GEOMETRICAL EFFECTS IN RESONANT GAS OSCILLATIONS

It is known that the response of a cylindrical acoustic resonator to e xcitation by an oscillating piston can contain shock waves if the detu ning is sufficiently small. However, the response of a spherical annul ar resonator is continuous, with an amplitude that depends on the detu ning in the same way as does a Duffing equation. This paper discusses the response in resonators that deviate from being cylindrical and sho ws that, in general, the detuning range in which shocks are possible d ecreases as the geometrical imperfection increases.