Interpretation of the acoustic properties of suspensions with the diffraction theory

Patrick Blondel

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ABSTRACT

Though the viscoelastic theory suitably predicts the acoustic properties of suspensions, it does not help us understand the amplitude variability of the waves transmitted through media of different porosity. This paper attempts to explain two phenomena occurring in suspensions using the diffraction theory. First, lab experiments show that the amplitude of the transmitted waves decreases when the suspension becomes denser. The modeling of this experiment predicts the scattering effect on the amplitude of the waves in dense suspensions. The second phenomenon concerns the sigmoid increase of the measured P-velocities with the frequency of the measurement. This behavior can be qualitatively explained by the diffraction theory. Furthermore, a simple relationship exists between the critical frequency of the measurement and the size of the grains.