Effect of Temperature Gradients on Acoustic Waves in a Closed Water Column
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Effect of Temperature Gradients on Acoustic Waves in a Closed Water Column

Effect of Temperature Gradients on Acoustic Waves in a Closed Water Column

An acoustic transducer is affixed to the top of a closed column of heated water, and a target is at an unknown point down the column. When temperature differences exist over the length of the column, circulation of the water leads to two different effects, a Doppler shift (considered to small to be important in this application), and a deflection of the acoustic beam as depicted below. Deflection of the beam arises from the fact that the speed of sound in water is a function of temperature and varies in a complex manner over a large temperature range. Therefore, circulation of water of different temperatures gives rise to random deflections of the beam.

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