Velocity-density product and attenuation-density ratio measurements using broadband signals

The conventional method for measuring the attenuation and velocity of a material generally involves tedious and/or repetitious procedures. Using a narrow acoustic pulse (broad frequency spectrum) for transducer excitation, it is shown that the reflection coefficients of different materials are frequency dependent. Inspection of the dispersive features of narrow acoustic pulses allows identification of material present. Measuring the reflection coefficient as a function of frequency, the velocity-density product and attenuation-density ratio can be obtained with high precision. This technique can be extended to an n-layered structure. A number of different materials are identified based on the dispersion of a narrow acoustic pulse