Field characterization of therapeutic ultrasound phased arrays through forward and backward planar projection

Spatial planar projection techniques propagate field measurements from a single plane in front of a transmitter to arbitrary new planes closer to or further away from the source. A linear wave vector frequency-domain projection algorithm is applied to the acoustic fields measured from several focused transducer arrays designed for ultrasound therapy. A polyvinylidene difluoride hydrophone is first scanned in a water tank over a plane using a three-dimensional positioning system to measure the complex pressure field as a function of position. The field is then projected to a series of new planes using the algorithm. Results of the projected fields are compared with direct measurements taken at corresponding distances. Excellent correlation is found between the projected and measured data. The method is shown to be accurate for use with phase-controlled field patterns, providing a rapid and accurate method for obtaining field information over a large spatial volume. This method can significantly simplify the characterization procedure required for phased-array application used for therapy. Most significantly, the wavefront propagated back to a phased array can be used to predict the field produced by different phase and amplitude settings of the array elements. A field back-projected to the source could be used as an improved source function in acoustic modeling.     

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.     

空气中声源激发水下声场的水平纵向相关性

声场的空间相关特性是声场的重要特征,对水下探测、水声通讯等各种设备在实际海洋环境中应用的参数选择具有重要意义,是水声工程技术研究的重要基础之一。相比于水中声源激发声场的相关特性研究,空气中声源的相关研究很少。本文推导了空气中声源激发水下声场的水平纵向相关的简正波表达式,并通过数值仿真分析,比较了声源分别位于空气中和水中时水下声场的水平纵向相关特性。对南海海域进行的一次悬挂汽笛空气声源、海底水平阵接收信号海上实验获得的数据进行分析,结果表明:空气中声源位于不同距离时,其发射的声信号激发水下声场的水平纵向相关均存在明显的起伏结构,基于本文提出的空气中声源激发水下声场的水平纵向相关系数的简正波表达式能够较好地解释该现象.      

Correlation of underwater acoustic signals simultaneously received by omnidirectional and directional means

A comparison of experimental data on the spatial correlation between acoustic signals simultaneously received by an omnidirectional hydrophone and a directional vertical array is carried out. The spatial correlation was measured between the signals received at different distances in a deep ocean. The points of reception were positioned in two convergence zones along the path of sound propagation with a point-to-point distance of about 64 km. Pseudonoise signals were emitted in the frequency range (0.8–2.0) kHz and received by a vertical array, whose beam had a width of ∼2°. Concurrently, multipath signals received with the central hydrophone of the array were recorded. Signals in the first and second convergence zones were received at different times. Nevertheless, in the case of the directional reception, the coefficients of spatial correlation between such signals appeared to be as high as 0.64–0.74 even under the conditions of incomplete resolution of signals in the angle of arrival in the vertical plane. At the same time, in the case of omnidirectional reception, the coefficients of spatial correlation were below 0.32.     

Hydrophone calibration in the presence of reflecting elements with the use of matched spatial filtering

A method of determining the parameters of sources of reflected waves is considered. The method is used for precise free-field hydrophone calibration. It is based on expanding the dependence of the transfer impedance of the projector and the hydrophone on the distance between them in the spatial functions of sources of spherical waves. The expansion of the dependence of the transfer impedance is performed with the use of the matched filtering. It is shown that the method makes it possible to determine not only the parameters of a remote source, which is related to the underwater structure of the standard, but also the parameters of a closely located source formed by the hydrophone itself. The location of the source formed by the hydrophone determines the possibility of a precise calibration of the hydrophone in a standard calibration tank with specified dimensions of the working zone.     

