A new solution to the problem of an acoustically transparent body

The method of active impedance matching is applied to the well-known problem of an acoustically transparent body. Two laws of active force control, by velocity and by pressure, are obtained for solving the problem.     

Measured and calculated vertical structure of a sound field in the ocean

Results of measuring the monochromatic sound field with a dipping probe in the deep ocean are presented. The sound speed profile in the region of measurements had a minimum at a depth of 1600 m. The experiment was carried out in the Atlantic Ocean with the use of two vessels separated by a distance of approximately four ray cycles (～240 km). The experimental data are compared with the calculations based on a new concept of the Brillouin waves for describing the vertical structure of the sound field produced by rays. It is shown that a satisfactory agreement between experiment and calculation can be achieved by fitting the parameters of the experiment. Such a procedure allows one to refine or even to determine the experimental conditions, which not are always known. The proposed method of calculation offers an opportunity for solving inverse problems of ocean acoustics.     

Dispersion of waves in a plane acoustic layer with flexible elastic walls

A plane acoustic layer bounded by elastic membranes is considered. Dispersion relations for symmetric and antisymmetric waves are derived. The limit behavior of dispersion curves is investigated for wave numbers tending to zero and to infinity. With the use of the resulting asymptotic expansions, the two-point Pade approximations are constructed. The orthogonality relations for eigenmodes are presented.     

Simulation of mass transfer in systems with isotropic pair correlation of particles

Results of a numerical analysis of mass transfer in systems of macroscopic particles with various isotropic interaction potentials are presented. Parameters that determine transport properties of nonideal dissipative systems are obtained for a broad class of model potentials. An approximate expression for the diffusivity of interacting particles is proposed. The relationship between diffusivity and viscosity is analyzed for strongly nonideal systems.     

Characteristics of high-power radiating imploding discharge with cold start

A qualitative model of the dynamics of a multiterawatt radiating Z-pinch with cold start and high rate of current rise is proposed. The model is used to analyze discharges with currents I ～ 2–5 MA (with dI/dt > 10¹³ A/s) through uniform or structured plasma-producing loads, including wire arrays. The most important consequence of cold start is that spatially nonuniform plasma production is prolonged to almost the entire current rise time. Under these conditions, the Ampére force begins to play a dominant role in the plasma dynamics before the plasma-producing load is completely transformed into an accelerated plasma. The results of computations of wire-array vaporization are presented. A formula is proposed for estimating the highest attainable velocity of plasma flow into a heterogeneous liner driven by the Ampére force. It is shown that local imbalance between radial motion of the produced plasma and supply of the plasma-producing substance to be ionized leads to axially nonuniform breakthrough of magnetic flux into the liner, which precedes plasma collapse. The magnetic-flux breakthrough gives rise to a chaotic azimuthal-axial plasma structure consisting of radial plasma jets of relatively small diameter, which is called a radial plasma rainstorm. The breaking-through azimuthal magnetic flux obstructs further current flow in the breakthrough region. Analyses of Z-pinch implosion based on the theory of Rayleigh-Taylor instability or the snowplow model are incorrect under the plasma-rainstorm conditions. The processes taking place in a stagnant Z-pinch include conversion of the energy carried by the current-generated magnetic field into turbulent MHD flow of the ion component of the plasma, its convective mixing with magnetic field, heating, energy transfer from ions to electrons, and emission from the plasma. Under typical experimental conditions, emission plays a key role in the energy balance in an imploding pinch. Z-pinch is modeled by an electric-circuit component that has a time-dependent nonlinear impedance and consumes the magnetic energy supplied by a generator through a magnetically insulated transmission line (MITL). The peak power reached in the circuit is comparable to the peak soft X-ray power output emitted by the pinch in terms of magnitude and timing. Optimum matching conditions are formulated for the generator-MITL-pinch circuit.     

Diffusion and clustering of sedimenting tracers in random hydrodynamic flows

The analysis presented in [1, 2] is extended to sedimenting low-inertia tracers advected by random divergence-free hydrodynamic flows. The key feature of the process is the clustering of the tracers due to the divergence of tracer-velocity field. This phenomenon has probability one; i.e., it takes place in almost every realization of the process. Both spatial diffusivity and diffusivity in the density space (responsible for clustering) are calculated. The low inertia of the tracers does not affect the spatial diffusivity. The indispensable use of a finite velocity correlation time leads to an anisotropic spatial diffusivity. The calculations performed in the study are based on a diffusion approximation.