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We study the elastic behavior of hexagonal close-packed (hcp) Fe at the high temperature and pressure conditions of the Earth Core, using an embedded-atom method interatomic potential adjusted to those conditions. We calculate diffusivity, elastic constants, density, bulk modulus, shear modulus, and sound velocities vs temperature. We obtain reasonable agreement with ab initio simulations and with other empirical potential simulations. Our densities and shear modulus are slightly higher than those in the preliminary reference earth model for the core. Phase stability is discussed in terms of the Born criteria and free energies, finding that hcp is mechanically stable and that the free energy difference between hcp and body-centered cubic (bcc) is very small compared to the thermal energy. We compare our simulated shear modulus G to several analytical models, obtaining excellent agreement with the Atom in Jelium model by Swift and co-workers. Assuming that the yield strength Y is equal to the shear modulus G , Y = G / 30 , we find reasonable agreement with a recent parametrization of the Steinberg–Guinan model. These results can lead to future large-scale, multi-million simulations of Fe under core conditions for samples with microstructure like grain boundaries and twins, which might be present under those conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present ab initio simulations of a large system of 2400 particles of molten NaCl to investigate the behavior of collective mode dispersion beyond the hydrodynamic regime. In particular, we aim to explain the unusually strong increase in the apparent speed of sound with wave number, which significantly exceeds the typical positive sound dispersion of 10%–25% observed in simple liquids. We compare dispersions of "bare" acoustic and optic modes in NaCl with ab initio simulations of other ionic melts such as CuCl and LiBr, metallic liquid alloys such as Pb44Bi56 and Li4Tl, and the regular Lennard-Jones KrAr liquid simulated by classical molecular dynamics. Analytical expressions for the "bare" acoustic and optic branches of collective excitations help us to identify the impact of the high-frequency optic branch on the emergence of "fast sound" in binary melts. Our findings show that in ionic melts, the high-frequency speed of sound is much larger than in the simple Lennard-Jones liquids and metallic melts, leading to an observed strong viscoelastic increase in the apparent speed of sound—more than double its adiabatic value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As elastography, an emerging medical imaging strategy, advances, surface acoustic waves have been utilized to examine superficial tissues quantitatively. So far, most studies are experimental, and a numerical method is needed to cost-effectively investigate surface acoustic wave generation and propagation for technical development and optimization purposes. This study aims to develop a reliable numerical method for simulating impulse-induced surface acoustic waves using the k-wave simulation toolbox. According to the physical process of surface acoustic wave based elastography, the proposed simulation method consists of two stages: compressional wave simulation and elastic wave simulation, which aim to generate acoustic radiation force impulse and elastic waves, respectively. The technical procedures were demonstrated by a wave simulation on a water–tissue model. Meanwhile, three acoustic radiation force modeling methods were adopted. The compressional wave simulation showed that the three force modeling methods could produce similar force distribution in space but largely different amplitudes. The elastic wave simulation confirmed the feasibility of numerically generating surface acoustic waves. The reliability of the simulated waves was verified by a quantitative comparison between the numerically acquired sound speeds and their theoretical expectations and by a qualitative comparison between the numerically generated waves and the experimental observations under similar conditions. In summary, this study confirms k-wave as an effective numerical method for simulating surface acoustic waves for elastography purposes. This study provides an immediate simulation platform for investigating Scholte waves, the surface acoustic wave at a liquid–solid interface, and also, a potential numerical framework to investigate other surface acoustic waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three third-order dielectric constants, 8 electrostrictive constants, 13 third-order piezoelectric constants, and 14 third-order elastic constants for lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) single crystals, which are mainly used in surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, were determined as part of basic research to realize SAW devices with a low degree of nonlinearity. The third-order dielectric constants were determined by measuring the change in capacitance along selected directions when an alternating electric field was applied to the crystal. The electrostrictive constants were determined by measuring the change in capacitance when static stress was applied. Some of the piezoelectric constants were determined directly from the change in sound velocity due to the application of an alternating electric field, whereas others were obtained from the measured dielectric constants, electrostrictive constants, and the change in sound velocity due to an alternating electric field. In addition, the elastic constants (compliance) were determined using the three aforementioned determined nonlinear constants and the measured small-amplitude ultrasonic velocity change as a function of applied static stress. The measurements performed in the present study are more advanced than those reported for LiNbO3 single crystals in 1987 due to the adoption of the d-form nonlinear piezoelectric equation (instead of the e-form) and a higher degree of precision using dynamic measurement methods. The use of the d-form of the nonlinear piezoelectric equation allows many nonlinear constants to be determined independently from other nonlinear constants, eliminating measurement errors associated with these other constants. The d-form nonlinear constants obtained in the present study were converted to e-form constants to make them applicable to the analysis of nonlinear phenomena in piezoelectric devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picosecond ultrasonics is a technique where coherent acoustic phonons are generated with frequencies in the GHz frequency range. When optical detection is operated in a transparent medium, the interaction of these phonons with the probe pulses yields oscillations in the time domain that reveal Brillouin scattering. Their frequency is at the Brillouin frequency shift, commensurate with the phonon velocity. As the pump–probe experiments are time-resolved, changes in the Brillouin frequency with time can be attributed to