浅水海豚三维空间定位与发声源级测量

详细阐述了单水听器和水听器阵列进行海豚定距定位的几何模型,以及利用不同接收通道间的时延差计算空间坐标的方法,结合实验数据计算了海豚在水中的三维空间坐标和回声定位信号的声源级,并开展了海豚运动轨迹追踪分析。结果表明,相对于单水听器,水听器阵列对测量环境和海豚行为的限制较少,但对采集设备的同步性和硬件连接有较高要求。误差分析表明水听器阵列在大于3 m的距离,定位误差可降低到5%以下。研究结果为精确计算海豚发声源级及海豚的声呐性能及行为研究提供了技术支撑。      

干涉型光纤水听器相位载波调制及解调方案研究

概述了直接调制光源产生相位载波的马赫－曾德尔（Ｍａｃｈ－Ｚｅｈｎｄｅｒ）干涉型光纤水听器调制解调技术。重点在于通过严密的数学推导, 定量分析了直接调制光源伴生的调幅现象对于解调过程和结果的影响, 并有针对性地提出了解决办法。同时就采用直接调制光源的相位载波零差检测方案时, 设计中如何合理选择各相关参数, 以达到最佳匹配进行了原理性探讨。给出了有关实验结果, 这些理论分析和实验结果对于全光纤化水听器阵列的研究及检测系统的设计具有十分重要的意义。     

一种分布式双麦克风线阵声源定位方法

分布式麦克风阵列由于比传统的单阵列具有更大的空间孔径,可以获得更好的声源定位性能,因此基于分布式麦克风阵列的声源定位方法成为当前麦克风阵列领域研究的热点之一。本文研究了一种基于分布式双麦克风线阵的声源定位方法,并进行了系统实现,从理论上剖析了该算法的定位精度与单阵列定向误差以及声源位置之间的关系,而且还揭示了声源高度扰动对该算法定位精度的影响。最后,分别通过仿真实验和实际定位系统的测试结果,验证了本文理论分析的正确性。     

Measuring and modeling the bubble population produced by an underwater explosion

Underwater explosions have been studied intensively in the United States since 1941 [e.g., R. H. Cole, Underwater Explosions (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1945), pp. 3-13]. Research to date has primarily focused on the initial shock and subsequent pressure waves caused by the oscillations of the "gas-globe" resulting from charge detonation. These phenomena have relatively short timescales (typically less than 2 s). However, after the gas-globe rises through the water column and breaks the surface, there remains behind a cloud of bubbles and perhaps debris from the explosion container which has been markedly less studied. A recent experiment measured the spatial and temporal acoustic response of the bubble cloud resulting from a 13.6 kg PBXN-111 charge detonated at 15.2 m (50 ft) depth. A directional projector was used to propagate linear frequency-modulated (5-65 kHz) and 40 kHz tonal pulses through the bubble cloud. Two hydrophone arrays were positioned so as to measure the energy lost in propagating through the bubble cloud. Three methods have been utilized to invert measurements and estimate the bubble population. The bubble population estimates have been used to develop a model for the bubble population resulting from an underwater explosion.     

基于矢量水听器阵列空域预滤波处理的多重信号分类算法研究

矢量水听器能同时拾取声压和振速信息,在相同的信噪比、阵元数及阵列孔径下,矢量阵定向性能优于声压阵列。目前,以多重信号分类算法(Multiple signal classification,MUSIC)为代表的高分辨定向算法已经广泛应用于矢量水听器阵列中。但是随着信噪比降低、信号源方位间隔减小,传统MUSIC算法定向精度及分辨概率显著下降。本文采用最小二乘法设计适用于矢量水听器水平阵列的矩阵空域滤波器,用于阵列数据的空间滤波预处理,可以对阻带扇面噪声进行有效抑制。由滤波后的数据协方差矩阵可以得到新的噪声子空间,在传统MUSIC算法基础上修正通带扇面内阵列流型的畸变后即可得到滤波后MUSIC算法的方位谱。仿真结果表明,当信噪比较低时,改进算法有效提高了通带扇面内目标方位分辨性能。最后本文对四基元矢量水平阵列海试数据进行了处理,改进算法对窄带信号定向较常规算法-3 dB束宽减小了13°,旁瓣级降低约8 dB。对有一定带宽的行船辐射噪声定向处理得到了更加精确的航迹图,海试数据处理结果证明了该算法的可行性和有效性。     

