SONIC-BOOM PROPAGATION THROUGH A REALISTIC TURBULENT ATMOSPHERE

A model of the turbulent atmosphere based on the von Karman spectrum i s used in conjunction with a scattering center-based model to simulate sonic boom propagation. The distribution of rise times and peak overp ressures predicted by the model are compared to those measured during a field test. Calculated rise rimes increase in the presence of turbul ence, but the computed shift of the distribution toward higher values is less than measured. The predicted distribution of peak overpressure underpredicts the shift in overpressure to lower values displayed in the measured distribution. This underprediction is consistent with the rise time prediction. Future work will investigate the effect of anis otropic turbules on sonic boom propagation. (C) 1995 Acoustical Societ y of America.