Propagation of high-intensity sound from gunfire and firearms

Present models used for noise impact studies are essentially based on linear propagation. These models fail to predict accurately the propagation of sound from military sources such as jet noise, or impulse noise from firearms, guns, detonations and explosions. The high intensity, broad spectrum, the directivity and the duration are specific to military noise sources. The large discrepancies observed with experimental data or within results from civilian noise propagation models are related to the non-linear propagation behavior.
We intend to develop a software and the associated methodology applicable to wideband military sources for the assessment and management of military noise emissions. The methodology would be coupled to a geographically informed package to model the propagation over accurate terrain conditions. This way the sound levels and exposure at various locations can be computed. We intend to validate the model by an extensive comparison with on-site measurements.
The software and the methodology can be used to make assessments of the impact from military activities on communities with respect to international and regional regulation and optimize mitigation (by shielding and/or by adapting the procedures).

The project MILSOUND - MSP/19-01 is financed under the DFR call.