Subjective loudness of "minimized" sonic boom waveforms.
For very long supersonic aircraft the "midfield" sonic boom signature may not have evolved fully into an N wave at ground level. Thus in current boom minimization techniques the shape of the aircraft may be tailored to optimize this midfield wave form for reduced subjective loudness. The present investigation tests a family of "flat-top" waveforms cited by Darden: all but one have a front shock height (deltapSH) less than the peak amplitude (deltapMAX). For equal subjective loudness, "flat top" vs N wave (peak overpressure deltapN), the peak amplitude of the "flat top" signature was found to be substantially higher than that of the N wave; thus for equal peak amplitude the "flat-top" signature was quieter. The results for equal loudness were well fitted by an emperical law deltapSH + 0.11deltapMAX = deltapN; the equivalence shows how the front shock amplitude (deltapSH) dominates the loudness. All this was found compatible with predictions by the method of Johnson and Robinson.
D006801:Humans; D008144:Loudness Perception; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009622:Noise; D011571:Psychoacoustics