The CEA (French atomic agency) develops ultrasonic devices for the control and the inspection of Fast Breeder Reactors. The ultrasonic pulses propagate in a liquid which may be turbulent. To predict or interpret the effects of a homogeneous isotropic thermal turbulence, a numerical model has been implemented. Independent realizations of random thermal field are generated by superposition of random Fourier modes. For each realization the complex pressure field is calculated by the Gaussian beam summation method. Statistics over the set of realizations provide an estimation of the variance of time of flight and intensity fluctuations. Simulations have been performed with a point source. When the level of fluctuations is small, the model yields results which are in a good agreement with the analytical solutions given by Chernov and Rytov. When the level of fluctuations grows, it predicts correct evolutions. Multiple eigenrays are well predicted and calculations in time domain with a pulsed source show multiple transmitted signals or modifications in the signal shape.
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