changes in sound velocity with depth. As sound velocity is temperature-dependent in liquids, we show that the picosecond ultrasonics technique can be used for temperature depth profiling in liquids. In this work, the concept is proved using the pump absorption itself as a heat source and confronting measured changes in Brillouin frequency with depth with data resulting from the derivation of a 3D modeling of the temperature rise in the liquid. We demonstrate the remote depth profiling of temperature, with measured data spaced at a distance less than the optical wavelength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the low-frequency limit, this work analyzes the viscous absorbing properties of circular clusters and semi-infinite slabs made of rigid scatterers embedded in a fluid, such as air or water. These structures are made of rigid scatterers distributed in a hexagonal lattice, and they are proposed as useful absorbing devices in the core of acoustic black holes or acoustic metasurfaces. It is demonstrated that in both types of structures, an optimum value of the filling fraction produces the maximum absorption in a given frequency band. To avoid heavy numerical simulations, the broadband absorbing power has been obtained using a homogenization theory providing not only the effective acoustic parameters (effective mass and effective sound speed) but also the decay coefficient due to viscosity. An enhancement of the broadband sound absorption can be obtained by using a refractive index gradient allowing an increase of the acoustic energy into the semi-infinite slabs. The theoretical predictions are well supported by numerical simulations based on the finite-element and boundary-element methods, respectively, for the semi-infinite slabs and clusters. These predictions have potential applications in the design of structures and metasurfaces with enhanced absorbing power at low frequencies. The analytical model is further supported by experiments made with a 3D-printed sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental studies of the shock wave properties of two epoxy resins with the same composition but different curing temperatures (160 and 200 °C) at up to 330 GPa pressure have been carried out. Laser interferometry was used to record particle velocity profiles at up to 73 GPa pressure while measuring the shock wave velocity. The release sound velocity was experimentally determined in the 3–73 GPa pressure range. Cumulative explosive shock wave generators were used to study the shock Hugoniot of epoxy resins at pressures above 100 GPa. It was shown that the shock compressibility data of both samples are approximated by a single shock Hugoniot within the experimental error. A kink on Hugoniot recorded close to 25 GPa pressure indicates a chemical decomposition in epoxy resin. Above this kink, a change in the shock wave front structure was recorded. Hugoniots of epoxy resin and unidirectional carbon/epoxy composite were compared at up to 370 GPa pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the ab initio thermoelastic properties of body-centered cubic molybdenum under extreme conditions obtained within the quasi-harmonic approximation including both the vibrational and electronic thermal excitation contributions to the free energy. The quasi-harmonic temperature-dependent elastic constants are calculated and compared with existing experiments and with the quasi-static approximation. We find that the quasi-harmonic approximation allows for a much better interpretation of the experimental data, confirming the trend found previously in other metals. Using the Voigt–Reuss–Hill average, we predict the compressional and shear sound velocities of polycrystalline molybdenum as a function of pressure for several temperatures, which might be accessible in experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermophysical properties and elemental abundances of the noble gases in terrestrial materials can provide unique insights into the Earth's evolution and mantle dynamics. Here, we perform extensive ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to determine the melting temperature and sound velocity of neon up to 370 GPa and 7500 K to constrain its physical state and storage capacity, together with to reveal its implications for the deep interior of the Earth. It is found that solid neon can exist stably under the lower mantle and inner core conditions, and the abnormal melting of neon is not observed under the entire temperature (T) and pressure (P) region inside the Earth owing to its peculiar electronic structure, which is substantially distinct from other heavier noble gases. An inspection of the reduction for sound velocity along the Earth's geotherm evidences that neon can be used as a light element to account for the low-velocity anomaly and density deficit in the deep Earth. A comparison of the pair distribution functions and mean square displacements of MgSiO3–Ne and Fe–Ne alloys further reveals that MgSiO3 has a larger neon storage capacity than the liquid iron under the deep Earth condition, indicating that the lower mantle may be a natural deep noble gas storage reservoir. Our results provide valuable information for studying the fundamental behavior and phase transition of neon in a higher T–P regime, and further enhance our understanding for the interior structure and evolution processes inside the Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a kind of coiled-up meta-liners with nonuniform cross sections (CMNC), which can efficiently attenuate low-frequency sound waves under grazing flow with a deep subwavelength thickness (e.g., ∼λ/17 at 500 Hz). At a grazing flow Mach number of 0.26, the average transmission loss of the meta-liner is 12.6 dB at 500–1000 Hz, which is twice as much as that of a double-degree-of-freedom acoustic liner of the same size. Physically, the nonuniform cross-sectional distribution and significant cross-sectional area ratio enhances vortex shedding, thus resulting in severe acoustic energy dissipation. The excellent low-frequency acoustic attenuation performance of CMNC is investigated thoroughly with experimental, theoretical, and numerical methods. This work provides an avenue for low-frequency noise reduction in grazing flow scenarios (e.g., in a high bypass ratio turbofan engine). