The measurement of apparent attenuation in materials is useful in applications such as the comparison of heat treatments of different lots of material or the assessment of the degradation of materials due to environment.

Several different modes of wave vibration can be propagated in solids. This practice is concerned with the attenuation associated with longitudinal waves introduced into the specimen by the immersion method.

This practice allows for the comparison of the apparent attenuations of geometrically similar specimens.

For the determination of apparent attenuation, the procedures described herein are valid only for measurements in the far field of the ultrasonic beam.

1.1 This practice describes a procedure for measuring the apparent attenuation of ultrasound in materials or components with flat, parallel surfaces using conventional pulse-echo ultrasonic flaw detection equipment in which reflected indications are displayed in an A-scan presentation.

1.2 The measurement procedure is readily adaptable for the determination of relative attenuation between materials. For absolute (true) attenuation measurements, indicative of the intrinsic nature of the material, it is necessary to correct for specimen geometry, sound beam divergence, instrumentation, and procedural effects. These results can be obtained with more specialized ultrasonic equipment and techniques.

1.3 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system may not be exact equivalents; therefore, each system shall be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in non-conformance with the standard.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.