Second Order Scattering Models of Elastic Waves in Heterogeneous Polycrystalline Materials

Abstract: A general second order attenuation (SOA) model is proposed to predict the elastic wave attenuation and phase velocity dispersion in heterogeneous polycrystalline media. It is valid for statistically isotropic aggregates with triclinic crystals of equiaxed shape and is equivalent to well-known Stanke&Kino model when applied to cubic polycrystals. Moreover, an approximation form of the general SOA model is obtained to improve computational efficiency but retain adequate accuracy. Further comparison between the SOA model and the approximated second order attenuation (ASOA) model indicates the ASOA model has reasonable agreement with the SOA model both on attenuation and phase velocity. Additional computational examples show the ASOA model has better performance than Karal&Keller model. Thus, this theoretical study provides effective approaches for modeling of acoustic attenuation in heterogeneous polycrystalline materials for whole frequency range, including the Rayleigh region, the stochastic region and the geometric region. It will shed light on the practical development of ultrasonic characterization of polycrystalline metals.