Scattering-induced attenuation of an ultrasonic beam in austenitic steel

The scattering-induced attenuation coefficient of a beam of longitudinal waves propagating through an austenitic steel plate is measured as a function of the texture angle. The experimental data were obtained by mapping the incident and the transmitted ultrasonic field, and by evaluating the energy loss experienced by each plane wave component of the beam. Contrary to the behavior of data obtained by means of conventional techniques, that of the data reported in this work agrees qualitatively with the theoretical predictions. The reasons for the disagreement between theory and data obtained by means of conventional techniques are also discussed.