Acoustic Radiation From a Pulsating Spherical Cap Set on a Spherical Baffle Near a Hard/Soft Flat Surface

Radiation of sound from a spherical piston, set in the side of a rigid sphere, undergoing harmonic radial surface vibrations in an acoustic halfspace is analyzed in an exact fashion using the classical method of separation of variables. The method of images in combination with the translational addition theorems for spherical wave functions is employed to take the presence of the flat boundary into account. The analytical results are illustrated with numerical examples in which the piston is pulsating near the rigid/compliant boundary of a water-filled halfspace. Subsequently, the basic acoustic field quantities such as the acoustic radiation impedance load and the radiation intensity distribution are evaluated for representative values of the parameters characterizing the system. Numerical results reveal the important effects of excitation frequency, source position, and cap angle on the acoustic radiation impedance load and the radiation intensity distribution. The presented work can lead to a better understanding of dynamic response of near-surface underwater transducers.