Teaching of Physical Acoustics with Simulations in k-wave

Abstract

Using k-wave toolbox as teaching aid in subjects related to physical acoustics is proposed. This toolbox enables simple and efficient simulation of time domain wave propagation. It is widely used for simulating the behaviour of ultrasonic waves in biological media. By adding a small number of instructions it is possible to simulate acoustic field propagation for two-dimensional conditions, based on a reference image (BMP file) in which points of different colours represent specific elements within the simulation. This enables experimentation of different situation using the k-wave toolbox with minimal MATLAB/Octave know-how. Any alteration on the images by simple cut, paste, move or rotate operation results in new simulation conditions.

Keywords

• enseñanza de acústica
• simulación numérica
• método pseudoespectral