The Acoustic Wave Equation and Simple Solutions
Chapter 5 THE ACOUSTIC WAVE EQUATION AND SIMPLE SOLUTIONS 5.1INTRODUCTION Acoustic waves constitute one kind of pressure fluctuation that can exist in a compressible fluido In addition to the audible pressure fields of modera te intensity, the most familiar, there are also ultrasonic and infrasonic waves whose frequencies lie beyond the limits of hearing, high-intensity waves (such as those near jet engines and missiles) that may produce a sensation of pain rather than sound, nonlinear waves of still higher intensities, and shock waves generated by explosions and supersonic aircraft. lnviscid fluids exhibit fewer constraints to deformations than do solids. The restoring forces responsible for propagating a wave are the pressure changes that oc cur when the fluid is compressed or expanded. Individual elements of the fluid move back and forth in the direction of the forces, producing adjacent regions of com pression and rarefaction similar to those produced by longitudinal waves in a bar. The following terminology and symbols will be used: r = equilibrium position of a fluid element r = xx + yy + zz (5.1.1) (x, y, and z are the unit vectors in the x, y, and z directions, respectively) g = particle displacement of a fluid element from its equilibrium position (5.1.2) ü = particle velocity of a fluid element (5.1.3) p = instantaneous density at (x, y, z) po = equilibrium density at (x, y, z) s = condensation at (x, y, z) 113 114 CHAPTER 5 THE ACOUSTIC WAVE EQUATION ANO SIMPLE SOLUTIONS s = (p - pO)/ pO (5.1.4) p - PO = POS = acoustic density at (x, y, Z) i1f = instantaneous pressure at (x, y, Z) i1fO = equilibrium pressure at (x, y, Z) P = acoustic pressure at (x, y, Z) (5.1.5) c = thermodynamic speed Of sound of the fluid <I> = velocity potential of the wave ü = V<I> .
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