Unified modeling of turbulence effects on sound propagation

Many aspects of outdoor sound propagation depend on the scattering effects induced by atmospheric turbulence. Standard analytical and numerical assessments of these effects make an a priori distinction between the scattering effects at large versus small angles. The present study evaluates the ability of a numerical model in overcoming this distinction. The model solves a set of two coupled equations for the sound pressure and vector acoustic velocity, with the finite-difference time domain approach. It is first introduced and evaluated. The numerical predictions are compared to well-known analytical solutions in the case of two-dimensional plane wave propagation through turbulence. They are found to agree in the investigated scenarios. Hence, the finite-difference, time domain solution of the two coupled equations provides a unified, versatile numerical approach to investigating the effects of atmospheric turbulence on sound propagation. The comparison also provides original insights on the applicability and limitations of various methods used to investigate sound propagation through turbulence. (C) 2012 Acoustical Society of America. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4748584]