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotropic materials are required to adhere to various mechanical principles due to their limited thermal stability. For instance, it is essential for Poisson's ratio to be within the range of −1 to 0.5, and the longitudinal wave velocity must exceed the transverse wave velocity. Nevertheless, perfect crystals, as anisotropic materials, have the ability to defy conventional rules. Through the integration of high-throughput processes and first-principles calculations, a comprehensive exploration of known materials was conducted, resulting in the establishment of a database featuring an extreme anisotropic mechanism. This included the identification of abnormal Poisson's ratios (with the directional Poisson's ratio ranging from −3.00 to 3.67), the discovery of extreme negative linear compressibility, the determination of the upper and lower limits of the sound velocity, and other associated properties. Several materials with abnormal Poisson's ratios (<−1 or >0.5) were listed, and their peculiar mechanical behavior, wherein the volume decreased counterintuitively with uniaxial tension, was discussed. Finally, this study focused on the velocities of longitudinal and transverse waves, with specific emphasis on materials exhibiting transverse wave velocities that exceeded the longitudinal wave velocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The motivation of the present study is to gain insights into the evolution of elastic properties of cemented tungsten carbides (WC) shock compressed to 100 GPa. Seven plate impact experiments—two front surface impact and five release wave overtake—are conducted to make simultaneous measurements of Hugoniot states and longitudinal sound speeds in shocked WC with 3.7wt.% cobalt binder. The sound speeds along with estimates for bulk sound speeds, obtained using the Birch–Murnaghan EoS, are analyzed to determine the elastic moduli—longitudinal, bulk, and shear—as a function of Hugoniot stress. The longitudinal and bulk sound speeds at Hugoniot states of interest are found to increase linearly with longitudinal stress. Consistent with the increase in sound speeds, the longitudinal and bulk moduli also increase with Hugoniot stress; however, the increase in longitudinal modulus is modest when compared to predictions of theoretical models that account for pressure and temperature dependence of elastic moduli, but with no damage. The shear moduli remain nearly constant at ∼ 318 GPa over the range of Hugoniot states investigated. These values are, however, much lower than those predicted by the Steinberg–Guinan model with no damage. Poisson's ratio decreases initially from its ambient value of 0.208 to ∼ 0.199 for Hugoniot stress ≤ 10 GPa indicating consolidation of the WC microstructure with low initial stress; however, with an increase in Hugoniot stress to ∼ 100 GPa, Poisson's ratio increases to ∼ 0.317, indicating degradation of shear moduli with increasing stress. The product of density and Grüneisen parameter (ρ Γ), after an initial spike, remains nearly constant for volumetric strains ≥ 0.07. The maximum average temperature rise is estimated to be ∼ 286 ° C at the highest Hugoniot stress employed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is one of the most abundant substances on earth, but it is still not entirely understood. It shows unusual behavior, and its properties present characteristic extrema unlike any other fluid. This unusual behavior has been linked to the two-state theory of water, which proposes that water forms different clusters, one with a high density and one with a low density, which may even form two distinct phases at low temperatures. Models incorporating the two-state theory manage to capture the unusual extrema of water, unlike traditional equations of state, which fail. In this work, we have derived the framework to incorporate the two-state theory of water into the Statistical-Associating-Fluid-Theory (SAFT). More specifically, we have assumed that water is an ideal solution of high density water molecules and low density water molecules that are in chemical equilibrium. Using this assumption, we have generalized the association term SAFT to allow for the simultaneous existence of the two water types, which have the same physical parameters but different association properties. We have incorporated the newly derived association term in the context of the Perturbed Chain-SAFT (PC-SAFT). The new model is referred to as PC-SAFT-Two-State (PC-SAFT-TS). Using PC-SAFT-TS, we have succeeded in predicting the characteristic extrema of water, such as its density and speed of sound maximum, etc., without loss of accuracy compared to the original PC-SAFT. This new framework is readily extended to mixtures, and PC-SAFT-TS manages to capture the solubility minimum of hydrocarbons in water in a straightforward manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential-6 (exp-6) potential is commonly used to model fluids at high densities. In this paper, I propose a new equation of state (EOS) in the form of an analytical expression for the excess Helmholtz free energy of an exp-6 fluid. The EOS is based on extensive Monte Carlo simulations and therefore combines the excellent accuracy of the simulations with the numerical efficiency of a polynomial expression. The mean relative error in compressibility factor and internal energy is 0.14% and 0.25% respectively, which is a significant improvement over statistical mechanical theories. The EOS was implemented into a thermochemical code in order to optimize gas parameters and evaluate its performance on pure gas data, shock compression and detonation properties. Predicted gas densities, heat capacities and speed of sound for pure gases were generally within experimental uncertainties at pressures up to 1 GPa and temperatures above 300 K. For polar molecules, a simple free energy correction was introduced which greatly improved accuracy at low temperature. Calculated shock Hugoniots showed excellent agreement with experimental values up to 150 GPa and 10 000 K, and the detonation performance was accurately predicted for a number of different types of explosives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environment-aware underwater acoustic detection and communications demand precise forecasting of the sound speed field (SSF) both temporally and spatially. Toward this goal, recent machine learning models, such as recurrent neural networks and Gaussian process regressions, have outperformed classical autoregressive models. However, from the unified theoretical perspective of conditional distribution learning, there is still significant room for improvement, as existing works have not fully learned the conditional distribution of future SSFs given past SSFs. To address these limitations, in this paper, we leverage the use of diffusion models, the foundation of recent successful deep generative models, such as DALL-E 2 and SORA, to learn the conditional distribution even under limited training data, through careful neural architecture and training strategy design. Our experiments, conducted on real-life South China Sea datasets, confirm that our proposed model outperforms the state-of-the-art baselines in forecasting range-dependent SSFs and the associated underwater transmission losses. Additionally, our model provides reliable confidence intervals that quantify the uncertainties of predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of the marine economy, hydroacoustic positioning technology plays an increasingly important role in marine engineering. The ultra-short baseline (USBL) hydroacoustic positioning system has the advantages of small