Accelerated steered response power method for sound source localization via clustering search

The steered response power-phase transform (SRP-PHAT) sound source localization algorithm is robust in a real environment. However, the large computation complexity limits the practical application of SRP-PHAT. For a microphone array, each location corresponds to a set of time differences of arrival (TDOAs), and this paper collects them into a TDOA vector. Since the TDOA vectors in the adjacent regions are similar, we present a fast algorithm based on clustering search to reduce the computation complexity of SRP-PHAT. In the training stage, the K-means or Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique (ISODATA) clustering algorithm is used to find the centroid in each cluster with similar TDOA vectors. In the procedure of sound localization, the optimal cluster is found by comparing the steered response powers (SRPs) of all centroids. The SRPs of all candidate locations in the optimal cluster are compared to localize the sound source. Experiments both in simulation environments and real environments have been performed to compare the localization accuracy and computational load of the proposed method with those of the conventional SRP-PHAT algorithm. The results show that the proposed method is able to reduce the computational load drastically and maintains almost the same localization accuracy and robustness as those of the conventional SRP-PHAT algorithm. The difference in localization performance brought by different clustering algorithms used in the training stage is trivial.     

Investigations on the acoustic transmission characteristics of underwater perforated panel structures

Perforated panel structures have a wide potential in underwater applications. However, up to now there has been little related research. The acoustic impedance of an underwater perforated panel is obtained based on the theories for air perforated panel sound absorption. In this paper sound transmission characteristics of underwater perforated panel structures are theoretically analyzed by the transfer matrix method. A formula for normal incidence sound transmission coefficients is given. The main factors that have effects on the acoustic transmission coefficient are analyzed by numerical simulations. The perforated panel structures made by ourselves are tested in a standing-wave tube by the four-sensor transfer-function method. The experimental results are well in accord with the results obtained by the numerical method, which proves that the theoretical analysis is correct. This paper has provided theoretical and experimental bases for the design of underwater perforated panel structures.     

A NEW FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD FOR COMPUTING SOUND FIELD IN LINED DUCTS

This paper presents a new finite difference method to calculate problems of sound propagation in linedducts.The MacCormack time-split explicit scheme has been used to solve the basic equations for determiningthe acoustic pressure and velocity.The problems of sound propagation in 3-D rectangular ducts have beensolved successfully by use of this scheme with the making of an approach to the acoustic boundary conditions.The finite difference schemes for full grid points and the stability condition of the method are also given in thepaper.This new method needs less storage and is more stable.Moreover,it is easier to program and debug,and,especially,is suitable for computing 3-D sound field.     

Nearfield acoustic holography in a moving medium based on particle velocity input using nonsingular propagator

Nearfield acoustic holography in a moving medium is a technique which is typically suitable for sound sources identification in a flow.In the process of sound field reconstruction,sound pressure is usually used as the input,but it may contain considerable background noise due to the interactions between microphones and flow moving at a high velocity.To avoid this problem,particle velocity is an alternative input,which can be obtained by using laser Doppler velocimetry in a non-intrusive way.However,there is a singular problem in the conventional propagator relating the particle velocity to the pressure,and it could lead to significant errors or even false results.In view of this,in this paper,nonsingular propagators are deduced to realize accurate reconstruction in both cases that the hologram is parallel to and perpendicular to the flow direction.The advantages of the proposed method are analyzed,and simulations are conducted to verify the validation.The results show that the method can overcome the singular problem effectively,and the reconstruction errors are at a low level for different flow velocities,frequencies,and signal-to-noise ratios.     

Effects of rough surface on sound propagation in shallow water

Underwater acoustic applications depend critically on the prediction of sound propagation, which can be significantly affected by a rough surface, especially in shallow water. This paper aims to investigate how randomly fluctuating surface influences transmission loss(TL) in shallow water. The one-dimension wind-wave spectrum, Monterey–Miami parabolic equation(MMPE) model, Monte Carlo method, and parallel computing technology are combined to investigate the effects of different sea states on sound propagation. It is shown that TL distribution properties are related to the wind speed,frequency, range, and sound speed profile. In a homogenous waveguide, with wind speed increasing, the TLs are greater and more dispersive. For a negative thermocline waveguide, when the source is above the thermocline and the receiver is below that, the effects of the rough surface are the same and more significant. When the source and receiver are both below the thermocline, the TL distributions are nearly the same for different wind speeds. The mechanism of the different TL distribution properties in the thermocline environment is explained by using ray theory. In conclusion, the statistical characteristics of TL are affected by the relative roughness of the surface, the interaction strength of the sound field with the surface, and the changes of propagating angle due to refraction.     

An approximate method to acoustic radiation problems: element radiation superposition method

An approximate method is brought forward to predict the acoustic pressure based on the surface velocity. It is named Element Radiation Superposition Method （ERSM）. The study finds that each element in Acoustic Transfer Vector （ATV） equals the acoustic pressure radiated by the corresponding surface element vibrating in unit velocity and other surface elements keep still, that is the acoustic pressure radiated by the corresponding baffled piston vibrating in unit velocity. So, it utilizes the acoustic pressure radiated by a baffled piston to establish the transfer relationship between the surface velocity and the acoustic pressure. The total acoustic pressure is obtained through summing up the products of the surface velocity and the transfer quantity. It adopts the regular baffle to fit the actual baffle in order to calculate the acoustic pressure radiated by the baffled piston. This approximate method has larger advantage in calculating speed and memory space than Boundary Element Method. Numerical simulations show that this approximate method is reasonable and feasible.     

