title: Interaction dynamics of elastic waves with a complex nonlinear scatterer through the use of a time reversal mirror.
abstract: This Letter reports on work performed to locate and interrogate a nonlinear scatterer in a linearly elastic medium through the use of a time reversal mirror in combination with nonlinear dynamics. Time reversal provides the means to spatially and temporally localize elastic energy on a scattering feature while the nonlinear dynamics spectrum allows one to determine whether the scatterer is nonlinear (e.g., mechanical damage). Here elastic waves are measured in a solid and processed to extract the nonlinear elastic response. The processed elastic signals are then time reversed, rebroadcast, and found to focus on the nonlinear scatterer, thus defining a time-reversed nonlinear elastic wave spectroscopy process. Additionally, the focusing process illuminates the complexity of the nonlinear scatterer in both space and time, providing a means to image and investigate the origins and physical mechanisms of the nonlinear elastic response.
authors.affiliation: EES Division, Geophysics Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Guyer