A preliminary study on the acoustic properties of seafloor sediment in the southern U-boundary of the South China Sea

The acoustic properties of seafloor sediment are essential parameters in the exploration of marine resources,ocean scientific research and ocean engineering.Seafloor sediment samples were collected at the southern U-boundary of the South China Sea(SCS),and the acoustic and physical properties were measured in the laboratory.The correlation between physical and sound speed ratio(SSR)was discussed,and SSR-physical property empirical regressions in the Sunda Shelf were established for the first time.Compared with the northern continental shelf of SCS,the Sunda Shelf are mainly silty and sand sediment,and the SSR ranges from 0.9949 to 1.0944,which has higher SSR than the northern continental shelf,implies that the Sunda Shelf is a high SSR area.Since the same kind of sediment has different physical properties,the single physical parameter of sediment cannot fully represent the acoustic properties of sediment,therefore,the multiple parameter prediction model should develop in the future to improve the prediction precision.

Influence of Gas Hydrate on the Acoustic Properties of Sediment: A Comprehensive Review with a Focus on Experimental Measurements

In recent years, natural gas hydrate has attracted increasing attention worldwide as a potential alternative energy source due to its attributes of wide distribution, large reserves, and low carbon. Since the acoustic characteristics of hydratebearing reservoirs clearly differ from those of adjacent formations, an acoustic approach, using seismic and acoustic logging, is one of the most direct, effective and widely used methods among the identification and characterization techniques for hydrate reservoir exploration. This review of research on the influence of hydrate(content and distribution) on the acoustic properties(velocity and attenuation) of sediments in the past two decades includes experimental studies based on different hydrate formation methods and measurements, as well as rock physics models. The main problems in current research are also pointed out and future prospects discussed.

Low-frequency laboratory measurements of the elastic properties of solids using a distributed acoustic sensing system

In recent decades,low-frequency(LF)experiments based on the forced-oscillation(FO)method have become common practice in many rock physics laboratories for measuring the elastic and anelastic properties of rocks.However,the use of the electronic displacement sensors in traditional acquisition systems of FO devices such as conventional capacitive transducers or strain gauges seriously limits both the efficiency and productivity of LF measurements,and,due to the limited contact area of the displacement sensors with a sample under test,increases the requirements for sample homogeneity.In this paper,we present the first results obtained in the development of a new laboratory method elaborated to measure the elastic properties of solids.The method is a further development of the FO method where traditional data acquisition is replaced by acquisition based on fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing(DAS)technology.The new method was tested in a laboratory study using two FO setups designed for measurements under uniaxial and confining pressures.The study was carried out on a sample made from polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)and an aluminium standard,first under uniaxial pressure at FO frequencies of 1,10,30,60 and 100 Hz,and then under confining pressure at an FO frequency of 1 Hz.Both uniaxial and confining pressures were equal to 10 MPa,and the strain in the PMMA sample in all measurements did not exceed 4×10^(-8).The performance of DAS acquisition was compared with the measurements conducted at a strain of 1×10^(-6) using the traditional FO method based on the use of semiconductor strain gauges and the ultrasonic method.The results of the DAS measurements are in good agreement with the FO measurements carried out using semiconductor strain gauges and with the literature data.

Effect of Methane Gas on Acoustic Characteristics of Hydrate-Bearing Sediment–Model Analysis and Experimental Verification

Gas leakage is an important consideration in natural systems that experience gas hydrate accumulation.A number of velocity models have been created to study hydrate-bearing sediments,including the BGTL theory,the weighted equation,the Wood equation,the K-T equation,and the effective medium theory.In previous work,we regarded water as the pore fluid,which meant its density and bulk modulus values were those of water.This approach ignores the presence of gas,which results in a biased calculation of the pore fluid's bulk modulus and density.To take into account the effect of gas on the elastic wave velocity,it is necessary to recalculate the bulk modulus and density of an equivalent medium.Thus,a high-pressure reactor device for simulating leakage systems was developed to establish the relationship between wave velocity and hydrate saturation in methane-flux mode.A comparison of the values calculated by the velocity model with the experimental data obtained in this study indicates that the effective medium theory(EMT,which considers gas effects)is more applicable than other models.For hydrate saturations of 10%–30%,the result ranges between EMT-B(homogenous gas distribution)and EMT-B(patchy gas distribution).For hydrate saturations of 30%–60%,the results are similar to those of the EMT-B(homogenous gas distribution)mode,whereas hydrate saturations of 60%–70%yield results similar to those of the EMT-A mode.For hydrate saturations greater than 80%,the experimental results are similar to those of the EMT-B mode.These results have significance for hydrate exploitation in the South China Sea.

Investigation of Warp and Weft Knitted Fabric Acoustic Structures Derived from Garment Waste

The mechanical performance of knitted fabric was significantly affected by loop density and geometries. Knitted fabric composites occupy a special position in the field of engineering materials because of their easy to form complex components and high impact energy absorption. But Knitted fabric composites have low in-plane tensile strength because the yarns are in a loop structure in the materials. Sound insulation requirements in automobiles, manufacturing environments, and equipment, generating higher sound pressure drive the need to develop more efficient and economical ways of producing sound absorption materials. The knitted fabric based acoustic materials were produced from cut wastes from different garment industries for their sound absorption property test as per the method described in ASTM E 1050. The acoustic performance of knitted fabrics was measured by independent tube methods for sound waves of 1000-6000 Hz. It is observed that the knitted fabrics acoustic materials prepared from waste materials showed high sound absorption than woven fabrics made from the same synthetic fibers. Moreover, the test revealed that blended knitted fabric had a better sound absorption property.

