Paper 1, Section II, B
Derive the wave equation governing the pressure disturbance , for linearised, constant entropy sound waves in a compressible inviscid fluid of density and sound speed , which is otherwise at rest.
Consider a harmonic acoustic plane wave with wavevector and unit-amplitude pressure disturbance. Determine the resulting velocity field .
Consider such an acoustic wave incident from on a thin elastic plate at . The regions and are occupied by gases with densities and , respectively, and sound speeds and , respectively. The kinematic boundary conditions at the plate are those appropriate for an inviscid fluid, and the (linearised) dynamic boundary condition is
where and are the mass and bending moment per unit area of the plate, and (with ) is its perturbed position. Find the amplitudes of the reflected and transmitted pressure perturbations, expressing your answers in terms of the dimensionless parameter
(i) If and , under what condition is the incident wave perfectly transmitted?
(ii) If , comment on the reflection coefficient, and show that waves incident at a sufficiently large angle are reflected as if from a pressure-release surface (i.e. an interface where ), no matter how large the plate mass and bending moment may be.