Experimental verification of the theory of elastic properties using scattering approximations in (0-3) connectivity composite materials

New methods of estimating effective macroscopic elastic constants for inhomogeneous materials have recently been proposed using elastic-wave scattering theory [1]-[3]. However, as noted by several authors [4], [17], [18], there are few experimental measurements which allow the validation of these models. The purpose of this paper is to verify if the scattering approximation theories allow prediction of the acoustic properties of epoxy composites containing tungsten powder for various particle sizes and various volume fractions of filler. The theoretical predictions are compared with the experimental results and the different models are discussed.