Acoustical characterization of a portable pneumatic infrasound source.

Abstract

A portable infrasound source based on a pneumatic siren design is described. The source is capable of producing narrowband tone bursts over a frequency range of approximately 0.25-10 Hz. The acoustical characteristics of the infrasound source are presented, including measured sound pressure levels and horizontal directivity. The methodologies for processing the received acoustic signals are reported, and comparisons of measurements are made with a simple multipole model of the source. Measurements indicate that the pneumatic infrasound siren can be useful for a variety of applications for which a controlled, known infrasound source is required.