Acoustic properties of frozen Ottawa sand

Ultrasonic velocities of dilatational and shear waves as well as damping of dilatational waves in frozen Ottawa sand were measured as a function of water content by using the critical angle method at a frequency of 1 MHz. The dilatational velocity was found to vary with increasing water content from about 0.35 km/sec to 4.6 km/sec. The shear velocity also increases monotonically with increasing water content. The results of damping measurements showed a general trend for the quality factor Q to decrease monotonically with decreasing water content.