipment units and the spacecraft as a whole. This concept has made it possible to obtain the shielding function of an arbitrary point in a spacecraft necessary to calculate the radiation exposure using its mean density, geometry and the ratio of the shielding function dispersion to its mean. This is constant for the spacecraft. This conclusion was verified for several Soviet and U.S.A. spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle.     

A stochastic discrete model of tissue and its ultrasonic backscattering coefficient

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Experimental studies of directivity patterns of laser generated ultrasound in neutral glasses

An experimental study on the directivity patterns of laser-generated longitudinal and shear ultrasound in semi-transparent neutral glasses is presented. The measured directivity patterns in the thermoelastic regime in the AB-series neutral glasses, which have various optical absorption coefficients, are in good agreement with our theory, which is briefly summarized in the Appendix.     

Effect of optical penetration on laser generatedthermoelastic ultrasound in solids

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In vitro mouse model in Duchenne muscular dystrophy diagnosis using 50-MHz ultrasound waves

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by the absence of dystrophin, the protein that plays a key mechanical role in maintaining muscle membrane integrity. One of the major consequences of dystrophin deficiency is the degeneration of muscle fibres, with a progressive loss in muscle strength. The objective of this research was to find an ultrasonic parameter sensitive to DMD, which could give relevant information related to microstructure if compared to traditional investigations such as morphometrical analysis. This “in vitro” study focused on the Mdx mouse model and investigated the potential differences between wild-type and dystrophin-deficient mice diaphragms. Using a 50 MHz ultrasonic sensor built in our group, we recorded an increase in ultrasonic wave attenuation in the dystrophin-deficient samples in comparison with normal muscles. A correlation between attenuation, mouse age and the percentage of non-muscular proportion in muscle was observed. As Mdx mouse is the best animal model for DMD and reproduces the degenerative pattern observed in human DMD muscles, this approach could be a powerful tool for in vitro DMD investigation and, more generally, for the characterisation of muscle properties.     

A simple model of ultrasound propagation in a cavitating liquid. Part I: Theory, nonlinear attenuation and traveling wave generation

The bubbles involved in sonochemistry and other applications of cavitation oscillate inertially. A correct estimation of the wave attenuation in such bubbly media requires a realistic estimation of the power dissipated by the oscillation of each bubble, by thermal diffusion in the gas and viscous friction in the liquid. Both quantities and calculated numerically for a single inertial bubble driven at 20 kHz, and are found to be several orders of magnitude larger than the linear prediction. Viscous dissipation is found to be the predominant cause of energy loss for bubbles small enough. Then, the classical nonlinear Caflish equations describing the propagation of acoustic waves in a bubbly liquid are recast and simplified conveniently. The main harmonic part of the sound field is found to fulfill a nonlinear Helmholtz equation, where the imaginary part of the squared wave number is directly correlated with the energy lost by a single bubble. For low acoustic driving, linear theory is recovered, but for larger drivings, namely above the Blake threshold, the attenuation coefficient is found to be more than 3 orders of magnitude larger then the linear prediction. A huge attenuation of the wave is thus expected in regions where inertial bubbles are present, which is confirmed by numerical simulations of the nonlinear Helmholtz equation in a 1D standing wave configuration. The expected strong attenuation is not only observed but furthermore, the examination of the phase between the pressure field and its gradient clearly demonstrates that a traveling wave appears in the medium.     

Transducers in medical ultrasound: Part Two. Vibration modes, matching layers and grating lobes

The performance of transducers used for medical diagnosis depends to a great extent on matching layer, backing impedance and geometry of the active surface. In this paper special attention is given to the element vibrational modes, the optimum matching, the grating lobe and change of the real acoustic impedance into an imaginary impedance as a function of the product of the width and wavelength. Grating lobes on the echo image and the effect of a mismatch of the matching layer are illustrated. Suggestions are made for the design of linear and phased array transducers considering the above-mentioned aspects.     

A model for the plane to plane variations in catalytic activity seen during nitric oxide decomposition on platinum

Previous work has shown that the reactivity of platinum for nitric oxide decomposition varies significantly with the geometry of the exposed surface of the platinum. Here, the available data are compared to the predictions of a model, which is based on conservation of orbital symmetry and a simplified picture of the band structure of the surface. The model predicts that the (100) face of platinum should be more active than either the (111) or the (110). The (410) should be more active still. These predictions agree with recent experiment. The model makes several other predictions which need to be tested experimentally. These results suggest that symmetry conservation methods, similar to the ones developed by Woodward and Hoffmann for organic reactions, could yield many valuable insights into the relative activity of various catalyst structures.     

Finite element modeling of the interaction of laser-generated ultrasound with a surface-breaking notch in an elastic plate

The interaction of surface acoustic waves generated by laser line source in the thermoelastic regime with surface notches are investigated. The finite element method is used to establish the model of the transient displacement field for surface notches with various depths and orientation. The magnitude of the signal enhancement in the near field and the mechanism by which this occurs are explained. The positions of notches were evaluated by the reflected Rayleigh wave. The depths and orientations of the notches were also determined using a shear wave that was generated through mode conversion of a surface acoustic wave at the notch tip. The results agree with previously published experimental measurements.     

层状介质时域有限差分方法斜入射平面波引入新方式

应用二维时域有限差分方法分析层状介质中的目标散射时,在总场-散射场边界斜入射平面波源用常规方法难以引入,因为在总场-散射场边界处设置的入射波实际上包含了入射脉冲以及各分层界面的反射和多次反射.为解决这个问题,提出了斜入射平面波的混合引入方式,即对总场-散射场的四个边界面采取不同的处理方式.对于总场-散射场的纵向侧边界,用含有斜入射角度的修正一维时域有限差分方法,只要在自由空间位置加入入射脉冲就会自行产生由各分层界面形成的反射波,包括多次反射.同时,把纵向总场-散射场侧边界向下延伸,使得总场-散射场下边界位于完全匹配层内,这样透射波和散射波均为外向行波而被吸收.对于总场-散射场的上边界,由于完全位于自由空间中,边界上各点的入射波将是总场-散射场纵向边界角点处入射波的带有时间延迟的复制.数值模拟结果表明了本文所提出方法的正确性和有效性. 关键词： 时域有限差分 层状介质 斜入射平面波 修正一维麦克斯韦方程