Eunkuk Son

Interior Analysis of Impulse Noise from Weapons in a Perspective on Damage Risk Using the Alternative Image Theory

Blast waves generated from the muzzles of various weapons might have significant effects on the operators’ body, such as hearing loss. If the weapon is operated in a room, these effects are recognized as being more severe. MIL-STD-1474D, a damage risk criterion that considers the peak sound pressure level and B-duration time and is recommended by the US Department of Defense, is widely used because of its simplicity. This study introduces a numerical model of damage risk assessment based on the alternative image theory and discrete wavefront method. The alternative theory is a technique for predicting the effect of reflected waves using the image space concept, and the wavefront method is a propagation model based on the blast waveform. Sound pressure distributions inside an enclosed space and signals at specific positions were obtained using the model. Although the estimated results differ slightly from the measured ones, the waves reflected from the enclosing boundaries were effectively captured with good agreement, as expected.