Diffuse ultrasonic backscatter using a multi-Gaussian beam model

Diffuse ultrasonic backscatter is widely used to evaluate microstructural parameters of heterogeneous materials. Recent singly scattered response (SSR) models utilize a single-Gaussian beam (SGB) assumption which is expected to have limitations. Following a similar formalism, a model is presented using a multi-Gaussian beam (MGB) assumption to characterize the transducer beam for longitudinal-to-longitudinal scattering at normal incidence through an interface with arbitrary curvature. First, the Wigner transform of the transducer field is defined using conjugate double-layer MGB expressions. The theoretical analysis shows that ten groups of Gaussian beams are sufficient for convergence. Compared with the SGB-SSR curve, the shape of MGB-SSR curve is positive skewed. Differences between the MGB-SSR model and the SGB-SSR model are quantified and shown to be complex functions of frequency, sample curvature, transducer parameters, and focal depth in the material. Finally, both models are used to fit experimental spatial variance data from a 304 stainless steel pipe with planar, convex, and concave surfaces. The results show that the MGB-SSR has some characteristics suggesting a better fit to the experiments. However, both models result in grain size estimates within the uncertainty of the optical microscopy suggesting that the SGB is sufficient for normal incidence pulse-echo measurements.