size, simple operation, and flexible use, and has been widely used. Aiming at the existing USBL acoustic positioning algorithm with low positioning accuracy and complex calculation, a baseline decomposition localization algorithm with arbitrary array structure is proposed. The algorithm is based on the theory of coordinate system transformation, establishes positioning observation equations for each baseline in the base array, and adopts the least squares method to obtain positioning results by selecting different combinations of baselines. The systematic errors of different positioning models themselves are simulated, and then the effects of the three parameter errors, namely, time delay, element coordinates, and sound speed, on the positioning results are analyzed, respectively. Finally, the simulation results and sea trial data show that, compared with the existing algorithms, this algorithm not only simplifies the complicated computation process, but also improves the positioning accuracy and robustness, and has a better application effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is one of the most concerning problems in hydroacoustics to find a method that can calculate the acoustic propagation accurately and adapt to the variation of the seabed. Currently, the one-dimensional spectral method has been employed to address the simplified ocean acoustic propagation model successfully. However, due to the model's application limitations and approximation error, it poses challenges when attempting to solve real-world ocean acoustic fields. Hence, there is a crucial need to develop a direct solution method for the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation of ocean acoustic propagation, without relying on a simplified model. In previous work, we achieved successful solutions for the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation within a rectangular domain, utilizing a collocation-type spectral method. Taking into account the fluctuations in the actual seabed, we introduce a Chebyshev collocation spectral method to directly tackle the two-dimensional ocean acoustic propagation problem, which could solve the case of a seabed with linear variation, sound velocity variation and inhomogeneous medium situation. After comparative verification, the calculation result of the two-dimensional spectral method is more accurate than traditional mature models such as Kraken and COUPLE. By eliminating model constraints and enlarging the solution range, this spectral method holds immense potential in real marine environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present observations of wave steepening and signatures of shock formation during expansion of ultracold neutral plasmas formed with an initial density distribution that is centrally peaked and decays exponentially with distance. The plasma acceleration and velocity decrease at large distance from the plasma center, leading to central ions overtaking ions in the outer regions and the development of a steepening front that is narrow compared to the size of the plasma. The density and velocity change dramatically across the front, and significant heating of the ions is observed in the region of steepest gradients. For a reasonable estimate of electron temperature, the relative velocity of ions on either side of the front modestly exceeds the local sound speed (Mach number M ≳ 1). This indicates that by sculpting steep density gradients, it is possible to create the conditions for shock formation, or very close to it, opening a new avenue of research for ultracold neutral plasmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widely used quasi-isentropic ramp loading technique relies heavily on back-calculation methods that convert the measured free-surface velocity profiles to the stress–density states inside the compressed sample. Existing back-calculation methods are based on one-dimensional isentropic hydrodynamic equations, which assume a well-defined functional relationship P(ρ) between the longitudinal stress and density throughout the entire flow field. However, this kind of idealized stress–density relation does not hold in general, because of the complexities introduced by structural phase transitions and/or elastic–plastic response. How and to what extent these standard back-calculation methods may be affected by such inherent complexities is still an unsettled question. Here, we present a close examination using large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that include the detailed physics of the irreversibly compressed solid samples. We back-calculate the stress–density relation from the MD-simulated rear surface velocity profiles and compare it directly against the stress–density trajectories measured from the MD simulation itself. Deviations exist in the cases studied here, and these turn out to be related to the irreversibility between compression and release. Rarefaction and compression waves are observed to propagate with different sound velocities in some parts of the flow field, violating the basic assumption of isentropic hydrodynamic models and thus leading to systematic back-calculation errors. In particular, the step-like feature of the P(ρ) curve corresponding to phase transition may be completely missed owing to these errors. This kind of mismatch between inherent properties of matter and the basic assumptions of isentropic hydrodynamics has a fundamental influence on how the ramp loading method can be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pressure dependences of the highest and lowest possible longitudinal sound velocities in single crystals of the B1 and B2 phases of NaCl were extracted from examination of their polycrystalline samples using the technique of time-domain Brillouin scattering. Based on the data collected up to 41 GPa, we largely extended the pressure range where single-crystal elastic moduli, Cij(P), and elastic anisotropy of the two cubic phases are measured, especially the experimental data for the B2 phase formed upon the reconstructive phase transition. The B1 phase of NaCl exhibits strong and growing anisotropy with increasing pressure, while that of the B2 phase is much weaker. Comparing with the previous experimental Cij(P) of other compounds exhibiting or expected to exhibit the B1–B2 phase transition, such as CaO, MgO, and (Mg1−x, Fex)O, we concluded that the transition is initiated by the shear instability due to violation of the Born stability criterion [C44(P)–P] > 0 and predicted the presently-not-verified transition pressures for MgO and (Mg1−x, Fex)O. