Sound diffraction by multiple wedges and thin screens

A theoretical formula that is based on the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) is proposed for computing sound diffraction by multiple wedges, barriers, and polygonal-like shapes. The formula can treat both convex and concave edges, where edges may or may not be inter-connected. Comparisons of theoretical predictions with other results done by the BEM or experiments for scaled model confirm the accuracy of the present formula. Numerical examples such as double wedges and doubly inclined barrier show that when there exist several diffraction paths for given source and receiver positions, the insertion loss is dominated by the diffraction associated with the shortest propagation path. It is also found that although the partially inclined barrier increases the shadow zone as compared to the simple screen type of the same total height, it does not necessarily increase the insertion loss at all heights. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.