Steel, Ductile Iron and Cast Iron Environments
Why 16 Hertz is the best frequency option for these challenging underground locating environments.
A lower frequency, such as 16 hertz, which can be found in Prototek’s 16Hz LD-9 DuraSonde Transmitter, is incredibly effective at penetrating materials like steel, ductile iron, and cast iron due to the fascinating nature of sound waves and their interaction with various materials. Here are four scientific phenomena that help explain the magic of 16Hz in those tough steel, ductile iron, and cast iron environments.
Longer Wavelengths: Lower frequencies boast impressively longer wavelengths. Notably, a 16 Hz sound wave possesses an incredibly longer wavelength than a higher frequency sound. These extended wavelengths have the ability to navigate around obstacles, making them less likely to be absorbed or reflected. This phenomena is known as diffraction.
Reduced Absorption: Typically, materials tend to absorb sound wave energy and convert it into heat. This absorption is substantially diminished at lower frequencies, like with Prototek’s 16 Hertz LD-9 DuraSonde transmitter. Consequently, lower frequency waves experience minimal energy loss to absorption when traversing dense materials; like steel, cast and ductile iron, enabling that lower frequency to travel through.
Material Resonance: Materials like Steel and Iron resonate at specific frequencies. Strikingly, high frequencies are more inclined to induce small, localized resonant vibrations, leading to dispersion and absorption of the sound waves. In contrast, lower frequencies, like 16 Hz, being significantly distant from the material’s resonant frequencies, are remarkably resistant to scattering in this manner. At higher frequencies like 8 Kilohertz, metal will start to mimic the transmitter’s frequency. Thus, any metal in the area will act like a transmitter itself, making locating the actual transmitter a nearly impossible task.
Penetration Depth and Attenuation: Most importantly, low-frequency waves are able to penetrate deep into materials due to their minimal attenuation (loss of force) when moving through the material. Conversely, high-frequency waves are subject to more rapid attenuation, thus limiting their penetration depth. In real-world scenarios, like underground locating in hard-core metallic environments, the utilization of low-frequency sound waves, such as at 16 Hz, proves invaluable for locating in and penetrating industrial materials like steel, cast and ductile iron. This helps explain why low-frequency noises, such as those generated by heavy machinery, can be heard from considerable distances and through obstacles, while higher-pitched noises dissipate more rapidly. Have you ever tried to fall asleep while some Semi-Tractor Trailer four miles away was using its compression brakes, going down hill, while sounding like the whole world was going to end? Talk about a tough environment.