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deceleration of a monoenergetic rarefied ion beam in nonisothermal plasma in a constant magnetic field has been studied. It is shown how ion-acoustic turbulence generated by a current along the magnetic field leads to an effective decrease in the velocity of ions moving with a speed higher than the speed of ion sound. When an ion beam is injected into plasma across the magnetic field, the trajectory of the ions has the form of a contracting spiral elongated along the magnetic field. The deceleration occurs due to the Cherenkov interaction of ions with ion-acoustic waves and stops when the ion velocity decreases to the speed of ion sound. The braking lengths and the beam velocity components, which are set at the moment of stopping braking, are found. After the end of deceleration, the ions move with constant velocity in a spiral along the magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The damage ability of hypervelocity kinetic energy projectile penetrating ground has become a hotspot in modern military research. In this study, a hypervelocity impact test on a granite target subjected to projectiles using a two-stage light gas gun is conducted to study the stress wave evolution in granite under hypervelocity penetrations. The parameters of the *MAT_JOHNSON_HOLMQUIST_CERAMICS(JH-2) constitutive equation are calibrated using the results of the splinter impact test and the static test, and numerical simulations are performed using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method coupled with finite element method (SPH-FEM coupled method) to extend the resulting data. A formula for calculating the stress wave peak attenuation is established, indicating that the maximum impact pressure produced by the hypervelocity impact decreases exponentially with scaling distance, and the attenuation coefficient is related to the degree of rock damage. Additionally, the attenuation of the speed of sound is used to characterize rock damage, and the damage deterioration law of granite under hypervelocity impact is analyzed based on the damage factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of high-pressure sound velocity in solid materials is crucial for developing constitutive equations and equations of state for materials in extreme stress–strain rate conditions. In this study, we propose a novel method for high-pressure sound velocity measurement using laser-induced micro-flyer technology. By optimizing laser driving conditions and target structure design, we measure high-pressure sound velocity using the "reverse-impact geometry" approach. The well-established Photon Doppler Velocimetry system allows for high-precision, single-shot measurements of both flyer velocity and particle velocity histories. A systematic error analysis shows that the longitudinal sound velocity of aluminum obtained in this experiment is consistent with data from traditional devices, such as gas guns, within the error margin. Finally, we analyze the potential application value of this method in laser technology as well as high-pressure dynamic responses of materials, and conclude the current shortcomings and possible improvements of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an analysis of the physics behind the shattering of glass and ceramic objects when they are dropped or impacted. The study utilizes video analysis to examine the process of fracture propagation and the phenomenon of bouncing before breaking into pieces. The article emphasizes the significance of understanding the resilience of ceramic and glass materials to impacts, particularly in applications such as vehicle and aircraft armor and orthopedic surgery. The experimental setup and results are presented, highlighting the necessity of high-speed cameras to capture crack propagation on a precise timescale. The article also discusses an experiment involving the impact and breakage of ceramic mugs and a wine glass, focusing on the physics of breakage and the conservation of energy. The experiment demonstrates that the speed of crack propagation is limited and that each individual piece of the broken object possesses less kinetic energy than the original object. The article suggests that this experiment can serve as an educational tool for students to comprehend materials and load bearing. Further investigations can be conducted to examine the properties of the materials and the exact failure mechanism during load bearing. [Extracted from the article]

As oceanographic models advance in complexity, accuracy, and resolution, in situ measurements must provide spatiotemporal information with sufficient resolution to inform and validate those models. In this study, water masses at the New England shelf break were mapped using scientific echosounders combined with water column property measurements from a single conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) profile. The acoustically-inferred map of sound speed was compared with a sound speed cross section based on two-dimensional interpolation of multiple CTD profiles. Long-range acoustic propagation models were then parameterized by the sound speed profiles estimated by the two methods and differences were compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We employed high-pressure Brillouin scattering to study the pressure dependencies of acoustic modes of glycerol up to 14 GPa at 300 K. We observed longitudinal acoustic velocities and transverse acoustic velocities for the first time from 5 to 14 GPa. The results allow the determination of a complete set of elastic properties and an accurate determination of the pressure–volume (P–V) equation of state (EOS). EOS parameters, K0 = 14.9 ± 1.8 GPa and K′0 = 5.6 ± 0.5, were determined from fits to the data from ambient pressure to 14 GPa. Direct volume measurements of the P–V EOS are consistent with those determined by Brillouin scattering. A deviation from a Cauchy-like relationship for elastic properties was observed, and the pressure dependencies of the photoelastic constants and relaxation times were documented from 5 to 14 GPa. These results have broad implications for glass-forming liquids, viscoelastic theory, and mode coupling theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical phonons serve as the fast and efficient carriers of energy across periodic polymers due to their delocalization, large group velocity because of covalent bonding, and large energy quantum compared to that for acoustic phonons as it was observed in a number of recent measurements in different oligomers. However, this transport is dramatically sensitive to anharmonic interactions, including the unavoidable interaction with acoustic phonons responsible for transport decoherence, suppressing ballistic transport at long distances. Here, we show that this decoherence is substantially suppressed if the group velocity of optical phonons is less than the sound velocity of acoustic phonons; otherwise, ballistic transport is substantially suppressed by a Cherenkov-like emission of acoustic phonons. This conclusion is justified considering energy and momentum conservation during phonon absorption or emission and supported by the numerical evaluation of the lifetimes of the optical phonons. It is also consistent with the recent experimental investigations of ballistic optical phonon transport in oligomers with the minor exception of relatively short oligophenylenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the physical properties of ionic liquids (ILs), such as the surface tension and speed of sound, is important for both industrial and research applications. Unfortunately, technical challenges and costs limit exhaustive experimental screening efforts of ILs for these critical properties. Previous work has demonstrated that the use of quantum-mechanics-based thermochemical property prediction tools, such as the conductor-like screening model for real solvents, when combined with machine learning (ML) approaches, may provide an alternative pathway to guide the rapid screening and design of ILs for desired physiochemical properties. However, the question of which machine-learning approaches are most appropriate remains. In the present study, we examine how different ML architectures, ranging from tree-based approaches to feed-forward artificial neural networks, perform in generating nonlinear multivariate quantitative structure–property relationship models for the prediction of the temperature- and pressure-dependent surface tension of and speed of sound in ILs over a wide range of surface tensions (16.9–76.2 mN/m) and speeds of sound (1009.7–1992 m/s). The ML models are further interrogated using the powerful interpretation method, shapley additive explanations. We find that several different ML models provide high accuracy, according to traditional statistical metrics. The decision tree-based approaches appear to be the most accurate and precise, with extreme gradient-boosting trees and gradient-boosting trees being the best performers. However, our results also indicate that the promise of using machine-learning to gain deep insights into the underlying physics driving structure–property relationships in ILs may still be somewhat premature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic phase transitions are important for the application of individual materials toward modern spintronics and sensing. Using high-resolution sound velocity and pyrocurrent measurements, we have obtained a detailed magnetic phase diagram of multiferroic Ca2CoSi2O7 for magnetic fields applied along the crystallographic [100]- and [001]-directions. The magneto-acoustic measurements were conducted for both longitudinal and transverse modes in both static and pulsed magnetic fields up to 17 and 68 T, respectively. Distinct anomalies with significant changes in sound velocity and sound attenuation were observed at the onset of the structural and magnetic phase transitions. Interestingly, results obtained for fields parallel to the [100]-direction reveal a hysteresis and step-like decrements in ultrasound indicating a transition into a different metastable structural distortion below TN and at magnetic fields between 4 and 10 T that has not been previously reported. We believe that this field-induced distorted structure phase may be the cause of the subsequent phase transition at 11 T. At low temperatures, a softening of the lattice within the ordered phases is also observed, which may be due to residual spin fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic phase transitions are important for the application of individual materials toward modern spintronics and sensing. Using high-resolution sound velocity and pyrocurrent measurements, we have obtained a detailed magnetic phase diagram of multiferroic Ca2CoSi2O7 for magnetic fields applied along the crystallographic [100]- and [001]-directions. The magneto-acoustic measurements were conducted for both longitudinal and transverse modes in both static and pulsed magnetic fields up to 17 and 68 T, respectively. Distinct anomalies with significant changes in sound velocity and sound attenuation were observed at the onset of the structural and magnetic phase transitions. Interestingly, results obtained for fields parallel to the [100]-direction reveal a hysteresis and step-like decrements in ultrasound indicating a transition into a different metastable structural distortion below TN and at magnetic fields between 4 and 10 T that has not been previously reported. We believe that this field-induced distorted structure phase may be the cause of the subsequent phase transition at 11 T. At low temperatures, a softening of the lattice within the ordered phases is also observed, which may be due to residual spin fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goethite (α-FeOOH), a vital water- and hydrogen-bearing natural mineral, is extensively distributed on the Earth's surface and probably in the lower mantle. Laboratory measurements of its phase transition and sound velocities provide crucial data for a more rational understanding of the deep-water transportation and physical properties of the Earth's interior. Herein, the Hugoniot equation of state and sound velocities of natural goethite up to around 15 GPa are measured by dynamic compression. The discontinuities pertinent to the density and sound velocities of goethite are observed at 7.1 (2) GPa, in which a solid–solid phase transition occurs from α- (Pbnm) to ɛ-FeOOH (P21nm). Through this structural phase transition, the longitudinal and shear wave velocities in order, enhance by about 5% and 12%. We suggest that changes in the sound velocity due to the FeOOH phase transition may contribute to the discontinuity in the subduction zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis is presented of reflection from a marine sediment consisting of a homogeneous mud layer overlying a sand-mud basement, the latter with an upward-refracting, inverse-square sound speed profile. Such layering is representative of the sediment at the New England Mud Patch (NEMP). By applying appropriate integral transforms and their inverses to the Helmholtz equations for the ocean and the two sediment layers, along with the boundary conditions, a Sommerfeld–Weyl type of wavenumber integral is obtained for the cylindrical-wave reflection coefficient of the sediment, R. A stationary phase evaluation of this integral yields a closed-form expression for the plane-wave reflection coefficient, R0. In the absence of attenuation, the plane-wave solution exhibits total reflection up to a critical grazing angle, ac, but when attenuation in the sediment is introduced, the region of total reflection in |R0| is replaced by a sequence of contiguous peaks. With realistic levels of sediment attenuation, the cylindrical-wave solution, |R|, exhibits a quasi-critical grazing angle, less than ac, which is strongly dependent on the source-plus-receiver height above the seabed, which is mildly dependent on the depth of the mud layer but is essentially independent of frequency. Such behavior is consistent with independent experimental observations at the NEMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern over the impact of multibeam echosounders (MBES) on marine life has increased in recent years. A thorough impact assessment of acoustic sources requires both accurate modeling of the source and radiated sound field, and