Reflection of impulses as a method of determining acoustic impedance

An impulse technique has been developed which allows investigation of the reflection of acoustic transients at different angles from an impedance boundary. From measurements of the direct and reflected impulses, the complex surface impedance has been calculated from the ratio of the corresponding Fourier components. The surfaces were modeled as a locally reacting boundary between homogeneous media; this representation was found to be adequate for grassland and a carpet layer but unsatisfactory for a thick fiberglass layer. There was no need to include a ground wave term when reconstituting pulse shapes at different angles over grass or carpet for the range of frequencies and angles investigated in this paper.