Seasonal Distribution of the Radio Wave Refraction Index over the Territory of Buryatia

The values of the atmospheric refraction index N for ultra-short radio waves for the territory of Buryatia according to the data of meteorological stations were calculated. The monthly average values N contours maps for the central months of the seasons of 2020 were constructed. It is shown the humidity of Lake Baikal and the relief significantly influence N. On average, the values of the refractive index near the lake are 20–30 N-units higher. It is revealed the monthly average N values have maxima in winter and summer with minimums in spring and autumn, with the main maximum occurring in July.

Shock Reduction Technique on Thin Plate Structure by Wave Refraction Using an Elastic Patch

In general, bending waves transfer the largest portion of shock energy in a plate-like structure. This study proposes a new shock reduction method using an elastic patch designed to defocus the bending waves through the refraction of the waves so that it is possible to effectively reduce the propagating shock for a certain target area. Elastic patches of three different shapes were considered. The shock reduction performance of these patches was analytically, numerically, and experimentally investigated and compared. All results consistently showed that attached patches can effectively reduce passing waves for areas behind patches. Therefore, utilizing the proposed methods, we can reduce the transient shock response at certain target areas of various practical structures without degradation of structural stiffness or strength simply by bonding with an elastic patch.

Simulation of wave propagation using graph-theoretical algorithm

We simulate the wave propagation through various mediums using a graph-theoretical path-finding algorithm. The mediums are discretized to the square lattices, where each node is connected up to its 4th nearest neighbours. The edge connecting any 2 nodes is weighted by the time of flight of the wave between the nodes, which is calculated from the Euclidean distance between the nodes divided by the average velocity at the positions of those nodes. According to Fermat’s principle of least time, wave propagation between 2 nodes will follow the path with minimal weight. We thus use the path-finding algorithm to find such a path. We apply our method to simulate wave propagation from a point source through a homogeneous medium. By defining a wavefront as a contour of nodes with the same time of flight, we obtain a spherical wave as expected. We next investigate the wave propagation through a boundary of 2 mediums with different wave velocities. The result shows wave refraction that exactly follows Snell’s law. Finally, we apply the algorithm to determine the velocity model in a wood sample, where the wave velocity is determined by the angle between the propagation direction and the radial direction from its pith. By comparing the time of flight from our simulation with the measurements, the parameters in the velocity model can be obtained. The advantage of our method is its simplicity and straightforwardness. In all the above simulations, the same simple path-finding code is used, regardless of the complexity of the wave velocity model of the mediums. We expect that our method can be useful in practice when an investigation of wave propagation in a complex medium is needed.

Numerical simulation of wave phenomena using FreeFEM

In this research free surface motion governed by the shallow water equations is considered. A numerical scheme based on the finite element method, which is incorporated in the open source FreeFEM, was used to simulate several wave phenomena. By carefully setting the corresponding initial condition as well as boundary conditions, several numerical computations were conducted. Numerical simulations presented here are standing wave in a closed basin, progressive wave over a flat bottom, as well as wave shoaling over a decreasing depth and wave refraction. In all cases above, the existing analytical formula are used to validate the numerical results. These computations suggest that explicit-implicit scheme is appropriate for varying water wave simulations.

Massed Strandings of Whales and Dolphins – Effects of Wind, Waves and Tides.

We examined125 mass-stranding events of cetaceans (>=10 individuals) on New Zealand shores over the past 40 years. The wind, waves, wave refraction, shore slopes and tides at the dates and locations of these events were considered. The mass-strandings involved 10 different species, but by far the most common involved the Long-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala melas. Our hypothesis is that mass-stranding is a three-stage process. The first stage is when an animal becomes ill, its body may become bloated and float on the surface, and the wind and waves may drive it ashore. We assume the second stage is that the dying or dead body may be accompanied by pod members as a result of strong social bonds. The third stage involves the tides and the beach slope. If these are of sufficient amplitude, the nearby attendees will quickly become stranded in the intertidal of a gently sloping beach as the water level falls. We have evaluated evidence for the first and third stages. In the overwhelming majority (91%) of the mass-strandings (omitting events inside estuaries), the available data showed that wind and waves would drive floating objects (bodies) toward the stranding site. Examination of the nearshore slopes and the tide ranges showed that the vast majority of the stranding sites were slowly shelving beaches where the tides would retreat rapidly over 10s of metres. These 2 results are even more pronounced if only Pilot Whale mass strandings are considered.

