Abstract:

To establish thresholds of public acceptability, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would like to determine if it is possible to design and build a sonic boom simulation device that can accurately reproduce a sonic boom over an entire building , or portion of a building, such as a residential home. Having such a sonic boom reproduction device would make it possible to perform subjective tests on people in their own homes when exposed to simulated sonic boom noise corresponding to aircraft that have not yet been built. This presentation describes an ongoing study directed toward the design of a simulation device that can accurately reproduce sonic booms over the entire exterior surface of a building. The authors will present some plausible strategies that are in the development stages. However, an additional motivation for this presentation is to make ASA members aware of this research and to solicit feedback from attendees prior to a January 2009 down-selection activity for the design of a system. The strict requirements for sonic boom playback fidelity make this project a Grand Challenge in Audio Reproduction. [Work supported by the FAA through the PARTNER Center of Excellence, www.partner.aero .]