The Kirchhoff Formula for a Supersonically Moving Surface

Abstract

The Kirchhoff formula for radiation from stationary surfaces first appeared in 1882, and it has since found many applications in wave propagation theory. In 1930, Morgans extended the formula to apply to surfaces moving at speeds below the wave propagation speed; we refer to Morgans formula as the subsonic formulation. A modern derivation of Morgans result was published by Farassat and Myers in 1988, and it has now been used extensively in acoustics, particularly for high speed helicopter rotor noise prediction. Under some common conditions in this application, however, the appropriate Kirchhoff surface must be chosen such that portions of it travel at supersonic speed. The available Kirchhoff formula for moving surfaces is not suitable for this situation. In the current paper we derive the Kirchhoff formula applicable to a supersonically moving surface using some results from generalized function theory. The new formula requires knowledge of the same surface data as in the subsonic case. Complications that arise from apparent singularities in the new formulation are discussed briefly in the paper.