arXiv subjects

Silvia Blanc

Publications and source records attributed to Silvia Blanc.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2022

A 3D acoustic propagation model for shallow waters based on an indirect Boundary Element Method

The purpose of this work is twofold: (a) To present the theoretical formulation of a 3D acoustic propagation model based on a Boundary Element Method (BEM), which uses a half-space Green function in place of the more conventional free-space Green function and (b) to show a numerical implementation aimed to explore the formulation in simple idealized cases --controlled by a few parameters--, and provides necessary tests for the accuracy and performance of the model. The half-space Green's function, which has been used previously in scattering and diffraction, adds terms to the usual expressions of the integral operators without altering their continuity properties. Verifications against the Pekeris waveguide suggest that the model allows an adequately prediction for the acoustic field. Likewise, numerical explorations in relation to the necessary mesh size for the description of the water-sediment interface allow us to conclude that a TL prediction with acceptable accuracy can be obtained with the use of a bounded mesh around the desired evaluation region.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2019

Boundary-element method to analyze acoustic scattering from a coupled swimbladder-fish body configuration

A model for computing acoustic scattering by a swimbladdered fish with coupling to surrounding fish tissue that is assumed to behave as a homogeneous fluid, is presented. Mathematically, this corresponds to considering the problem of two penetrable scatterers immersed in a homogeneous medium, one of which is wholly embedded in the other. The model is formulated in the frame of boundary integral equations whose solution is achieved using the Boundary Element Method (BEM) for a planar triangle mesh. The numerical implementation is verified against benchmark solutions reported in the literature. The model is then applied to a specimen of \textit{Merluccius hubbsi}, whose morphometry was determined by CT scanning, for evaluating its forward and backscattering responses. From the acoustic scattering viewpoint, the swimbladder is considered as a gas-filled object while the flesh constituting the fish body acts like a weak scatterer. The numerical results suggest the swimbladder and the fish body responses, when fully coupled, can lead to substantial differences with respect to the simplified models normally in use in the area of aquatic ecosystem research.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2018

A Computational Method to Calculate the Exact Solution for Acoustic Scattering by Fluid Spheroids

The problem of scattering of harmonic plane acoustic waves by fluid spheroids (prolate and oblate) is addressed from an analytical approach. Mathematically, it consists in solving the Helmholtz equation in an unbounded domain with Sommerfeld radiation condition at infinity. The domain where propagation takes place is characterised by density and sound speed values $ρ_0$ and $c_0$, respectively, while $ρ_1$ and $c_1$ are the corresponding density and sound speed values of an immersed object that is responsible of the scattered field. Since Helmholtz equation is separable in prolate/oblate spheroidal coordinates, its exact solution for the scattered field can be expressed as an expansion on prolate/oblate spheroidal functions multiplied by coefficients whose values depend upon the boundary conditions verified at the medium-immersed fluid obstacle interface. The general case ($c_0 \neq c_1$) is cumbersome because it requires to solve successive matrix systems that are ill-conditioned when $c_1/c_0$ is far from unity. In this paper, a numerical implementation of the general exact solution that is valid for any range of eccentricity values and for $c_0 \neq c_1$, is provided. The high level solver code has been written in the Julia programming language while a software package recently released in the literature has been used to compute the spheroidal functions. Several limit cases (Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, spheroid tending to sphere) have been satisfactorily verified using the implemented code. The corresponding example scripts can be downloaded from the authors' web (GitHub) site. Additionally, the new code has been used to extend results reported in the literature.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2018

Modelling High-Frequency Backscattering from a Mesh of Curved Surfaces Using Kirchhoff Approximation

The Kirchhoff approximation (K-A) to calculate the acoustic backscattering of a complex structure can be evaluated using a discretized version of its surface (i.e. a $\textit{mesh}$). From the computational viewpoint, the most accesible approach is the one based on flat facets. However, in the high frequency range, where the K-A provides good agreement and is therefore applicable, it requires a mesh with such a large number of facets that it turns impractical. To avoid these difficulties a mesh of curved triangles can be used to model the scatterer's complex structure. Previous computational implementations reported in the literature did not accomplish satisfactory results for high frequency. In this work we propose a numerical model based upon an iterative integration using Gauss-Legendre rules. The model was validated against exact solutions and led us to achieve adequate results in the high-frequency range.

physics.comp-ph↗