The influence of water potential, moisture, and temperature on sound speed and the hysteretic nonlinearity parameter of granular materials

Abstract

In the 153rd ASA meeting (Salt Lake City, Utah), the results of a long‐term survey of a field soil by using both linear and nonlinear acoustic techniques were reported. The study showed that soil water potential is the predominant factor governing the sound speed and the hysteretic nonlinearity parameter while moisture plays a minor role. It was also found that, unlike sound speed that is insensitive to temperature, the nonlinear parameter shows strong temperature‐dependent behavior. The question remains: Is this temperature effect an intrinsic property of the hysteretic nonlinearity parameter, or is it caused by the degradation of the transducers since the measurement has been running for two years? To answer this question, the influence of water potential, moisture, and temperature on sound speed and the hysteretic nonlinearity parameter of granular materials (unconsolidated sands) has been studied in the lab with temperature‐controlled conditions.