Interaction of acoustic waves with cracks: Elastic and inelastic nonlinearity mechanisms on different time scales

The interrelated elastic and inelastic fast and slow effects of acoustic wave interaction with cracks are discussed from a unified point of view. Special attention is given to the dissipative manifestations of the presence of cracks and to the effects of the symmetrically time-reversible slow dynamics observed for acoustically activated cracks. These effects can be more pronounced than the conventionally discussed nonlinear elastic effects (such as higher harmonic generation). Taking into account the main geometric features of cracks, a thermoelastic mechanism is proposed to consistently interpret the experimental data. Consequences of the results of these studies for seismics are discussed, and the possibilities of using the observed effects for nonlinear acoustic diagnostics of cracks are discussed.