The development of low-frequency sonar systems, using for instance a network of autonomous systems in unmanned vehicles, provides a practical means for bistatic measurements (i.e. when the source and receiver are widely separated) allowing for multiple viewpoints of the target of interest. Time-frequency analysis, in particular Wigner-Ville analysis, takes advantage of the evolution time dependent aspect of the echo spectrum to differentiate a man-made target (e.g. elastic spherical shell) from a natural one of the similar shape (e.g. solid). A key energetic feature of fluid loaded and thin spherical shell is the coincidence pattern, or mid-frequency enhancement echoes (MFE), that result from antisymmetric Lamb-waves propagating around the circumference of the shell. This thesis investigates numerically the bistatic variations of the MFE (with respect to the monostatic configuration) using the Wigner-Ville analysis. The observed time-frequency shifts of the MFE are modeled using a previously derived quantitative ray theory for spherical shell's scattering. Additionally, the advantage of an optimal array beamformer, based on joint time delays and frequency shifts (over a conventional time-delay beamformer) is illustrated for enhancing the detection of the MFE recorded across a bistatic receiver array.

During the lift-off of a launch vehicle, the acoustic pressure fluctuations caused by the engine exhaust gases produce high noise levels inside the cavity of the fairing and can damage the payload inside the fairing. Hence reducing the noise transmitted into the payload bay is an important area of research. Work presented in this thesis investigates the external acoustic pressure excitations on the fairing of a launch vehicle during the lift-off acoustic environment. In particular, it investigates the external sound pressure levels in the low frequency range from 50Hz to 400Hz, on the fairing during the lift-off of a launch vehicle. This study establishes theoretical and numerical models for the prediction of external sound pressure loading on composite structures representing launch vehicles, such as a large composite cylinder referred to as a Boeing cylinder and a Representative Small Launch Vehicle Fairing (RSLVF). To predict the external sound pressure loading, various incident wave conditions were investigated, including incident plane waves, oblique plane waves and oblique plane waves with random phases that strike the circumference of the composite structures. For the theoretical model, both the incident and scattered sound pressure fields due to incident plane waves; perpendicular to an idealised long cylinder were investigated. The results show that the scattered sound pressure field plays a major role in determining the total circumferential sound pressure field at the surface of the cylinder and cannot be ignored for the launch case. The theoretical model was developed further for a point source, line source and oblique incident waves, and modified to determine the incident, scattered and total sound pressure fields away from the cylinder. The approach developed overcomes some limitations of previous analytical derivations. An experiment was undertaken to determine the sound pressure patterns at the surface of a cylinder at various frequencies due to a point source positioned at a finite distance from the cylinder surface. The experimental work confirmed the accuracy of the theoretical model for a point source at a finite distance from the cylinder. The Boundary Element Method (BEM), approach was used for the numerical investigation of the acoustic loadings. The numerical analysis was developed for various acoustic loading conditions and verified with the theoretical results, which showed that the numerical and theoretical models agree well. Both models were extended to a Boeing composite cylinder and an RSLVF for various acoustic loading conditions. The complex acoustic environment generated during the lift-off of a launch vehicle was investigated and used as a basis for the acoustic loading on an RSLVF. To predict the acoustic excitations on an RSLVF, two different source allocation techniques were investigated, which considered acoustic sources along the rocket engine exhaust flow. The investigations were conducted both numerically and analytically. Both results agree well and show that it is possible to predict the acoustic loads on the fairing numerically and analytically. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1347443 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Mechanical Engineering, 2008

