Compression and shear wave propagation in cemented sand specimens

Abstract

Ultrasonic and bender element tests in the laboratory are typically used to measure elastic modulus and damping ratio. However, interpretation of the results is challenging for a variety of reasons, including the influence of experimental details, geometrical effects and the analytical techniques used for data processing. It is therefore convenient to cross-check results by performing several independent measurements. Three different types of measurements were performed on cementedsand specimens. Longitudinal waves or constrained compressional waves in a cylindrical specimen were generated in a high-frequency range (20–70 kHz) using a newly designed transducer interface. Full dynamic characterisation was made possible by independent measurement of the transducer response. Pure unconstrained compressional waves or simply compression waves were measured in the same specimens with high-frequency transducers. The shear modulus was computed and used to predict the arrival of shear waves on independent bender element measurements. The predicted arrival was close to first-break estimates, and bender measurements were therefore confidently employed to track cement curing effects on a different set of specimens. The specimen frequency response function obtained from the longitudinal wave measurements was examined in detail and damping ratios were estimated for the compression vibration modes in a rod.