Benchmark solutions for sound propagation in an ideal wedge

Sound propagation in a wedge-shaped waveguide with perfectly reflecting boundaries is one of the few range-dependent problems with an analytical solution, and hence provides an ideal benchmark for a full two-way solution to the wave equation. An analytical solution for the sound propagation in an ideal wedge with a pressure-release bottom was presented by Buckingham and Tolstoy [Buckingham and Tolstoy 1990 J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 87 1511]. The ideal wedge problem with a rigid bottom is also of great importance in underwater acoustics. We present an analytical solution to the ideal wedge problem with a perfectly reflecting bottom, either rigid or pressure-release, which may be used to provide a means for investigating the sound field in depth-varying channels, and to establish the accuracy of numerical propagation models. Closed-form expressions for coupling matrices are also provided for the ideal waveguides characterized by a homogeneous water column bounded by perfectly reflecting boundaries. A comparison between the analytical solution and the numerical solution recently proposed by Luo et al. [Luo W Y, Yang C M and Zhang R H 2012 Chin. Phys. Lett. 29 014302] is also presented, through which the accuracy of this numerical model is illustrated.