STATISTICAL PROPERTIES OF RANDOM SPARSE ARRAYS

Theoretical models that can be used to predict the range of mainlobe widths and the probability distribution of the peak sidelobe levels of two-dimensionally sparse arrays are presented here. The arrays are considered to comprise microphones that are randomly positioned on a segmented grid of a given size. First, approximate expressions for the mean and variance of the squared magnitude of the aperture smoothing function are formulated for the random arrays considered in the present study. By using the variance function, the mean value and the lower end of the range i.e., the first 1 per cent of the mainlobe width distribution, can be predicted with reasonable accuracy. To predict the probability distribution of the peak sidelobe levels, distributions of levels were modelled by using a Weibull distribution at each peak in the sidelobe region of the mean squared magnitude of the aperture smoothing function. The two parameters of the Weibull distribution were estimated from the means and variances of the levels at the corresponding locations. Next, the probability distribution of the peak sidelobe levels were identified by following a procedure in which the peak sideload level was determined as the maximum among a finite number of independent random sidelobe levels. It was found that the model obtained from that approach predicts the probability density function of the peak sidelobe level distribution reasonably well for the various combinations of the two different numbers of microphones and the various grid sizes tested in the present study. The application of these models to the design of random, sparse arrays having specified performance levels is discussed.     

Study of Low Sidelobe Time Modulated Linear Antenna Arrays at Millimeter-Waves

In this paper, the time modulation technique for the design of low sidelobe antenna arrays is extended to millimeter-wave frequency band. Millimeter-wave rectangular waveguide is selected as the element radiators of linear antenna arrays, and the element radiation patterns are taken into account in the analysis and design of low sidelobe time modulated linear arrays. Two types of time modulation, namely, the time modulated variable aperture sizes (VAS) and unidirectional phase center motion (UPCM), are implemented in the design of low sidelobe millimeter waveguide linear arrays. It is observed that both the co-polarized and the cross-polarized components will experience the time modulation effect simultaneously. Many factors that affect the array performance are discussed.     

Improved beamforming using curved sparse 2D arrays in ultrasound

In this work we have investigated the effect of curving phase-steered sparse periodic two-dimensional arrays in one direction, and relate this effect to the geometry of the arrays. We have shown that curving is equivalent to removing some of the element periodicity, thus adding some “randomness” to the layout. Compared to flat phase-steered periodically sparse two-dimensional arrays, curving offers an even greater suppression of grating lobes located at directions along the curvature. The class of arrays yielding improved performance due to this suppression of grating lobes has been characterized.The point spread functions of some previously proposed array layouts, shown to be promising for ultrasonic imaging, have been simulated. The arrays have been simulated with various number of elements as well as various focal points, with array and field parameters typical to those in volumetric cardiac imaging. On a 48 × 48 element grid with a transducer center frequency of 3 MHz and the target at 40 mm, reductions in the peak sidelobe level of up to 12 dB were recorded for some critical steering directions, without significant differences in the beamwidth. The integrated sidelobe ratio was also examined, showing an almost equivalent performance as the flat array. This study shows that, without adding any complexity to the system, the overall image quality of a volumetric imaging system can be improved significantly by curving the array in one direction.     

同轴共线阵列天线低副瓣设计

对流层风廓线雷达对阵列天线的要求是结构简单,在满足高增益条件下,低副瓣是其关键指标。针对该应用背景,提出了一种辐射单元长度可变的同轴共线天线 (COCO)模型。该天线模型利用不同数量辐射节COCO线源组阵,其口径幅度为修正Taylor分布。在该模型基础上,采用数值计算和优化,COCO阵列天线增益为25.7 dB,E面副瓣为-23 dB,H面副瓣为-22.3 dB。该天线阵样品的测试表明,所设计的低副瓣COCO阵列天线完全达到了设计目标。     

