Contactless mode-selective resonance ultrasound spectroscopy: Electromagnetic acoustic resonance

Abstract

A noncontacting resonant-ultrasound-spectroscopy (RUS) method for measuring elastic constants and internal friction of conducting materials is described, and applied to monocrystalline copper. This method is called electromagnetic acoustic resonance (EMAR). Contactless acoustic coupling is achieved by energy transduction between the electromagnetic field and the ultrasonic vibrations. A solenoidal coil and static magnetic field induce Lorentz forces on specimen surfaces without using a coupling agent. By changing the field direction, a particular set of vibration modes can be selectively excited and detected, an advantage in identifying the vibration modes of the observed resonance peaks. Contactless coupling allows the measure of intrinsic internal friction free from energy loss associated with contact coupling. The elastic constants and internal friction measured by EMAR are compared with those by the usual RUS method for a rectangular-parallelepiped copper monocrystal. Both methods yielded the same elastic constants despite fewer resonant peaks in the EMAR case. The two methods gave essentially the same shear-mode internal friction, but the RUS method gave higher volume-mode internal friction.