Coda-wave interferometry in finite solids: recovery of P-to-S conversion rates in an elastodynamic billiard

We study the temperature dependence of diffuse reverberant ultrasound in elastic bodies. Transient wave forms are found to undergo an almost pure dilation of 0.0277% per degree, related to the temperature dependence of wave speeds. The wave forms also suffer a distortion that, we argue, depends on the rate of conversion between the dilatational (P) and shear (S) waves. Distortion is found to scale in a manner consistent with theoretical arguments but also appears to be a function of the degree of ray chaos in the body, indicating that the mixing rates are slower in more regular bodies.