A time domain rough surface scattering model based on wedge diffraction: Application to low-frequency backscattering from two-dimensional sea surfaces

A time domain method for calculating the acoustic impulse response of impenetrable, rough, two-dimensional (2D) surfaces is presented. The method is based on an extension of the wedge assemblage (WA) method to 2D surfaces and objects. Like the WA method for one-dimensional (1D) surfaces, the approach for 2D surfaces uses Blot's and Tolstoy's exact solution for the impulse response of an infinite impenetrable wedge [J. Acoust. Sec. Am. 29, 381-391 (1957)] as its fundamental building block. The validity of the WA method for backscattering from 2D sea surfaces is assessed through comparisons with calculations based on Milder's operator expansion (OE) method [J. Acoust. Sec. Am. 89, 529-541 (1991)]. Average intensities for backscattering from 2D fully developed seas (20 m/s wind speed) were computed by the WA and OE methods using 50 surface realizations and compared at 11 frequencies between 100 and 200 Hz. A single, moderately low grazing angle of incidence (20 degrees) and several scattered grazing angles (90 degrees, 45 degrees, 20 degrees, and 10 degrees) were considered. Excellent overall agreement between the two models was obtained. The utility of the WA method as a tool to describe the physics of the scattering process is also discussed. [S0001-4966(00)04001-7].