一种基于电爆炸丝断路开关的多脉冲产生技术

 介绍了一种基于电感储能和电爆炸丝断路开关的多脉冲发生器。该发生器是由作为初级能源的脉冲电容器组、储能电感和多级串联的不同长度、不同截面积的电爆炸丝断路开关组成。实验中在约10 W电阻负载上获得了2个大于250 kV和3个大于200 kV的脉冲输出。脉冲数由串联丝阵级数决定，脉冲幅度和脉冲间隔可通过爆炸丝参数、电容器充电电压调节。     

Characteristics of receiving antenna arrays measured in a shallow sea

A diagnostic technique for receiving hydroacoustic antenna arrays operating in a shallow sea is presented. The technique reconstructs the hydrophone transfer coefficients, the array profile, and its position relative to the surface and the bottom. A stepped-frequency source and a special receiving element with a known transfer coefficient are used. The technique is illustrated by experimental hydroacoustic data, and the error in reconstructing each of the parameters is estimated.     

Active control of passive acoustic fields: passive synthetic aperture/Doppler beamforming with data from an autonomous vehicle

The maneuverability of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with hull-mounted arrays provides the opportunity to actively modify received acoustic fields to optimize extraction of information. This paper uses ocean acoustic data collected by an AUV-mounted two-dimensional hydrophone array, with overall dimension one-tenth wavelength at 200-500 Hz, to demonstrate aspects of this control through vehicle motion. Source localization is performed using Doppler shifts measured at a set of receiver velocities by both single elements and a physical array. Results show that a source in the presence of a 10-dB higher-level interferer having exactly the same frequency content (as measured by a stationary receiver) is properly localized and that white-noise-constrained adaptive beamforming applied to the physical aperture data in combination with Doppler beamforming provides greater spatial resolution than physical-aperture-alone beamforming and significantly lower sidelobes than single element Doppler beamforming. A new broadband beamformer that adjusts for variations in vehicle velocity on a sample by sample basis is demonstrated with data collected during a high-acceleration maneuver. The importance of including the cost of energy expenditure in determining optimal vehicle motion is demonstrated through simulation, further illustrating how the vehicle characteristics are an integral part of the signal/array processing structure.     

一种用于大坝混凝土声层析成像用水听器线阵

声层析成像技术可以用图像的方式精确完整地反映层析面上检测体内部质量,是一种有效的无损检测手段。在大坝混凝土的安全隐患检测中发挥着越来越重要的作用,本研究旨在研制成像用的接收声波的水听器线阵,水听器线阵由12个水听器阵元组成,阵元间隔2m,水听器由直径40mm的接收型压电园管和前置放大器组成,水听器在低于20kHz的频率范围内,自由场接收电压灵敏度为-173±-3dB,在2MPa静水压力下灵敏度下降不超过2dB。制作了二例了具有清晰接收波形、一致性和可靠性好的水听器线阵,最终为客户在现场实地获得了高质量的层析图像。     

一种基于模态匹配的浅海波导中宽带脉冲声源的被动测距方法

针对浅海波导中宽带脉冲声源的被动测距问题,本文在模态匹配和匹配场处理定位方法的基础上,提出了一种适用于具有液态半无限空间海底的浅海波导中声源的单水听器被动测距方法.利用warping变换可以对脉冲声源接收信号的各阶简正波实现有效分离,由此得到各阶简正波的频域信号.海底相移参数是描述海底地声参数的一个重要参量,包含了海底地声参数信息,而各阶简正波的水平波数可以通过含有海底相移参数的表达式来表达.此外,由于声速剖面对简正波的各阶水平波数具有相近的影响,因此通过对任意两阶简正波进行联合处理,可以近似消除声速剖面对简正波水平波数差的影响.任意两阶简正波的水平波数差只近似用于海底相移参数、海深以及波导中平均声速三个参数有关,可以简单、快速地计算相应拷贝场,然后通过建立代价函数并对简正波模态进行匹配,可以实现对水下脉冲声源的被动测距.与传统的模态匹配定位方法相比,本文提出的方法既不需要使用水听器阵,又可以简单、快速地计算出拷贝场.数值仿真和海上实验数据处理结果的测距误差都在10%以内,证明了该方法的有效性.     

