Wave-DNA: a software tool for simulating nonlinear acoustic waves emitted by moving boundaries

The investigation of nonlinear acoustics requires sophisticated and tailored methods to advance the state of the art. Here we present the software tool Wave-DNA for the simulation of nonlinear acoustic waves emitted by stationary or moving boundaries in quiescent or moving fluids, assuming a one-dimensional or spherically-symmetric geometry. At its core, Wave-DNA is based on the convective Kuznetsov equation, a second-order nonlinear acoustic wave equation that accounts for the background flow and may be reduced to alternative wave equations by applying simplifying assumptions. A tailored finite-difference time-domain method with time-dependent coordinate transformation enables the accurate simulation of acoustic waves emitted by moving boundaries.