Experimental study on subharmonic and ultraharmonic acoustic waves in water-saturated sandy sediment

Experimental observations of the subharmonic and ultraharmonic acoustic waves in water-saturated sandy sediment are reported in this paper. Acoustic pressures of both nonlinear acoustic waves strongly depend on the driving acoustic pressure at a transducer. The first ultraharmonic wave reaches a saturation value as the driving acoustic pressure increases. The acoustic pressure levels of both nonlinear acoustic waves exhibit some fluctuations in comparison with that of the primary acoustic wave as the receiving distance of hydrophone increases in sediment. The subharmonic and the ultraharmonic phenomena in this study show close resemblance to those produced in bubbly water.