Time-domain methods are preferred over their frequency-domain counterparts for solving acoustic and electromagnetic scattering problems since they can produce wide- band data from a single simulation. Among the time-domain methods, time-domain surface integral equation solvers have recently found widespread use because they offer several benefits over differential equation solvers. This dissertation develops several second-kind surface integral equation solvers for analyzing transient acoustic scattering from rigid and penetrable objects and transient electromagnetic scattering from perfect electrically conducting and dielectric objects. For acoustically rigid, perfect electrically conducting, and dielectric scatterers, fully explicit marching-on-in-time schemes are developed for solving time domain Kirchhoff, magnetic field, and scalar potential integral equations, respectively. The unknown quantity (e.g., velocity potential, electric current, or scalar potential) on the scatterer surface is discretized using a higher-order method in space and Lagrange interpolation in time. The resulting system is cast in the form of an ordinary differen- tial equation and integrated in time using a predictor-corrector scheme to obtain the unknown expansion coefficients. The explicit scheme can use the same time step size as its implicit counterpart without sacrificing from the stability of the solution and is much faster under low-frequency excitation (i.e., for large time step size). In addition, low-frequency behavior of vector potential integral equations for perfect electrically conducting scatterers is also investigated in this dissertation. For acoustically penetrable scatterers, presence of spurious interior resonance modes in the solutions of two forms of time domain surface integral equations is investigated. Numerical results demonstrate that the solution of the form that is widely used in the literature is corrupted by the interior resonance modes. But, the amplitude of these modes in the time domain can be suppressed by increasing the accuracy of discretization especially in time. On the other hand, the proposed one in the combined form shows a resonance-free performance verified via numerical experiments. In addition to providing detailed formulations of these solvers, the dissertation presents numerical examples, which demonstrate the solvers’ accuracy, efficiency, and applicability in real-life scenarios.

The far field acoustics generated by turbulent flow over rough surfaces has been experimentally investigated in an acoustically treated wall jet facility. The facility allows direct measurement of the far field sound from small patches of surface roughness, without contamination from edge or other aerodynamic noise sources. The facility is capable of generating turbulent boundary layer flows with momentum thickness Reynolds numbers between 450 and 1160. The variation of surface conditions tested cover the range from hydrodynamically smooth surfaces through most of the transitional range, with h+ variations from 3 to 85. Single microphone narrow band acoustic spectra, measured in the far field, show sound levels as much as 15 dB above the background from 0.186 m2 roughness patches. The measurements revealed the spectral shape and level variations with flow velocity, boundary layer thickness, and roughness size; providing the first data set large enough to assess the affects of many aerodynamic properties on the acoustic spectra. Increases in the size of grit type roughness produced significant increases in acoustic levels. Patches of hydrodynamically smooth roughness generated measurable acoustic levels, confirming that acoustic scattering is at least one of the physical mechanisms responsible for roughness noise. The shapes of the measured spectra show a strong dependence on the form of the surface roughness. The acoustic spectra generated by periodic two-dimensional surfaces have a much narrower louder peak than that generated by three-dimensional grit type roughness. Measurements also show the orientation of the two-dimensional surface significantly affects the acoustic levels and directivity. The variation of sound levels with flow velocity and roughness size suggests the acoustic field is significantly affected by changes in the near wall flow due to the presence of the roughness. Current models of noise generated by rough surfaces predict the general trends seen in measurements for flows over grit and two-dimensional roughness in the range of 20<h+<50. However, in cases with a low Reynolds number or large grit size, where the roughness is likely to significantly affect the hydrodynamic pressure field, the scattering models did not perform as well. / Ph. D.

Scale modeling has been commonly used for architectural acoustics but use in other noise control areas is nominal. Acoustic scale modeling theory is first reviewed and then feasibility for small-scale applications, such as is common in the electronics industry, is investigated. Three application cases are used to examine the viability. In the first example, a scale model is used to determine the insertion loss of a rectangular barrier. In the second example, the transmission loss through parallel tubes drilled through a cylinder is measured and results are compared to a 2.85 times scale model with good agreement. The third example is a rectangular cuboid with a smaller cylindrical well bored into it. A point source is placed above the cuboid. The transfer function was measured between positions on the top of the cylinder and inside of the cylindrical well. Treatments were then applied sequentially including a cylindrical barrier around the well, a membrane cover over the opening, and a layer of sound absorption over the well. Results are compared between the full scale and a 5.7 times scale model and correlation between the two is satisfactory.

