An Analysis of the Response of Sooty Tern Eggs to Sonic Boom Overpressures
Abstract
It has been suggested that sonic booms caused a mass hatching failure of Sooty Terns on the Dry Tortugas, Florida. Notwithstanding that the evidence was circumstantial, this hypothesis is often quoted as proof that sonic booms harm wildlife. The mathematical analysis reported herein is performed at two levels of idealization. The first model is that of a spherical elastic shell with the embryo represented as an inertial concentric sphere and the albumen as an acoustic fluid that completely fills the intervening volume. The second, higher fidelity, model accounts for the "egg shape" and allows for an air sac. In both cases the sonic boom is taken to be an incident acoustic wave with the classic N-wave signature. The peak responses of the egg, specifically the peak shell stress, embryo acceleration, and reactive force at the substrate upon which the egg rests, are computed as a function of the incident sonic boom overpressure and compared with damage criteria taken from the literature. It is concluded that the overpressures from supersonic military operations with existing aircraft are of insufficient level to cause avian egg damage in general and the 1970 Sooty Tern hatching failure in particular.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA395961
Entities
People
- Ann E. Bowles
- Carina Ting
- Joel Garrelick