Optimization of point spread function in ultrasound arrays

The design of aperture weightings in ultrasound arrays is a multi-objective optimization problem, involving parameters such as delays, aperture size, focal depth, operating frequency and beam properties. Besides, apodization causes the SNR in array output to be decreased. We introduce an analytic expression of the lateral point spread function and a model for SNR as nonlinear functions of weights, based on which, a new aperture design method is established, resulting in an optimal set of weights. These weights provide a point spread function having the predetermined peak sidelobe level, while the SNR in array output is optimized. Optimization results from a linear array with M=128 elements equally spaced at one wavelength, center frequency f0=3.5 MHz and 50% relative bandwidth, have shown that decreasing the peak sidelobe level, decreases the SNR. Therefore, an array designer can select a proper set of weights according to its application, using a SNR curve versus to the peak sidelobe level. In addition, the method can maintain the same beam properties over a long range with low variations in the SNR. Simulation results have shown only 1 dB variations in the SNR for depths from 20 mm to 120 mm, which is a longer range and better SNR performance than the conventional methods.     

基于简正波分解的不同阵列匹配场定位性能分析

针对利用不同阵列对浅海环境中水下目标的定位问题,基于简正波分解方法,对组合阵的目标声源定位性能进行了研究,着力解决在实际实验环境下定位性能不够高的问题,并降低实验设备布放难度.在浅海环境下,基于匹配场理论的声接收阵可实现目标的定位,但定位性能受阵形、阵元数目等影响.通过研究不同声接收阵的简正波分解矩阵,可以有效辨别不同阵形定位性能的优劣.仿真实验表明,当某一子阵简正波分解效果较差时,会降低组合阵的定位性能.基于实际实验的需求,在对短垂直阵和组合阵性能的研究中发现,由于水平阵对接收声场的定位模糊度函数中的旁瓣有抑制效果,从而造成模糊度函数表面上旁瓣较低,定位目标的主旁瓣比有所提升的现象.仿真实验表明,不同组合阵形的定位准确度均在90%以上,基于实际应用的考虑,组合阵无疑是对定位性能和实验复杂度的折中选择.     

Millimeter-wave Low Sidelobe Time Modulated Linear Arrays with Uniform Amplitude Excitations

The study of millimeter-wave low sidelobe linear arrays with time modulation technique is presented in this paper. Special emphasis is on the realization of low sidelobes with uniform amplitude excitations, which are easier for the practical implementation. Two types of time modulated linear arrays with uniform amplitude excitations, namely, the variable aperture size (VAS) linear arrays with optimized time sequences and the linear arrays with optimized random time sequences were studied. The optimized time sequences are obtained via the differential evolution (DE) algorithm and the genetic algorithm (GA). Many factors that affect the array performance are discussed. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 60571023), the SRF for ROCS, SEM, and the innovative Research Team Program of UESTC, China.     

Ultrasound phased arrays for prostate treatment.

The effect of array geometry on the steering performance of ultrasound phased arrays is examined theoretically, in order to maximize array performance under the given anatomical constraints. This paper evaluates the performance of arrays with spherical and cylindrical geometry, determined by using computer simulations of the pressure fields produced at various extremes of steering. The spherical segment arrays were truncated for insertion into the rectum, and contained either annular or linear elements. The cylindrical arrays were either flat or had a variable curvature applied along their length. Fields were computed by dividing the array elements into many point sources. The effectiveness of an array configuration when steered to a particular focal location was assessed by defining a parameter, G, as the ratio of the intensity at the desired focus to the maximum intensity of any unwanted lobes. The performance of truncated spherical arrays with annular elements was evaluated for focal steering along the array axis (in depth, in the z direction). When steered 15 mm toward the source, these truncated spherical annular arrays exhibited excellent performance, with G>5.7 for arrays containing more than 10 elements. Similarly, the spherical arrays with linear elements performed well when steered along the array axis to the same degree, with G>7 (for element widths up to 3 lambda), though many more array elements were required. However, when these arrays were steered 15 mm laterally, along the length of the prostate (the y direction), the value for G fell below 1 for element widths greater than about 1.6 lambda. It was found that the cylindrical arrays performed much better for y-direction steering (G>4, for 60 mm arrays with an element width of 1.75 lambda), but their performance was poorer when steered in the z direction (G approximately 4 for an element width of 1.5 lambda). In order to find a compromise between these extremes, a curved cylindrical array was examined, which was a cylindrical array with additional curvature along its length. These curved cylindrical arrays yielded performance between that of spherical linear arrays and cylindrical arrays, with better steering along the y direction than the spherical arrays and better z-direction steering than the cylindrical arrays.     

