Transient axial solution for plane and axisymmetric waves focused by a paraboloidal reflector.

A time domain analytical solution is presented to calculate the pressure response along the axis of a paraboloidal reflector for a normally incident plane wave. This work is inspired by Hamilton's axial solution for an ellipsoidal mirror and the same methodology is employed in this paper. Behavior of the reflected waves along reflector axis is studied, and special interest is placed on focusing gain obtained at the focal point. This analytical solution indicates that the focusing gain is affected by reflector geometry and the time derivative of the input signal. In addition, focused pressure response in the focal zone given by various reflector geometries and input frequencies are also investigated. This information is useful for selecting appropriate reflector geometry in a specific working environment to achieve the best signal enhancement. Numerical simulation employing the finite element method is used to validate the analytical solution, and visualize the wave field to provide a better understanding of the propagation of reflected waves. This analytical solution can be modified to apply to non-planar incident waves with axisymmetric wavefront and non-uniform pressure distribution. An example of incident waves with conical-shaped wavefront is presented.