The search for quieter internal combustion engines drives the quest for a better understanding of the acoustic properties of engine duct components. Simulations are an important tool for enhanced understanding; they give insight into the flow-acoustic interaction in components where it is difficult to perform measurements. In this work the acoustics is obtained directly from a compressible Large Eddy Simulation (LES). With this method complex flow phenomena can be captured, as well as sound generation and acoustic scattering. The aim of the research is enhanced understanding of the acoustics of engine gas exchange components, such as the turbocharger compressor.In order to investigate methods appropriate for such studies, a simple constriction, in the form of an orifice plate, is considered. The flow through this geometry is expected to have several of the important characteristics that generate and scatter sound in more complex components, such as an unsteady shear layer, vortex generation, strong recirculation zones, pressure fluctuations at the plate, and at higher flow speeds shock waves. The sensitivity of the scattering to numerical parameters, and flow noise suppression methods, is investigated. The most efficient method for reducing noise in the result is averaging, both in time and space. Additionally, non-linear effects were found to appear when the amplitude of the acoustic velocity fluctuations became larger than around 1~\% of the mean velocity, in the orifice. The main goal of the thesis has been to enhance the understanding of the flow and acoustics of a thick orifice plate, with a jet Mach number of 0.4 to 1.2. Additionally, we evaluate different methods for analysis of the data, whereby better insight into the problem is gained. The scattering of incoming waves is compared to measurements with in general good agreement. Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) is used in order to find significant frequencies in the flow and their corresponding flow structures, showing strong axisymmetric flow structures at frequencies where a tonal sound is generated and incoming waves are amplified.The main mechanisms for generating plane wave sound are identified as a fluctuating mass flow at the orifice openings and a fluctuating force at the plate sides, for subsonic jets. This study is to the author's knowledge the first numerical investigation concerning both sound generation and scattering, as well as coupling sound to a detailed study of the flow.With decomposition techniques a deeper insight into the flow is reached. It is shown that a feedback mechanism inside the orifice leads to the generation of strong coherent axisymmetric fluctuations, which in turn generate a tonal sound. / <p>QC 20121113</p>

The acoustic scattering properties of the human head and torso match well with those of simple geometric shapes. Consequently, analytical scattering models can be utilised to account for the sound localisation cues introduced by these features. The traditional use of such models assumes that the head surface is completely rigid in nature. This thesis is concerned with modelling and understanding the effect of terminal scalp hair (i.e., a non-rigid head surface) on the auditory localisation cues. The head is modelled as a sphere, and the acoustical characteristics of hair are modelled using a locally-reactive equivalent impedance parameter. This allows the scattering boundary to be defined on the inner rigid surface of the head. The boundary assumptions are validated experimentally, through impedance measurement at oblique incidence and analysis of the near-field scattering pattern of a uniformly covered sphere. The impedance properties of human hair are also discussed, including trends with variations in sample thickness, bulk density, and fibre diameter. A general solution for the scattering of sound by a sphere with an arbitrarily distributed, locally reactive surface impedance is then presented. From this, an analytical solution is derived for a surface boundary that is evenly divided into two uniformly distributed hemispheres. For this boundary condition, cross-coupling is shown to exist between incoming and scattered wave modes of equi-order when the degrees are non-equal and opposite in parity. The overall effect of impedance on the resultant scattering characteristics is discussed in detail, both for uniform and for hemispherically divided surface boundaries. Finally, the analytical formulation and the impedance characteristics of hair are collectively utilised to investigate the effect of hair on human auditory localisation cues. The hair is shown to produce asymmetric perturbations to both the monaural and binaural cues. These asymmetries may help to resolve localisation confusions between sound stimuli positioned in the front and rear hemi-fields. The cue changes in the azimuth plane are characterised by two predominant features and remain consistent regardless of the decomposition baseline (i.e., the inclusion of a pinna offset, neck, etc). Experimental comparisons using a synthetic hair material show a good agreement with simulated results.

