A numerical method for acoustic normal modes for shear flows

The normal modes and their propagation numbers for acoustic propagation in wave guides with flow are the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of a boundary value problem for a non-standard Sturm-Liouville problem. It is non-standard because it depends non-linearly on the eigenvalue parameter. (In the classical problem for ducts with no flow, the problem depends linearly on the eigenvalue parameter.) In this paper a method is presented for the fast numerical solution of this problem. It is a generalization of a method that was developed for the classical problem. A finite difference method is employed that combines well known numerical techniques and a generalization of the Sturm sequence method to solve the resulting algebraic eigenvalue problem. Then a modified Richardson extrapolation method is used that dramatically increases the accuracy of the computed eigenvalues. The method is then applied to two problems. They correspond to acoustic propagation in the ocean in the presence of a current, and to acoustic propagation in shear layers over flat plates.