Use of a ultrasonic transducer array for measuring the velocity and attenuation of leaky acoustic waves

We suggest a new method for measuring local values of the velocity and attenuation of leaky acoustic waves, which is based on wave field measurements using an immobile array of receiving ultrasonic transducers. In comparison to the methods using a single focused transducer mechanically scanned over a given region of the sample, the proposed technique is advantageous in having a higher operation speed due to the electronic switching of receiving channels in the array and in requiring no high-precision mechanical scanners. A ray model of the proposed measuring system comprising an array of ultrasonic transducers with an electronic scanning facility is described. Theoretical conclusions have been experimentally confirmed by tests on the samples with known properties.