单水听器波导不变量被动测距

本文主要讨论利用声场干涉现象由单水听器被动测距的可行性及测距性能,为此提出了单水听器波导不变量被动测距方法,通过提取LOFAR图上干涉条纹、使用简正波模型计算波导不变量、频域相关法估计相对速度,最后依据干涉条纹方程得到声源距离估计量。数值仿真和海上实验结果验证了单水听器被动测距的可行性,并具备一定测距性能,在3 dB信噪比环境中,对于7 km处的运动声源,平均测距误差小于5%。本文方法具有设备简单、易于推广至阵列信号处理等特点,为声纳信号处理环境宽容性的提高及环境适配声纳的设计开拓了思路。     

应用于拖曳细线阵的光纤水听器研究

研制了一种直径为13 mm的空气腔推挽式双臂对称补偿结构的光纤水听器,介绍了该光纤水听器的工作原理,优化设计了光纤水听器结构。在小直径情况下,保证了较高的声压灵敏度,同时获得了较低的加速度灵敏度。实验测得在80～2500 Hz频段内,该光纤水听器的平均声压灵敏度为-142.5 dB,灵敏度的起伏小于±0.8 dB,加速度灵敏度小于-20 dB。实验结果表明,研制的空气腔推挽式双臂对称补偿结构的光纤水听器,能很好地满足拖曳细线阵的使用要求。     

A novel acoustic emission beamforming method with two uniform linear arrays on plate-like structures

A novel acoustic emission (AE) source localization approach based on beamforming with two uniform linear arrays is proposed, which can localize acoustic sources without accurate velocity, and is particularly suited for plate-like structures. Two uniform line arrays are distributed in the x-axis direction and y-axis direction. The accurate x and y coordinates of AE source are determined by the two arrays respectively. To verify the location accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach, the simulation of AE wave propagation in a steel plate based on the finite element method and the pencil-lead-broken experiment are conducted, and the AE signals obtained from the simulations and experiments are analyzed using the proposed method. Moreover, to study the ability of the proposed method more comprehensive, a plate of carbon fiber reinforced plastics is taken for the pencil-lead-broken test, and the AE source localization is also realized. The results indicate that the two uniform linear arrays can localize different sources accurately in two directions even though the localizing velocity is deviated from the real velocity, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method in AE source localization for plate-like structures.     

Miniaturized mandrel-based fiber optic hydrophone

Fiber optic hydrophones typically use a long sensor fiber wrapped around an air-filled mandrel to achieve high responsivity. Minimum mandrel diameter is determined by fiber reliability considerations. A miniature hydrophone, with diameter of about a third that of previous hydrophones, is reported. Such a hydrophone has applications for very thin towed arrays. Small diameter fiber with high strength Bragg gratings written through the coating are key enablers.     

A quality of parametric wave phase conjugation of ultrasound

The criterion, known from optics, of wave phase conjugation quality is accommodated for acoustical experiment. An incident focused sound beam at 5 MHz is propagated towards a supercritical magnetoelastic conjugator through an introduced random phase layer, and the conjugate beam propagates backwards through the layer to the source. 1D and 2D distributions of wave field are measured for the conjugate beam of finite amplitude using a membrane hydrophone. The maximum sound intensity of 640 W/cm2 and acoustic power of 4 W are registered in the focal maximum of the conjugate wave. The quality of WPC is calculated from the ratio between the power in the central maximum and the total power of the conjugate beam. The method is applied to compare two operation modes of a supercritical parametric conjugator. It is shown that in the linear mode the conjugator provides higher quality than in the nonlinear (0.54 compared to 0.24).