J. A. Balderas-López

Self-normalized photoacoustic technique for thermo-optical characterization of samples mounted between transparent media

A self-normalized photoacoustic technique for thermo-optical characterization of materials, mounted between transparent media, is presented. It involves a complex ratio of photoacoustic signals in transmission and front configurations, taking the modulation frequency as the only variable. The analytical solutions for the corresponding 1D heat diffusion problems are analyzed to provide suitable methodologies for measuring the optical absorption coefficients and thermal diffusivity of such samples. This methodology was tested by measuring the optical absorption coefficient, at 660 nm, of methylene blue solutions at various concentrations and the thermal diffusivity of a black drawing ink sample. In addition, an approximated range of optical absorption coefficients, where this photoacoustic methodology is adequate, was established.

Parameters of Higuchi’s method to characterize primary waves in some seismograms from the Mexican subduction zone

Higuchi’s method is a procedure that, if applied appropriately, can determine in a reliable way the fractal dimension D of time series; this fractal dimension permits to characterize the degree of correlation of the series. However, when analyzing some time series with Higuchi’s method, there are oscillations at the right-hand side of the graph, which can cause a mistaken determination of the fractal dimension. In this work, an appropriate explanation is given to this type of behaviour. Using the seismogram as a time series and the properties of the P and S waves, it is possible to use the properties of Higuchi’s method to previously detect the arrival of the earthquake shacking stage, some seconds in advance, approximately 30–35 s in the case of Mexico City. Thus, we propose the Higuchi’s method to characterize and detect the P waves in order to estimate the strength of the forthcoming S waves.