a biological assessment. The Joint Industry Program Acoustic Modelling Workshop in 2022 provided a set of verification scenarios for a deep-water MBES to compare modelling approaches and assess agreement across models. This work presents several relevant models designed to compute both the MBES beam patterns and propagated acoustic field. Key acoustic metrics used in impact assessment were calculated and compared using these models. The work confirmed that geometrical acoustics is well suited to the unique radiation patterns of MBES. Ray-tracing programs are relevant as well at short ranges and at long horizontal distances in the presence of large sound speed gradients. The estimation of cumulative sound exposure along a survey track is most often dominated by exposure to the main transmit beam of each sector. Accurate modelling of the near field was demonstrated to have a direct impact on final acoustic metrics and threshold ranges for various marine mammal hearing groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a study on the temperature-dependent sound speed in a beaker using a smartphone. The researchers conducted experiments with a tall beaker and a smartphone to measure the frequency and harmonics of the sound produced as the beaker was filled with water. They also investigated how the speed of sound changed as the air inside the beaker became warmer. The results showed that the frequency of the sound increased over time and that the speed of sound aligned with theoretical values at room temperature. The researchers also conducted experiments with hot air to observe any differences in the frequency response. Overall, this experiment provides a simple and replicable way to determine the speed of sound in air, making it a valuable teaching tool for acoustics. [Extracted from the article]

The anisotropic dependence of the velocity of surface acoustic waves (SAW) on silicon is explored using surface Brillouin light scattering. Measurements of the SAW velocity are compared to a numerical model that takes into account the native thin amorphous oxide layer formed at the top surface of the silicon wafer. The model accounts for material loss and provides a relative estimate for the backscattered intensity resulting from the ripple effect. For the (100) sample considered, a thickness of 4 nm fits well with experimental data, considering material constants of amorphous silica for the oxide. A global phase velocity decrease of −11 m/s per nanometer of silica thickness is predicted for surface phonons at frequencies around 16 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compositional tuning of refractory high-entropy alloys (HEAs) is a powerful strategy to modulate their structural stability and mechanical properties. In this study, we investigate the sound velocities, elasticity, and mechanical properties of NbxTiZrHf (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) HEAs using ultrasonic interferometry combined with Vickers hardness measurements. Notably, the metastable bcc Nb0.2TiZrHf HEAs exhibits exceptional fracture toughness, reaching up to 12.2 MPa·m1/2, which is 1.7–3.3 times higher than that of other bcc NbxTiZrHf counterparts. The mechanism for the abnormal strengthening in fracture toughness of Nb0.2TiZrHf HEAs is primarily attributed to the stress-induced bcc-to-hcp phase transition, which promotes plasticity/ductility strengthening and crack deflection. These findings provide deep insights into "metastability engineering" for designing refractory HEAs with superior fracture toughness and high strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sonic anemometer targeted at wind speed measurements on the surface of Mars is described. This environment requires transducer operation in 4–10 mbar CO2 at temperatures between 143 and 293 K (–130 °C and 20 °C, respectively). Over these ranges, transducer pressure and temperature sensitivity could be a source of measurement error. To investigate this, four candidate transducers were tested using transmission mode ultrasonic testing and impedance measurements: two narrowband piezoelectric transducers, a broadband capacitive transducer, and a micromachined capacitive ultrasound transducer. A system model was used for comparison and interpretation, and implications for a sonic anemometer were examined. Variation of transducer characteristics, including diffraction effects, across 2–10 mbar in CO2 and 190–293 K (–83 °C–20 °C) result in ±2.3% error in wind speed measurement and ±1.1% error in speed of sound measurement for the worst case but only ±0.14% error in wind and ±0.07% error in speed of sound for the best transducer operated off resonance. The acoustic conditions on Mars are similar to those in Earth's stratosphere at 30–42 km of altitude. Hence, testing was also conducted in dry air over the same range of pressures and temperatures with relevance to a secondary application of the instrument as a stratospheric anemometer for high altitude balloon missions on Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room impulse responses (RIRs) vary over time due to fluctuations in atmospheric temperature, humidity, and pressure. This can introduce uncertainties in room transfer-function measurements, which are challenging to account for. Previous methods of identification and compensation of time variance focus on systematic atmospheric changes and do not apply to subtle discrepancies in RIRs. In this work, we address this problem by proposing a model of short-time coherence between repeated RIR measurements as an indicator of time-frequency similarity and as a measure of time-variance-induced changes in RIRs. Atmospheric changes cause fluctuation in sound speed, which, in turn, results in variation in the time-of-arrival of sound reflections following a Generalized Wiener process. We show that the short-time coherence decreases exponentially with the reflection-path length and propose volatility as a single model parameter determining the coherence decay rate. The proposed model is validated on simulations and measurements, showing applicability in indoor scenarios. The method reliably estimates volatility of 10 − 6 s / s as measured under laboratory conditions. We exemplify the utility of short-time coherence loss by predicting the high-frequency energy loss stemming from RIR averaging. The proposed method is useful in assessing the uncertainty of RIR measurements, especially when repeated measurements are compared or averaged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merons, as a member of quasiparticle family characterized by half-integer of the skyrmion topological charge with nontrivial topological textures, are of great interest in various branches of physics. Here, we report the first experimental observation of a meron texture configuration in acoustic waves. A squared metastructure is designed to support the spoof acoustic surface wave, forming meron lattice patterns in the acoustic velocity field vectors. The experimental results indicate