Dependence of ultrasonic velocity on porosity and pore shape in sintered materials

A new approach to predict the longitudinal and transverse ultrasonic velocities in porous materials is presented. The model is based on a previously derived Young's modulus-porosity correlation assuming spheroidal geometry of the pores. It is also assumed that the Poisson's ratio of porous materials does not change significantly with porosity. The longitudinal and transverse ultrasonic velocities are given as functions of the Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, density of the pore-free material and of the porosity and axial ratio (z/x) of the spheroidal pores. Experimental data drawn from the literature on different porous sintered materials including SiC, Al(2)O(3), YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-x), porcelain, sintered iron, Si(3)N(4), and sintered tungsten, were used to verify the model. A strong relationship between pore shape and the slope of the ultrasonic velocity-porosity curve was confirmed. In general, the calculated values are in fairly good agreement with the experimental data. When the actual shape (axial ratio) of the pores was known, the approach was shown to predict the experimental data better than a similar model derived by Phani. It is suggested that the present approach, coupled with the measurement of the ultrasonic velocity, may constitute a simple nondestructive technique to gain knowledge of the morphology of the porosity in sintered materials.