Acoustic attenuation coefficients for polycrystalline materials containing crystallites of any symmetry class

This letter provides a theoretical extension to the elastic properties of polycrystals in order to describe elastic wave scattering from grain boundaries. The extension allows the longitudinal and shear attenuation coefficients for scattering to be derived and is valid for polycrystals containing crystallites of any symmetry class. Attenuation curves are given for polycrystalline SiO2, ZrO2, and SnF2, which contain monoclinic crystallites. This work will allow ultrasonic techniques to be applied to new classes of materials containing nontrivial microstructures.