Analysis of the circumferential acoustic waves backscattered by a tube using the time-frequency representation of Wigner-Ville

This paper presents a study of the group velocity dispersion of some circumferential waves propagating around an elastic tube. The dispersive character of the circumferential waves is theoretically known, but the experimental measurement of the group velocity in a dispersive medium is still a complex operation. We have determined the characteristics of the circumferential wave dispersion for aluminium and steel tubes using a time-frequency representation. Among these time-frequency techniques, the Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) is used here for its interesting properties in terms of acoustic applications. The WVD is applied to the analysis of the dispersion of SO symmetric and Al antisymmetric circumferential waves propagating around a tube with a radii ratio equal to 0.95 (internal radius:external radius). This allowed us to determine their group velocities and reduced cutoff frequencies. The results obtained are in good agreement with the calculated values using the proper modes theory.