Patent ID: 7062386

Claim:
A frequency domain method to estimate a real and imaginary dilatational wavespeed of a material, said method comprising the steps of: providing a specimen of the material; providing a source of acoustic waves at a zero wavenumber; positioning said specimen at a distance from said source such that said acoustic waves conform to plane waves; exciting said specimen with said acoustic waves for at least two nonzero wavenumbers; measuring frequency domain transfer function data subsequent said excitation of said specimen for at least two nonzero wavenumbers; calculating said frequency domain transfer function data to closed form subsequent to said measuring step of said specimen for said excitation for at least two nonzero wavenumbers; determining the real and imaginary dilatational wavespeed of said specimen from said calculated frequency domain transfer function data; determining an estimated real and imaginary shear wavespeed of the material from said frequency domain transfer function data calculated to closed form subsequent to said measuring step of said specimen for said excitation for at least two nonzero wavenumbers; and obtaining a real and imaginary shear modulus using a grid method of the material from said real and imaginary determined shear wavespeed.