| Co-planar arrays of specially constructed near-point ultrasonic transducers of differing polarizations were used to generate and record ultrasonic waveforms travelling at a variety of different angles within a number of different planes. Using a well-tested tau - p plane wave decomposition technique, the elastic constants of a block of isotropic soda-lime glass as well as an anisotropic medium were determined.; This method was used to try and obtain ultrasonic phase velocities in an oil shale from the Piceance Basin, Colorado, USA after its composition and structure have been determined. The composition and structure of the oil shale was determined through the use of thin sections, pyrolysis, powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and electron microprobing. Due to problems with inhomogeneities and dispersion, elastic constants as a function of pressure for the oil shale were determined using the conventional pulse transmission method. |
