Linear frequency dependence of the attenuation coefficient of elastic waves in microinhomogeneous solids

A rheological model of a microinhomogeneous elastic medium is proposed. In terms of this model, the linear frequency dependence of the sound attenuati on coefficient observed in the experiment for a wide variety of solids is e xplained. An expression relating the attenuation coefficient of an elastic wave to the structural characteristics of the medium is obtained, and the f requency range corresponding to the linear frequency dependence of the atte nuation coefficient is determined. The results obtained are correlated with other phenomenological theories and the experimental data on elastic wave attenuation in various microinhomogeneous solids. The requirements imposed on a physically consistent model of the dissipation properties of a medium by the causality principle are taken into account.