Wideband RELAX and wideband CLEAN for aeroacoustic imaging

Microphone arrays can be used for acoustic source localization and characterization in wind tunnel testing. In this paper, the wideband RELAX (WB-RELAX) and the wideband CLEAN (WB-CLEAN) algorithms are presented for aeroacoustic imaging using an acoustic array. WB-RELAX is a parametric approach that can be used efficiently for point source imaging without the sidelobe problems suffered by the delay-and-sum beamforming approaches. WB-CLEAN does not have sidelobe problems either, but it behaves more like a nonparametric approach and can be used for both point source and distributed source imaging. Moreover, neither of the algorithms suffers from the severe performance degradations encountered by the adaptive beamforming methods when the number of snapshots is small and/or the sources are highly correlated or coherent with each other. A two-step optimization procedure is used to implement the WB-RELAX and WB-CLEAN algorithms efficiently. The performance of WB-RELAX and WB-CLEAN is demonstrated by applying them to measured data obtained at the NASA Langley Quiet Flow Facility using a small aperture directional array (SADA). Somewhat surprisingly, using these approaches, not only were the parameters of the dominant source accurately determined, but a highly correlated multipath of the dominant source was also discovered.     

Design of URAs by DIRECT global optimization algorithm

Coded aperture imaging (CAI) has evolved as a standard technique for imaging high-energy photon sources and has found numerous applications. Coded aperture arrays (CAAs) are the most important devices in the applications of CAI. In recent years, many approaches were presented to design optimum or near-optimum CAAs. Uniformly redundant arrays (URAs) are the most successful CAAs for their cyclic autocorrelation consisting of a sequence of delta functions on a flat sidelobe, which can easily be subtracted when the object has been reconstructed. Unfortunately, the existing methods can only be used to design URAs with limited number of array sizes and fixed autocorrelative sidelobe-to-peak ratio. In this paper, we presented a method to design more flexible URAs by means of a global optimization algorithm named DIRECT. By our approaches, we obtain various types of URAs including the filled URAs which can be constructed by existing methods and the sparse URAs which have never been constructed and mentioned by existing papers as far as we know.     

X波段低副瓣波导缝隙阵列天线特性

根据Stevenson等效电路法设计了两个X波段低副瓣波导缝隙阵列天线。通过建立多个缝隙时的谐振长度提取模型,计算了存在缝隙间互耦时的谐振长度。两个阵列天线测试结果和仿真结果吻合良好,线阵中心频率实测增益为17.83dB,其仿真结果为18.2dB,实测副瓣为-28.12dB,其仿真结果为-29.97dB;平面阵列中心频率实测增益为27dB,其仿真结果为27.9dB,实测H面副瓣为-27.2dB,其仿真结果为-29.9dB,实测E面副瓣为-22dB,其仿真结果为-22dB。     

Passive acoustic detection and localization of whales: effects of shipping noise in Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park

The performance of large-aperture hydrophone arrays to detect and localize blue and fin whales' 15-85 Hz signature vocalizations under ocean noise conditions was assessed through simulations from a normal mode propagation model combined to noise statistics from 15 960 h of recordings in Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park. The probability density functions of 2482 summer noise level estimates in the call bands were used to attach a probability of detection/masking to the simulated call levels as a function of whale depth and range for typical environmental conditions. Results indicate that call detection was modulated by the calling depth relative to the sound channel axis and by modal constructive and destructive interferences with range. Masking of loud infrasounds could reach 40% at 30 km for a receiver at the optimal depth. The 30 dB weaker blue whale D-call were subject to severe masking. Mapping the percentages of detection and localization allowed assessing the performance of a six-hydrophone array under mean- and low-noise conditions. This approach is helpful for optimizing hydrophone configuration in implementing passive acoustic monitoring arrays and building their detection function for whale density assessment, as an alternative to or in combination with the traditional undersampling visual methods.     