Integrated High-Accuracy Correction Technology of Radio-Wave Refraction for Deep-Space (High-Orbit) Targets

The radio-wave refraction error caused by the troposphere and ionosphere badly affects accuracy in terms of the navigation, positioning, measurement, and control of a target; it is the main source of errors in high-accuracy measurement and control systems. The high-accuracy technology needed for radio-wave refraction error correction (mainly in the troposphere and ionosphere) has been the focus of research for a long time. At present, the correction methods used for radio-wave refraction errors have a low accuracy. For an S-band radio-wave signal, the accuracy of refraction error correction can generally only reach m-level (elevation angle of 15° and above), and thus has difficulty meeting the requirements of dm-level accuracy refraction error correction for deep-space and high-orbit targets. To improve the accuracy of radio-wave refraction error correction for deep-space and high-orbit targets, a novel correction method for tropospheric and ionospheric range error due to refraction is proposed in this study, on the basis of the measured data from a water vapor radiometer and dual-frequency Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The comprehensive calibration test is conducted in combination with the Chinese Area Positioning System (CAPS) in Kunming. Results show that this method can effectively correct the range error due to refraction that is caused by the troposphere and ionosphere. For an S-band radio-wave signal, the accuracy of refraction error correction can reach dm-level accuracy (elevation angle of 15° and above), which is 50% higher than that achieved with traditional methods. This work provides an effective support system for major projects, such as lunar exploration and Mars exploration.

Fundamentals of Lossless, Reciprocal Bianisotropic Metasurface Design

Lossless, reciprocal bianisotropic metasurfaces have the ability to control the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic wavefronts. However, producing the responses that are necessary for achieving this control with physically realizable surfaces is a challenging task. Here, several design approaches for bianisotropic metasurfaces are reviewed that produce physically realizable metasurfaces using cascaded impedance sheets. In practice, three or four impedance sheets are often used to realize bianisotropic responses, which can result in narrowband designs that require the unit cells to be optimized in order to improve the performance of the metasurface. The notion of a metasurface quality factor is introduced for three-sheet metasurfaces to address these issues in a systematic manner. It is shown that the quality factor can be used to predict the bandwidth of a homogeneous metasurface, and it can also be used to locate problematic unit cells when designing inhomogeneous metasurfaces. Several design examples are provided to demonstrate the utility of the quality factor, including an impedance matching layer with maximal bandwidth and a gradient metasurface for plane wave refraction. In addition to these examples, several metasurfaces for polarization control are also reported, including an isotropic polarization rotator and an asymmetric circular polarizer.

Assessment of the Parameters of a Shock Wave on the Wall of an Explosion Cavity with the Refraction of a Detonation Wave of Emulsion Explosives

At present, studying the parameters of shock waves at pressures up to 20 GPa entails a number of practical difficulties. In order to describe the propagation of shock waves, their initial parameters on the wall of the explosion cavity need to be known. With the determination of initial parameters, pressures in the near zone of the explosion can be calculated, and the choice of explosives can be substantiated. Therefore, developing a method for estimating shock wave parameters on an explosion cavity wall during the refraction of a detonation wave is an important problem in blast mining. This article proposes a method based on the theory of breakdown of an arbitrary discontinuity (the Riemann problem) to determine the shock wave parameters on the wall of the explosion cavity. Two possible variants of detonation wave refraction on the explosion cavity wall are described. This manuscript compares the parameters on the explosion cavity wall when using emulsion explosives with those obtained using cheap granular ANFO explosives. The detonative decomposition of emulsion explosives is also considered, and an equation of state for gaseous explosion products is proposed, which enables the estimation of detonation parameters while accounting for the incompressible volume of molecules (covolume) at the Chapman–Jouguet point.

Hydrodynamic instability at impact interfaces and planetary implications

Impact-induced mixing between bolide and target is fundamental to the geochemical evolution of a growing planet, yet aside from local mixing due to jetting – associated with large angles of incidence between impacting surfaces – mixing during planetary impacts is poorly understood. Here we describe a dynamic instability of the surface between impacting materials, showing that a region of mixing grows between two media having even minimal initial topography. This additional cause of impact-induced mixing is related to Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI), and results from pressure perturbations amplified by shock-wave refraction through the corrugated interface between impactor and target. However, unlike RMI, this new impact-induced instability appears even if the bodies are made of the same material. Hydrocode simulations illustrate the growth of this mixing zone for planetary impacts, and predict results suitable for experimental validation in the laboratory. This form of impact mixing may be relevant to the formation of stony-iron and other meteorites.