Assessing sonic boom responses to changes in listening environment, signature type, and testing methodology.

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate human response to low-amplitude sonic booms, specifically focusing on listening environment, character variation in sonic boom signatures, and subjective test methods. Two tests were conducted in which subjects rated annoyance of numerous low-amplitude sonic booms using magnitude estimation and categorical line scaling methods. One test utilized Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation’s Supersonic Acoustic Signature Simulator (SASSII), while the other was conducted in typical office and outdoor patio settings using a headphone playback system. The test stimuli consisted of indoor and outdoor recordings of low-amplitude sonic booms recorded by NASA researchers during flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base. The results include a comparison of subjective methods as well as the effect of listening environment on human annoyance of low-amplitude sonic booms. [Work sponsored by the NSF and the PARTNER Center of Excellence.]