RESEARCH / 02
Scattering & microstructure
Connect the wave field to the grains, texture, and heterogeneity inside a material.
Polycrystalline materials contain grains with different crystallographic orientations. As waves encounter those grains, part of their energy scatters. The resulting attenuation, backscatter, and diffuse fields contain clues about the material’s internal structure.
We study these relationships using physical acoustics, computation, and ultrasonic measurements. The aim is to move from an observed wave response to a quantitative understanding of the medium that produced it.
Information in the scattered field
Research on multiple scattering and diffuse ultrasonic waves examines information that conventional direct-arrival measurements can overlook. Recent work includes accurate velocity measurement from diffuse fields and volumetric texture measurement in hexagonal close-packed metals.
Questions we investigate
- How do crystallographic texture and elastic anisotropy affect ultrasonic behavior?
- What can diffuse fields reveal about material properties?
- When do multiple-scattering effects change the interpretation of a measurement?
QUESTIONS LEAD TO DISCOVERY
Let’s explore
what’s possible.
Interested in wave mechanics, materials,
or a new research collaboration?