Optical imaging of propagating Mach cones in water using refracto-vibrometry.

Refracto-vibrometry was used to optically image propagating Mach cones in water. These Mach cones were produced by ultrasonic longitudinal and shear waves traveling through submerged 12.7 mm diameter metal cylinders. Full-field videos of the propagating wave fronts were obtained using refracto-vibrometry. A laser Doppler vibrometer, directed at a retroreflective surface, sampled time-varying water density at numerous scan points. Wave speeds were determined from the Mach cone apex angles; the measured longitudinal and shear wave speeds in steel (6060 ± 170 m/s and 3310 ± 110 m/s, respectively) and beryllium (12 400 ± 700 m/s and 8100 ± 500 m/s) agreed with published values.