A novel method for extracting acoustic nonlinearity parameters with diffraction corrections

A new method for determining the acoustic nonlinearity parameter using a nonlinear data fitting method is proposed. Based on the quasilinear theory of Westervelt’s equation, the fundamental and second harmonic beam fields are expressed as a multi-Gaussian beam model that separates the attenuation and diffraction correction terms from the propagating plane waves. A nonlinear least squares curve-fitting method is developed to extract the nonlinearity parameter without knowing the attenuation coefficients of the material being tested. The nonlinearity parameter of water is determined using the proposed method, and the result agrees well with the literature value. The attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and the second harmonic are also extracted and discussed.