checkStability

Compute maximum stable time step for k-space fluid models.

Syntax

dt_stability_limit = checkStability(kgrid, medium)

Description

checkStability calculates the maximum time step for which the k-space propagation models kspaceFirstOrder1D, kspaceFirstOrder2D and kspaceFirstOrder3D are stable. These models are unconditionally stable when the reference sound speed is equal to or greater than the maximum sound speed in the medium and there is no absorption. However, when the reference sound speed is less than the maximum sound speed the model is only stable for sufficiently small time steps. The criterion is more stringent (the time step is smaller) in the absorbing case. The time steps given are accurate when the medium properties are homogeneous. For a heterogeneous media they give a useful, but not exact, estimate.

Inputs

kgrid	k-Wave grid object returned by kWaveGrid
medium	Structure containing the medium properties

Outputs

dt_stability_limit

The maximum time step for which the models are stable. This is set to Inf when the model is unconditionally stable.

See Also

kWaveGrid, kspaceFirstOrder1D, kspaceFirstOrder2D, kspaceFirstOrder3D