不均匀光照条件下太阳能电池串联电路特性分析及GMPPT控制

通过对太阳能电池串联电路的动态特性分析,建立了不均匀光照条件下多峰值出现的充要条件.基于串联电路的工作原理,建立了局部峰值点功率之间的数学关系,确定了最大功率点区间位置的动态判断系数.该方法可快速定位全局最大功率点所在区间,确定该区间的上下边界,将电导增量法的运行初值保持在该区间,能够使其快速准确跟踪到全局最大功率点.该方法利用较少计算和小区间搜索代替全局搜索,具有良好的快速性和准确性.同时该方法改善了区间搜索重启条件使其拥有较强的鲁棒性.     

Designing nonuniform linear arrays to maximize mutual information for bearing estimation

Estimating the bearing of a narrowband sound source using a towed horizontal array is a common array processing problem. This paper designs nonuniform linear symmetric arrays of fixed apertures for estimating the bearing of a sound source. Specifically, the hydrophone spacings for a symmetric linear array are chosen to maximize the upper bound on the mutual information between the true bearing and the estimated bearing in spatially white noise. The arrays maximizing the mutual information while nulling the forward endfire direction look significantly different from the uniform arrays commonly used in towed systems. Arrays maximizing mutual information are helpful when bearing estimation is considered as a quantization problem to assign the source to the correct partition. The optimal partitions for the array are designed using the Lloyd algorithm with an inner product distortion metric based on maximizing the likelihood function of the observations. In these approaches, increasing the mutual information and optimizing the partitions should reduce the probability of error (P(e)) in choosing the partition containing an unknown source. Simulation results with MAP and ML estimators demonstrate that the optimum arrays and partitions proposed here have a much lower P(e) than the uniform array and uniform partitions.     

基于时间反转法的相控换能器声场的仿真研究

相控换能器具有焦距可调的优势。本文以82阵元相控换能器建立的3D数值仿真模型为例,基于时间反转法提取阵元的激励信号,利用时域有限差分(FDTD)法对Westervelt声波非线性传播方程进行声场数值仿真,研究不同阵元分布、偏离声轴的距离、设定焦距大小对形成声场的影响,可调控范围及其消除旁瓣方法。研究结果表明,随机分布相控阵可明显降低声场中的旁瓣;随着偏离声轴距离的增加,主瓣声压幅值逐渐减小,旁瓣与主瓣的最大声强比值r逐渐增大,且沿声轴的可调控范围逐渐减小;随声轴方向上设定焦距的增加,主瓣声压幅值先增大后减小,r值先减小后增大;基于时间反转法的高声压旁瓣消除法可在一定程度上扩大相控阵声场的可调控范围。     

一种加权稀疏约束稳健Capon波束形成方法

为了克服标准Capon波束形成器旁瓣级高以及存在角度失配时性能急剧下降等缺点, 在稀疏约束Capon波束形成器的基础上, 提出了一种加权稀疏约束Capon波束形成器. 该方法利用波束响应的稀疏分布特性, 在标准Capon波束形成优化模型中加入旁瓣区域波束响应稀疏约束(l₁ 范数约束), 使旁瓣区域波束响应向量中非零元素的个数最小化; 通过阵列采样数据协方差矩阵特征分解得到信号子空间及噪声子空间, 利用信号子空间与噪声子空间的正交特性, 构造加权矩阵对稀疏约束进行加权, 使得稀疏重构时波束响应向量中不同角度对应的元素得到不同程度的约束. 该方法有效地抑制了Capon波束形成器的高旁瓣级, 加深了干扰方位零陷, 提高了阵列输出信干噪比. 由于稀疏约束, 波束响应向主瓣集中, 期望信号方向附近的波束响应都较大, 从而也提高了阵列抗导向矢量角度失配的能力. 数值仿真和水池实验验证了所提方法的有效性.     