Acoustic emissions evaluation of the dynamic splitting tensile properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete under freeze-thaw cycling

This study empirically investigated the influence of freeze-thaw cycling on the dynamic splitting tensile properties of steel fiber reinforced concrete(SFRC).Brazilian disc splitting tests were conducted using four loading rates(0.002,0.02,0.2,and 2 mm/s)on specimens with four steel fiber contents(0%,0.6%,1.2%,and 1.8%)subjected to 0 and 50 freeze-thaw cycles.The dynamic splitting tensile damage characteristics were evaluated using acoustic emission(AE)parameter analysis and Fourier transform spectral analysis.The results quantified using the freeze-thaw damage factor defined in this paper indicate that the degree of damage to SFRC caused by freeze-thaw cycling was aggravated with increasing loading rate but mitigated by increasing fiber content.The percentage of low-frequency AE signals produced by the SFRC specimens during loading decreased with increasing loading rate,whereas that of high-frequency AE signals increased.Freeze-thaw action had little effect on the crack types observed during the early and middle stages of the loading process;however,the primary crack type observed during the later stage of loading changed from shear to tensile after the SFRC specimens were subjected to freeze-thaw cycling.Notably,the results of this study indicate that the freeze-thaw damage to SFRC reduces AE signal activity at low frequencies.

Theoretical dispersion curves for borehole real-valued wave modes in vertically transverse isotropic formations

The dispersion curves of real-valued modes in a fluid-filled borehole are widely used in acoustic well logging.The accurate dispersion curves are the precondition of theoretical analysis and inversion process.Generally,these curves can be obtained by solving the conventional dispersion equation for isotropic formations and most vertically transverse isotropy(VTI)formations.However,if the real-valued solutions exist when the radial wavenumbers for the formation quasi-P and quasi-S equals to each other,the existed methods based on the conventional dispersion equation could lead to incorrect results for some VTI formations.Few studies have focused on the influence of these real-valued solutions on dispersion curve extraction.To remove these real-valued solutions,we have proposed a modified dispersion equation and its corresponding solving process.When solving the dispersion equation,the Scholte wave velocity of VTI formation at high frequency is used as the initial guess.The two synthetic examples including fast and slow VTI formations validate that these real-valued solutions do not contribute to the wavefield,and the new dispersion curve extraction method is suitable for all kinds of VTI formations.Consequently,the method can provide reliable dispersion curves for both theoretical analysis and anisotropic parameters inversion in VTI formations.

Method based on broadband compressed pulse superposition to measure properties of underwater acoustic materials

A method is proposed for the measurements of the performances of underwater acoustic finite sized large area material samples in a free field by using broadband pulse compression technique. As the result of which, the low-frequency cutoff of the standard tests is obviously reduced, and the broadband measurements are also realized. The experimental system provides measurements of complex reflection and transmission coefficients at continuous frequency points. From the data one can obtain the following acoustic parameters: echo reduction and insertion loss, absorption and attenuation coefficients, etc. The measurements are performed for two actual panels with the size 1 m x 1 m in the frequency range from 2-20 kHz.

Design of interdigitated transducers for acoustofluidic applications

Interdigitated transducers(IDTs)were originally designed as delay lines for radars.Half a century later,they have found new life as actuators for microfluidic systems.By generating strong acoustic fields,they trigger nonlinear effects that enable pumping and mixing of fluids,and moving particles without contact.However,the transition from signal processing to actuators comes with a range of challenges concerning power density and spatial resolution that have spurred exciting developments in solid-state acoustics and especially in IDT design.Assuming some familiarity with acoustofluidics,this paper aims to provide a tutorial for IDT design and characterization for the purpose of acoustofluidic actuation.It is targeted at a diverse audience of researchers in various fields,including fluid mechanics,acoustics,and microelectronics.

Geoacoustic model and acoustic reflection properties of fluid mud layer in Changjiang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay

A generalized geoacoustic model of fluid mud layer in Chanaiiang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay has been derived from a large amount of in-situ measurements of bulk density (p) profiles of the lay6rs and of lab measurements of acoustic velocities (c) and attenuation coefficients (o) of the fluid mud samples with different values of p for four frequencies of 100 kHz, 150 kHz, 500 kHz, 1500 kHz. The main features of the geoacoustic model can be expressed as follows: from the upper boundary, the bulk density of the fiuid mud increases linearly with depth z, however there is a gradient change (knee) when p is about 12.5 kN/m’, then p increases linearly to a value about 15.0 kN/m’. After p more than 15.0, the fluid mud layer quickly transform into an ooze layer. In the fluid mud layer, the acoustic velocity c can be regarded as constant since its variation with z less than 1.5%, and a minimum vaue of c ekists when p is about 13.5 kN/m’. The variations of β with p and with frequency f are linear. Based on the geo-acoustic model and the ray theory, simulations of sound refiection from the fluid mud layers have been made, and some significallt results obtained, from which the bulk density profiles of fluld mud layers can be derived inversely.