-Wave Reflection Imaging of Submerged Soil Models Using Ultrasound
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 10
Abstract
An ultrasonic -wave reflection imaging system is used to noninvasively image submerged soil models with embedded anomalies and complex geometric layer contacts. The ultrasonic transducers emit compressive waves into water that subsequently transmit into the underlying soil, and measurements of the reflections are used to construct the images. The properties of the transducers and data acquisition hardware and software are explained. Fast signal stacking is used to improve signal-to-noise ratio and provide clearer images. Transducer directivity is explained as a wave passage effect, and transfer functions are derived for square and circular transducers to quantify directivity. The transfer functions agree reasonably with measured amplitude data. The cause of errors in the imaged position of dipping reflectors is explained, and a Kirchhoff migration algorithm is implemented to correct these errors. A soil model consisting of embedded high- and low-impedance anomalies, dipping soil layer contacts, and an undulating concrete base layer was imaged using 500- and 100-kHz transducers. The geometric features of the model are clearly visible in the images recorded with the 500-kHz transducers and less clear with the 100-kHz transducers. The lateral spatial resolution of the migrated images is shown to be much larger than one wavelength.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank Navid Shirazi for helping to characterize the sand properties by various air pluviation techniques. Funding for the project was provided by UCLA and nees@UCLA.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 10 • October 2010
Pages: 1358 - 1367
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 15, 2008
Accepted: Feb 24, 2010
Published online: Feb 26, 2010
Published in print: Oct 2010
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