Attenuation of ultrasound

The transducers on most ultrasound imaging systems operate at a frequency between 1 and 20 MH2. The attenuation, of ultrasound by tissues is both frequency and tissue dependent. The attenuation coefficient, a, of a tissue is defined by equation 5 ... 

The attenuation of ultrasound (acoustic spectroscopy) or high frequency electrical current (dielectric spectroscopy) as it passes through a suspension is different for weU-dispersed individual particles than for floes of those particles because the floes adsorb energy by breakup and reformation as pressure or electrical waves josde them. The degree of attenuation varies with frequency in a manner related to floe breakup and reformation rate constants, which depend on the strength of the interparticle attraction, size, and density (inertia) of the particles, and viscosity of the Hquid. 

In general Z is complex and can be divided into a real and imaginary part Z = R+iX, where R is the resistive component and X is the reactive component. For materials where the attenuation of ultrasound is small the imaginary part can be ignored, so Z = R = pc, which is called the characteristic impedance. 

The attenuation of ultrasound by a slurry depends upon the particle size distribution and concentration of the solid phase. In order to separate these two variables it is necessary to carry out analyses at two different wavelengths, one of which is strongly dependent on concentration and the other on particle size distribution. The attenuation is also dependent on the spacing of the transmitter and receiver and other physical parameters in a predictable manner [3,4]. 

Abstract Contribution of the Jahn-Teller system to the elastic moduli and ultrasonic wave attenuation of the diluted crystals is discussed in the frames of phenomenological approach and on the basis of quantum-mechanical theory. Both, resonant and relaxation processes are considered. The procedure of distinguishing the nature of the anomalies (either resonant or relaxation) in the elastic moduli and attenuation of ultrasound as well as generalized method for reconstruction of the relaxation time temperature dependence are described in detail. Particular attention is paid to the physical parameters of the Jahn-Teller complex that could be determined using the ultrasonic technique, namely, the potential barrier, the type of the vibronic modes and their frequency, the tunnelling splitting, the deformation potential and the energy of inevitable strain. The experimental results obtained in some zinc-blende crystals doped with 3d ions are presented. 

Now we will overview some experiments that reveal the specificities of the Jahn-Teller effect in diluted crystals. First of all, we will discuss a justification of their relaxation origin. We have mentioned before that the first experiments were done on the crystals of aluminum oxide (corundum), yttrium aluminum garnet, yttrium iron garnet, and lithium gallium spinel doped with a number of 3d ions [10,11]. The main result was the discovery of attenuation maximum which was considered to be observed at cot 1 and reconstruction of the relaxation time temperature dependence. In some experiments reported later both the velocity and attenuation of ultrasound were measured as functions of the temperature. They were done on ZnSe and ZnTe crystals doped with transition metals. These crystals have the zinc-blende structure with the Jahn-Teller ion in tetrahedral coordination. The following... 

Fig. 5 Temperature dependences of velocity [vi (T) - vi(4.2)/vt (4.2)] open circles) and attenuation of ultrasound (filled circles) with respect to the level at T = 4.2 K obtained in ZnSe Ct + at 54.4 MHz. Concentration of the impurity cr = 10 cm l Longitudinal wave, ultrasound passage I = 0.717 cm, propagation direction [110]. After Fig. 1 in [17]...

Shore, D., Woods, M.O., and Miles, C.A. 1986. Attenuation of ultrasound in post rigor bovine skeletal muscle. Ultrasonics 24 81-87. 

In principle, the ultrasonic techniques described for solid-liquid flow measurement can be applied to measure air flow rate and particle velocity. Direct measurement of air flow rate by measuring upstream and downstream transit times has been demonstrated. But, the Doppler and cross-correlation techniques have never been applied to solid/gas flow because the attenuation of ultrasound in the air is high. Recent developments have shown that high-frequency (0.5-MHz) air-coupled transducers can be built and 0.5-MI Iz ultrasound can be transmitted through air for a distance of at least 1 in. Thus, the cross-correlation technique should be applicable to monitoring of solid/gas flow. Here, we present a new cross-correlation technique that does not require transmission of ultrasonic waves through the solid/gas flow. The new technique detects chiefly the noise that interacts with the acoustic field established within the pipe wall. Because noise may be related to particle concentration, as we discussed earlier, the noise-modulated sound field in the pipe wall may contain flow information that is related to the variation in particle concentration. Therefore, crosscorrelation of the noise modulation may yield a velocity-dependent correlation function. 

A wide variety of focal liver lesions can be diagnosed by ultrasound, notably cysts, for which it is the most specific and sensitive test (Gaines and Sampson 1989). They are seen as echo-free spherical spaces with thin, smooth walls and a characteristic band of brighter liver distally, caused by the lower attenuation of ultrasound by their fluid compared to the liver (Fig. 1.4) (Bryant et al. 2004). The same appearance characterises the individual cysts of dominant polycystic disease except that they may be very numerous (Kuni et al. 1978). The lesions themselves and the heterogeneous liver texture that results from the numerous bands of increased sound transmission make the detection of co-existent liver disease difficult or impossible. Similarly, haemorrhage into a cyst or superinfection are not usually detectable with ultrasound. 

In the previous section we demonstrated the use of ultrasonic velocity measurements to characterise creaming, and indirectly to characterise flocculation. However, there is more information to be obtained from an emulsion using ultrasonic spectroscopy. This involves measurement of phase velocity and attenuation of ultrasound as a function of frequency after propagation through the emulsion. There are a number of mechanisms by which ultrasound is attenuated by the emulsion, resulting in characteristic ultrasonic properties. Figure 4.15 shows the prineipal mechanisms of absorption. 

---