Simulation of pulsed ultrasonic diffraction in viscous fluids using transmission line matrix method

Ultrasonic fields propagating in viscous media undergo changes in shape due to diffraction, attenuation, and dispersion. Until now, some implementations in the transmission line matrix (TLM) method has been developed to simulate either diffraction or attenuation but never both. In this work, the quadratic frequency dependence of the absorption coefficient as well as the dispersive effect of a viscous fluid are introduced in the TLM method. The idea is to decompose the emitted wave into its components at different frequencies using Fourier transform. Then, dispersion and attenuation effects are considered for each wave component separately before superposing them to get the required acoustic response. This is possible because each one of them is characterized by a constant absorption coefficient and propagates at a single speed. This TLM model has been applied to the diffracted ultrasonic field by a circular transducer radiating a short pulse in a viscous fluid. The obtained waveforms are interpreted in terms of plane and edge waves. A study of the influence of the most important parameters on the waveform of the detected ultrasonic pulses is performed. The numerical results obtained highlight the attenuation effect on the waves' shapes and the influence of the dispersion on their arrival times.