that the meron textures can be moved and shaped by tuning the phase and amplitude differences between the excited sound sources, respectively. To demonstrate the topologically protected character of meron against structure defects, we further measure the acoustic pressure and velocity field distributions on a defective surface. The acoustic meron texture not only provides potential applications toward topologically robust ways to manipulate vectorial characteristics of the acoustic waves but also instills confidence for exploring other members of the quasiparticle family, such as the acoustic hopfion in acoustic waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermoacoustic imaging (TAI) has the potential for detecting hemorrhagic stroke. However, in transcranial TAI, the speed of sound (SoS) between the skull and brain tissue varies significantly. Therefore, if the image reconstruction assumes a uniform SoS, accurately locating the hemorrhagic lesion becomes challenging. In this Letter, we propose a fast inhomogeneous layer back-projection (BP) method based on the basic boundary line with a statistical approach to reconstruct TA images for noninvasive and non-ionizing hemorrhage detection. To validate our proposed method, we conducted numerical simulations using real human skull data and two phantom transcranial TAI experiments. In the numerical simulation, the proposed method improves the structural similarity index measure from 0.034 879 for BP with uniform SoS to 0.624 44. The phantom experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method renders the targets in the reconstructed image more consistent with the real targets. In the case of considering a three-layer SoS distribution, the time reversal method requires 1 min and 37.391 s to reconstruct a 201 × 201 pixels TA image. Meanwhile, the proposed method accomplishes the same-sized TA image reconstruction in only 2.113 397 s. The simulation and experimental results indicate that the proposed method enhances TAI's ability for accurate and fast identification of cerebral hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulating extracellular matrix (ECM) elasticity with fibrillar collagen offers great potential for regenerative medicine, drug discovery, and disease modeling by replicating in vivo mechanical signals. This enhances the understanding of cellular responses and fosters therapeutic innovation. However, precise ECM elasticity measurements are still lacking. This study couples time-resolved Brillouin spectroscopy and pulsed laser-induced Scholte wave generation. We measure how collagen fibrillation affects sound velocity and refractive index. These insights are advancing tissue engineering and cellular biomechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently researchers often normalize the radiation force on spheres in standing waves in inviscid fluids using an acoustic contrast factor (typically denoted by Φ) that is independent of kR where k is the wave number and R is the sphere radius. An alternative normalization uses a function Ys that depends on kR. Here, standard results for Φ are extended as a power series in kR using prior Ys results. Also, new terms are found for fluid spheres and applied to the kR dependence of Φ for strongly responsive and weakly responsive examples. Partial-wave phase shifts are used in the derivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The erratum published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America corrects typos and errors in the characterization of linearly time-varying acoustical systems. The corrections address unrealistic values for the time-variance parameter and provide a formula for calculating it accurately. The revised results confirm the validity of the original numerical findings and emphasize the impact of time variance on signal propagation in acoustical systems. [Extracted from the article]

Two-dimensional lateral heterostructures exhibit novel electronic and optical properties that are induced by their in-plane interface for which the mechanical properties of the interface are important for the stability of the lateral heterostructure. Therefore, we performed molecular dynamics simulations and developed a convolutional neural network-based machine learning model to study the fracture properties of the interface in a graphene/hexagonal boron nitride lateral heterostructure. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show that the shape of the interface can cause an 80% difference in the fracture stress and the fracture strain for the interface. By using 11 500 training samples obtained with help of high-cost MD simulation, the machine learning model is able to search out the strongest interfaces with the largest fracture strain and fracture stress in a large sample space with over 150 000 structures. By analyzing the atomic configuration of these strongest interfaces, we disclose two major factors dominating the interface strength, including the interface roughness and the strength of the chemical bond across the interface. We also explore the correlation between the fracture properties and the thermal conductivity for these lateral heterostructures by examining the bond type and the shape of the graphene/hexagonal boron nitride interface. We find that interfaces comprised of stronger bonds and smoother zigzag interfaces can relieve the abrupt change of the acoustic velocity, leading to the enhancement of the interface thermal conductivity. These findings will be valuable for the application of the two-dimensional lateral heterostructure in electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tetragonal fluoro-scheelite Li R E F 4 compounds (R E = rare earth) have been shown to exhibit a variety of useful optical and magnetic properties. While LiYF 4 has been widely studied, many of the fundamental thermodynamic properties of other members of this family remain unknown. Here, we report the complete elastic tensors ( C ij ) of single-crystalline LiYF 4 , LiTbF 4 , and LiGdF 4 using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT). We compare the results for LiYF 4 with prior experimental results using time-of-flight ultrasound methods. This is the first report, however, of the experimental elastic tensors of LiTbF 4 and LiGdF 4. The present results point to a softening of the elastic moduli of the Li R E F 4 system when Y is replaced by the larger ionic radius of Tb or Gd. Furthermore, we find that just 0.3% doping with Nd on the Y site also leads to a slight softening of the moduli. The variation of the elastic moduli as a function of temperature up to 216 ° C was also measured. A nearly linear softening of all seven independent elastic moduli was observed with increasing temperature. Phonon dispersions and phonon density of states obtained by DFT support the experimental finding of a significantly higher sound velocity due to lighter Y atoms in LiYF 4 , as compared to heavier LiTbF 4 and LiGdF 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]