Focusing on Acoustic Waves in a Non-Uniform Atmosphere

The blast scaling principle by charge weights may often produce gross errors in the estimation of overpressures at significant distances from a shot site. The principle ignores weather conditions and assumes a homogeneous atmosphere. Weather conditions may cause variations in the velocity of sound w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Smith, Gil E
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ACOUSTIC LENSES
ACOUSTIC VELOCITY
ACOUSTIC WAVES
ANOMALIES
ATMOSPHERES
ATMOSPHERIC DUCTS
Atmospheric Physics
BLAST
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
ERRORS
ESTIMATES
Explosions
EXPLOSIVE CHARGES
FOCUSING
HETEROGENEITY
MOTION
NONUNIFORM
OVERPRESSURE
PROFILES
SCALING FACTOR
SOUND TRANSMISSION
SOUND WAVES
TEMPERATURE INVERSION
WEATHER
WEIGHT
WIND SHEAR
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Description
Summary:The blast scaling principle by charge weights may often produce gross errors in the estimation of overpressures at significant distances from a shot site. The principle ignores weather conditions and assumes a homogeneous atmosphere. Weather conditions may cause variations in the velocity of sound which allows the atmosphere to refract sound waves and act as an acoustic lens. Certain weather conditions such as temperature inversions may allow an acoustic focus many kilometers away from a shot site. Acoustic propagation from a noise producing installation has been mathematically modelled to assist in the prediction of anomalous overpressures by acoustic focusing. A computer model, REFFOCUS was developed to illustrate foci in a vertically inhomogeneous, non- turbulent, moving atmosphere. The model is produced from sound velocity profiles derived primarily from temperature and wind shear profiles.