An Exact Expression for the Effective Bulk Modulus for Acoustic Wave Propagation in Cylindrical Patchy-Saturation Rocks

Hydrocarbon reservoirs often contain partially gas-saturated rocks that have attracted the attention of exploration geophysicists and geologists for many years. Wave-induced fluid flow (WIFF) is an effective mechanism to quantify seismic wave dispersion and attenuation in partially gas-saturated rocks. In this study, we focus on the local fluid flow induced by variations in fluids in different regions and present a new model that describes seismic wave propagation in partially gas-saturated rocks, namely, the cylindrical patchy-saturation model. Because the seismic wave velocity and attenuation oscillate at high frequencies, it is not ideal for studying dispersion and attenuation caused by WIFF. To avoid the high-frequency oscillation in the cylindrical patchy-saturated model, we use an approximation to the Newman function instead of the full Newman function to calculate the effective bulk modulus. We then calculate the P-wave velocity and attenuation of the proposed model and interpret the lab-measured data. The proposed model is an alternative patchy-saturation model that can explain the problem of high-frequency oscillation and low-frequency attenuation.

Design of a metamaterial-based muffler for a target frequency range

This work proposes an acoustic metamaterial-based muffler that effectively blocks a transmission noise for a target frequency range. Since the acoustic metamaterial-based muffler consists of arrayed unit cells, its noise attenuation performance is strongly affected by the internal layout of the unit cell. The wave transmission characteristics of an acoustic metamaterial is explained by the effective bulk modulus and dispersion curve of an unit cell. Therefore, the internal layout of the unit cell should be optimally designed so that its band gap should include the target frequency range of a muffler. To the end, an acoustical size optimization problem is formulated to design a unit cell of the muffler and is solved for a given design requirement. The noise blocking frequency range of the unit cell is characterized by the bandgap in its dispersion curve during the optimization process. The wave transmission characteristics of the metamaterial muffler is validated experimentally.

Nanoscale Effect Investigation for Effective Bulk Modulus of Particulate Polymer Nanocomposites Using Micromechanical Framework

This paper investigates the nanoscale effect on the effective bulk modulus of nanoparticle-reinforced polymer. An interface-based model is introduced in this work to study the nanoscale effects on the effective properties of heterogeneous materials. That interface model is able to capture discontinuity of mechanical fields across the surface between the nanoparticle and matrix. A generalized self-consistent scheme is then employed to determine the effective bulk modulus. It has been seen from the results that, in a certain range of limits, the influence of nanoscale effects on effective properties of heterogeneous materials is significant and needs to be taken into account. In particular, when the nanoparticle radius is smaller than 10 nm, the value of effective bulk modulus significantly increases when the characteristic size of nanofillers decreases. Besides, it is seen that the harder the inclusion, the smaller the nanoscale influence effects on the overall behaviors of composite materials. Finally, parametric studies in terms of surface strength and filler’s volume fractions are investigated and discussed, together with a comparison between the proposed model and other contributions in the literature.

Longitudinal Monostatic Acoustic Effective Bulk Modulus and Effective Density Evaluation of Underground Soil Quality: A Numerical Approach

In this study, we introduce a novel method using longitudinal sound to detect underground soil voids to inspect underwater bed property in terms of effective bulk modulus and effective density of the material properties. The model was simulated in terms of layered material within a monostatic detection configuration. The numerical model demonstrates the feasibility of detecting an underground air void with a spatial resolution of about 0.5 λ and can differentiate a soil firmness of about 5%. The proposed technique can overcome limitations imposed by conventional techniques that use spacing-consuming sonar devices and suffer from low penetration depth and leakage of the transverse sound wave propagating in an underground fluid environment.