A uniform theory of diffraction formulation for acoustic radiation modes

Abstract

Acoustic radiation modes have recently regained the attention of the literature, with applications ranging from active structural acoustic control to acoustical holography. Typically the calculation of these modes requires boundary element methods for all but flat plate and full sphere geometries. This paper presents a radiation mode formulation for cylindrically curved structures with small curvature, based on the uniform theory of diffraction. This formulation shows promise, as it produces analytical expressions for the radiation resistance matrix, leading to computationally efficient radiation mode calculation. Radiation modes are shown for cylindrically curved plates, and the calculation of sound power with these modes is compared to that calculated using boundary element methods. The extension of this formulation to other curved structures is discussed.