改进粒子群算法的立体传声器阵列声成像系统阵形优化设计

提出改进的粒子群优化算法,获得波束方向图主瓣宽度和旁瓣级折中的优化立体阵形,避免基本实数粒子群算法仅采用旁瓣级或主瓣宽度一个性能指标优化而导致另一个性能指标恶化的问题,利用阵列视角限制进一步优化立体阵形并设计了声成像测量系统。改进的粒子群算法与基本粒子群算法仿真优化阵形比较表明改进粒子群算法设计的优化阵形在保持较窄的主瓣宽度的条件下具有较低的旁瓣级。阵列声成像测量系统的性能测量分析结果表明该系统的空间分辨率和旁瓣抑制能力与理论结果接近,验证了所提算法的有效性。      

水下声成像中旁瓣抑制方法及其实验研究

提出了一种近场条件下采用不等间隔阵并进行孔径变迹处理的水下声成像旁瓣抑制方法,并进行了理论和实验研究。考虑以球面波传播理论为基础的聚焦波束形成,首先通过阵元位置微调,设计了可实现低旁瓣的不等间隔阵,从单程波束响应上降低旁瓣;然后,将孔径变迹处理方法应用于水下声成像中,全部阵元用于接收,部分阵元用于发射,从双程波束响应上进一步降低旁瓣。通过水池实验对所提出的方法进行了验证。结果表明:采用不等间隔阵并进行孔径变迹处理可以更为有效地降低旁瓣,而主瓣仅有小量展宽,且该方法工程应用简便易行,在改善成像质量的同时降低了系统复杂度。      

基于自适应加权约束最小二乘法的麦克风阵列稳健频率不变波束形成算法

为了解决麦克风阵列通道失配时波束形成算法的稳健性问题, 提出一种基于自适应加权约束最小二乘法的麦克风阵列稳健频率不变波束形成算法. 该算法在分析无通道失配和通道失配时阵列模型特点基础上, 深入研究了通道失配时约束最小二乘频率不变波束形成算法存在的问题及其产生的原因; 将麦克风特性的概率密度函数作为稳健因子加入到约束最小二乘频率不变波束形成算法后, 其频率不变性的稳健性得到了一定的提高, 但稳健性仍较差. 为了进一步提高约束最小二乘法频率不变波束形成算法的稳键性, 通过定义代价函数中控制频率不变性的动态加权系数来调节旁瓣频谱能量, 大大提高了频率不变波束形成算法的稳键性, 将频率不变的频带范围内同一到达角度上不同频率所形成的阵列响应的最大值与最小值之比定义为波动误差, 并作为比较本文算法与约束最小二乘稳健波束形成算法和minmax稳健波束形成算法在通道失配时频率不变性稳键性的评价指标. 算法实例验证结果表明, 在麦克风阵列通道失配时, 本文算法的波动误差最小、频率不变波束形成稳健性最好, 而且适用于任意结构的阵列.     

Performance of underwater adaptive array including mutual coupling effects

In this paper, the mutual coupling effects on the performance of underwater adaptive arrays are analyzed. This study manifests the discrepancies between cases of considering and ignoring the mutual coupling effects. The least mean square (LMS) based adaptive array is utilized to illustrate the mutual coupling effects. Numerical examples show that the performance of an underwater adaptive array can be improved as mutual coupling effects are considered. The consideration of mutual coupling effects is necessary in analyzing underwater adaptive arrays.