Application of the Gaussian beam summation method to the study of the ultrasonic wave propagation in a turbulent medium

Some systems for the control and the surveillance of fast reactors are based on the characteristics of the ultrasonic wave propagation. We present here the results of a numerical and experimental study of ultrasonic propagation in a thermal turbulent medium. A numerical model, based on the technique of superposition of discrete Fourier modes for representing isotropic and homogeneous turbulence and on the Gaussian beam summation method for calculating the acoustic field, has been implemented in order to study the propagation of a point source wave in a bidimensional turbulent medium. Our model is based on the following principle: the medium is represented by a great number of independent realizations of a turbulent field and for each of them we calculate the acoustic field in a deterministic way. Statistics over a great number of realizations enable us to access to the different quantities of the distorted acoustic field: variance of the time of flight fluctuations, scintillation index and intensity probability density function. In the case of small fluctuations, the results for these three quantities are in a good agreement with analytical solutions. When the level of the fluctuations grows, the model predicts correct evolutions. However, a great sensitivity to the location of a receiver in the vicinity of a caustic has been proved. Calculations in the temporal domain have also been performed. They give an illustration of the possible effects of the turbulence on an impulsion signal. An experimental device, fitted with thermocouples and acoustic transducers, has been used to study the ultrasonic propagation in turbulent water. The different measures permitted to characterize the turbulent field and to get aware of the effect of the turbulence on the acoustic propagation. The acoustical measures agree well with the analytical solution of Chernov and Rytov. They are show the importance of the knowledge of the real spectrum of the fluctuations and the limitations of the Gaussian correlation function. At last, we have studied the de-focalization of an antenna by a turbulent field. (authors)