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Title: Investigation of the nonlinearity of transducer acoustic couplants for nonlinear elastic measurements

Journal Article · · NDT and E International
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  2. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States). Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The study of nonlinear elasticity of materials often relies on attaching contact transducers to a sample to achieve the required strain amplitudes. When measuring and quantifying the degree of nonlinearity, it is assumed that the nonlinearity of the bond between the material and the transducer is negligible. We aim to characterize the nonlinearity of common acoustic couplants used in nonlinear measurements. Other factors are also reported since bond nonlinearity is not the only important property when choosing an acoustic couplant, i.e., amount of energy transfer, thermal properties, cure time, toxicity, and ease of application and/or removal. Various types of acoustic couplants including, epoxies, glues, thermal adhesives, and coupling agents were studied using Nonlinear Resonance Ultrasound Spectroscopy (NRUS), which is a measure of the hysteretic nonlinearity of a material. Measurements were made on cylindrical samples of acrylic, aluminum alloy 6061-T651, and Crab Orchard sandstone, chosen for their range of sound speeds, attenuation, and nonlinearity.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001; SC0012504; SC0C12504
OSTI ID:
1503190
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1636922
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-18-29526
Journal Information:
NDT and E International, Vol. 104; ISSN 0963-8695
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 4 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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