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THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF ACOUSTICS - H. H. Arnold ...

THE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS OF ACOUSTICS - H. H. Arnold ...

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21Nonlinear Acoustics21.1 IntroductionIn most of the preceding chapters we have dealt with acoustics in terms of the linearwave equation. The amplitude of the sound was considered to be virtually infinitesimal,thus paving the path to relatively convenient mathematical analyses. When thewave amplitude becomes sufficiently large, nonlinear effects occur and the linearwave equation no longer meets the situation. Waveform deformation occurs withpossible formation of shock waves, increased absorption, nonlinear interaction (asopposed to superposition) between combined sound waves, amplitude-dependentdirectivity of rays, onset of cavitation, and sonoluminescence.The realm of nonlinear acoustics produced by intense sound levels encompassesa variety of practical cases: mufflers for internal combustion engines, thermoacousticheat engines, shock waves from supersonic aircraft and spacecraft, underwatersonar, formation of bubbles, cavitation, acoustic compression and energy lossesattributable to viscous and thermal boundary layers, sonoluminescence, and sonochemistry.Velocity dispersion also affects the resonance frequencies of rigid wallcavities and the harmonic spectrum of standing waves.Even in cases of relatively small signals, matters are not always so linear asthey appear. Executing a perturbation procedure on the wave equation to considersecond- and third-order effects may bring out rheological characteristics (i.e., thenon-Newtonian behavior of fluid viscosity) of a fluid medium that can be indicativeof its physical and chemical state (Raichel and Kapfer, 1973; Takabayashi andRaichel, 1998).Obviously not all aspects of nonlinear acoustics can be covered in a singlechapter, but in the following sections we will attempt to highlight some of themajor facets of the finite-amplitude category of acoustics.21.2 Wave DistortionsConsider a plane wave propagating in the x-direction in a frictionless fluid.If the amplitude is sufficiently small, the wave phenomenon can be described617

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