Measurement of viscous sound absorption at 50-150 kHz in a model turbid environment

The visco-thermal absorption of sound by suspended particulate matter can be reliably measured using a reverberation technique. This absorption may have an adverse effect on the performance of sonars operating at 50-300 kHz in coastal waters where suspensions are often present in significant concentrations. A series of experiments has been performed to study the viscous absorption by suspensions in the frequency range of 50-150 kHz. In the test volumes employed, the effect is small. It is therefore measured by taking the difference in reverberation times of a volume of water with and without particles. This greatly reduces the effect on the measurement of the other sources of absorption. Even so, it is necessary to design the experiment to characterize and minimize acoustic losses which occur at the surfaces of the container, the hydrophones, and their cables, and losses associated with bubbles and turbulence. These effects are discussed and results for particulate absorption for suspensions of spherical glass beads are presented and compared to theoretical predictions. Measured absorption agrees well with that predicted by theory for concentrations above 0.5 kg/m(3) and up to 2.0 kg/m(3). [S0001-4966(98)01610-5]