Resonance scattering of elastic waves by an elastic inclusion in an elastic matrix. Numerical calculations

Abstract

The scattering of an incident plane ultrasonic (longitudinal) wave by an elastic spherical inhomogeneity contained within an elastic matrix is studied. The emphasis is on the computation and analysis of basic multiple cases that result when different material behaviours are present in the matrix and in the inclusion. These calculations are useful in underwater acoustic applications. The behaviors are dominated by the soft or rigid backgrounds of the resonance scattering theory (RST). The first three multiple coefficients appearing in the expansions for the total elastodynamic fields developed around the inhomogeneity during the scattering process have been calculated in suitable frequency bands in all the cases considered. The examination of modulus, the real parts, and the imaginary parts of these (complex) coefficients under the RST approach allows the quantitative assessment of the conditions under which monopole or dipole resonances will occur and their relative magnitudes. The decomposition of the multiple coefficients into their resonance and background portions shows that it is the upward frequency shift of the background curves that controls the dominance of either radial (monopole) or translation (dipole) oscillations of the inclusion. This has an effect on the dispersion curves of the composite, which develop optical as well as acoustical branches. The real and imaginary parts of the multiple coefficients are respectively proportional to the attenuation and the effective wave speed in this simple inhomogeneous composite.