Dans le cadre de certaines applications militaires ou méthodologiques, on peut chercher à rendre un objet « invisible » vis-à-vis des ondes acoustiques. Différentes méthodes passives ont été proposées ces dernières années pour éviter ou atténuer la diffraction d'ondes acoustiques sur des obstacles rigides. Ces techniques reposent sur des phénomènes purement acoustiques, avec par exemple la présence de multiples résonateurs ou d'objets diffractants. L'étude présentée ici s'intéresse pour sa part aux effets que l'on pourrait obtenir au moyen d'un revêtement multicouche élastique fixé à un cylindre que l'on souhaite rendre indétectable. Le comportement vibro-acoustique d'un tel revêtement est d'abord modélisé. Par optimisation, on détermine les caractéristiques mécaniques et dimensionnelles des couches permettant une atténuation omnidirectionnelle de la diffraction. Des configurations réalistes de revêtements composés d'une couche orthotrope et d'une couche isotrope sont dégagées dans le cas d'un milieu extérieur constitué d'air. On montre que de tels dispositifs permettent d'atténuer la diffraction à une fréquence donnée ou sur une bande de fréquence. Le problème de la caractérisation expérimentale de ces revêtements est également abordé. Dans un second temps, le cas d'un milieu extérieur constitué d'eau est étudié. On met alors en évidence une réduction de la diffraction avec des revêtements composés de deux couches isotropes. L'influence des différents paramètres de la couche intérieure est analysée. Enfin, des exemples montrent que la bande de fréquence sur laquelle a lieu l'atténuation de la diffraction peut être élargie en augmentant le nombre de couches. / Making an object invisible to acoustic waves could prove useful for military applications or measurements in confined space. Different passive methods have been proposed in recent years to avoid acoustic scattering from rigid obstacles.These techniques are exclusively based on acoustic phenomena, and use for instance multiple resonators or scatterers. This thesis deals with a different method and studies the effects in terms of scattering reduction of an elastic multi-layered coating fixed to the object to conceal. Vibrations of the coating subject to acoustic waves are first modelled to compute the scattered pressure in the external fluid. Mechanical and dimensional properties of the layers leading to omnidirectional scattering reduction are optimised. Considering an external fluid consisting of air, realistic configurations of coatings emerge, composed of a thick internal orthotopic layer and a thin external isotropic layer. These coatings are shown to enable scattering reduction at a precise frequency or on a larger frequency band. The problem of experimental characterisation is also addressed.The study then focuses on a cylinder immersed in water. Bi-layer isotropic coatings can be used in such configuration. A parametric study is led on the characteristics of the internal layer. Finally, significant scattering reduction is achieved for alarger frequency range by increasing the number of layers. Examples of four-layer isotropic coatings are presented to highlight this result.

Acoustic and electromagnetic scattering from arbitrarily shaped structures can be numerically characterized by solving various surface integral equations (SIEs). One of the most effective techniques to solve SIEs is the Nyström method. Compared to other existing methods,the Nyström method is easier to implement especially when the geometrical discretization is non-conforming and higher-order representations of the geometry and unknowns are desired. However,singularities of the Green’s function are more difficult to”manage”since they are not ”smoothened” through the use of a testing function. This dissertation describes purely numerical schemes to account for different orders of singularities that appear in acoustic and electromagnetic SIEs when they are solved by a high-order Nyström method utilizing a mesh of curved discretization elements. These schemes make use of two sets of basis functions to smoothen singular integrals: the grid robust high-order Lagrange and the high-order Silvester-Lagrange interpolation basis functions. Numerical results comparing the convergence of two schemes are presented. Moreover, an extremely scalable implementation of fast multipole method (FMM) is developed to efficiently (and iteratively) solve the linear system resulting from the discretization of the acoustic SIEs by the Nyström method. The implementation results in O(N log N) complexity for high-frequency scattering problems. This FMM-accelerated solver can handle N =2 billion on a 200,000-core Cray XC40 with 85% strong scaling efficiency. Iterative solvers are often ineffective for ill-conditioned problems. Thus, a fast direct (LU)solver,which makes use of low-rank matrix approximations,is also developed. This solver relies on tile low rank (TLR) data compression format, as implemented in the hierarchical computations on many corearchitectures (HiCMA) library. This requires to taskify the underlying SIE kernels to expose fine-grained computations. The resulting asynchronous execution permit to weaken the artifactual synchronization points,while mitigating the overhead of data motion. We compare the obtained performance results of our TLRLU factorization against the state-of-the-art dense factorizations on shared memory systems. We achieve up to a fourfold performance speedup on a 3D acoustic problem with up to 150 K unknowns in double complex precision arithmetics.

Arbitrary high order numerical methods for time-harmonic acoustic scattering problems originally defined on unbounded domains are constructed. This is done by coupling recently developed high order local absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) with finite difference methods for the Helmholtz equation. These ABCs are based on exact representations of the outgoing waves by means of farfield expansions. The finite difference methods, which are constructed from a deferred-correction (DC) technique, approximate the Helmholtz equation and the ABCs to any desired order. As a result, high order numerical methods with an overall order of convergence equal to the order of the DC schemes are obtained. A detailed construction of these DC finite difference schemes is presented. Details and results from an extension to heterogeneous media are also included. Additionally, a rigorous proof of the consistency of the DC schemes with the Helmholtz equation and the ABCs in polar coordinates is also given. The results of several numerical experiments corroborate the high order convergence of the proposed method. A novel local high order ABC for elastic waves based on farfield expansions is constructed and preliminary results applying it to elastic scattering problems are presented.