Sound scattering by spherical and elongated shelled bodies

Abstract

Describing the scattering of sound by elongated objects with high aspect ratios (ratio of length to diameter) usually involves great numerical difficulties. The recently developed deformed cylinder solution was shown to be increasingly accurate in the limit of very high aspect ratios (≥5:1) while requiring relatively low computation times and was applied to objects of constant composition [T. K. Stanton, ``Sound scattering by cylinders of finite length. III. Deformed cylinders,'' J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 691–705 (1989)]. In this article, the approximate formulation is used to describe scattering by prolate spheroids, straight finite cylinders, and uniformly bent cylinders where the objects are composed of an elastic shell surrounded by fluid and filled with either a fluid or gas. The calculations are compared with those involving spherical shells based on the formulation derived in Goodman and Stern [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 34, 338–344 (1962)]. The calculations are made over a wide range of frequencies and shell thicknesses (ranging from solid elastic objects to thin-shelled objects). Since the deformed cylinder formulation is most accurate for angles of incidence normal or near normal to the lengthwise axis, the calculations are limited to broadside incidence. The simulations show significant variations in the modal interference structure as the shell thickness and shape are varied. Comparisons are also made between predictions and laboratory data involving straight and bent finite-length cylindrical shells (stainless steel) with 3:1 aspect ratios and 52% shell thicknesses. The study not only shows reasonable agreement between the predictions and data, but also illustrates the dramatic change in scattering cross section due to the bend of the object (12 dB in this case).