Phase Transition in Acoustic Localization in a Soft Medium Permeated with Air Bubbles

Propagation of an acoustic wave in a soft medium permeated with air bubbles is theoretically investigated by using a self-consistent approach. The soft medium is assumed to be viscoelastic to estimate the effect of acoustic absorption on the acoustic localization in such a medium. The oscillation phases of bubbles are examined by employing a phase diagram method. A collective oscillation of the bubbles is observed once the acoustic localization occurs, which is known as a phenomenon of ＇phase transition ＇, and such a phenomenon persists as we manually increase the viscosity factor of the soft medium. Therefore it is proven that the phenomenon of phase transition may serve as a unique criterion to effectively identify acoustic localization in a bubbly soft medium even in the presence of viscosity, and the directions of the phase vectors help to determine the extent of localization. This is of practical significance for experimental research studying the acoustic localization in such a medium, for which the presence of viscosity generally causes great ambiguity in distinguishing the effects of localization and acoustic absorption.     

Investigation of long-range sound propagation in surface ducts

Understanding the effect of source-receiver geometry on sound propagation in surface ducts can improve the performance of near-surface sonar in deep water. The Lloyd-mirror and normal mode theories are used to analyze the features of surface-duct propagation in this paper. Firstly, according to the Lloyd-mirror theory, a shallow point source generates directional lobes, whose grazing angles are determined by the source depth and frequency. By assuming a part of the first lobe to be just trapped in the surface duct, a method to calculate the minimum cutoff frequency （MCF） is obtained. The presented method is source depth dependent and thus is helpful for determining the working depth for sonar. Secondly, it is found that under certain environments there exists a layer of low transmission loss （TL） in the surface duct, whose thickness is related to the source geometry and can be calculated by the Lloyd-mirror method. The receiver should be placed in this layer to minimize the TL. Finally, the arrival angle on a vertical linear array （VLA） in the surface duct is analyzed based on normal mode theory, which provides a priori knowledge of the beam direction of passive sonar.     

Influence of warm eddies on sound propagation in the Gulf of Mexico

An automatic detection method is employed to identify and track eddies in the Gulf of Mexico. The physical parameters of the eddies, such as lifespan, radius, and distribution position are first examined and used to determine the spatio–temporal evolution of a strong warm eddy separated from the Mexico current. Then, the influence of this strong warm eddy on sound propagation during its lifespan are comprehensively analyzed with the parabolic equation and explained by using the normal mode and ray theories. Additionally, the influence of mesoscale eddies on the redistribution of total depth-integrated energy among the normal modes in the deep water is also discussed. The variation of arrival angle is investigated to explain the spreading acoustic energy caused by eddies. Overall, the results show that warm eddies can change the propagation paths and cause the convergence zone to broaden and approach the sound source. Moreover,the warm eddy can disperse sound energy and cause the total depth-integrated energy to incline to a lower normal mode.Throughout the whole of these three periods(eddy generating, eddy maturing, and eddy terminating), the fluctuation in the transmission loss is up to 30 dB(depending on the relative location of eddy center to the source).     

Sound field of thermoacoustic tomography based on a modified finite-difference time-domain method

A modified finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method is proposed for the sound field simulation of the thermoacoustic tomography （TAT） in the acoustic speed inhomogeneous medium. First, the basic equations of the TAT are discretized to difference ones by the FDTD. Then the electromagnetic pulse, the excitation source of the TAT, is modified twice to eliminate the error introduced by high frequency electromagnetic waves. Computer simulations are carried out to validate this method. It is shown that the FDTD method has a better accuracy than the commonly used time-of-flight （TOF） method in the TAT with the inhomogeneous acoustic speed. The error of the FDTD is ten times smaller than that of the TOF in the simulation for the acoustic speed difference larger than 50%. So this FDTD method is an efficient one for the sound field simulation of the TAT and can provide the theoretical basis for the study of reconstruction algorithms of the TAT in the acoustic heterogeneous medium.     

基于蒙特卡罗法的实时空间三维声源定位

构建了一个基于四个声音传感器的信号时延采集系统,根据采集系统得到的三个时间差和传感器的响应顺序,提出了一种基于蒙特卡罗法实时空间的三维声源定位算法.该算法通过三维声音定位的非线性方程,构建一个三维模函数,通过寻找空间全局收敛点,并根据公差容限进行变步长搜索,准确快速地计算出声源的位置.     

基于矢量水听器的深海直达波区域声传播特性及其应用

对于深海近水面声源产生的声场, 处于较大深度处的接收器在一定水平距离范围内能接收到直达波. 2014年在某深海海域进行的水声考察实验中, 应用深度为140 m的拖曳声源发射实验信号, 布放在水下3146 m深处的矢量水听器成功地接收到了直达波信号. 本文应用射线理论, 分析了深海直达波区域声场的传播特性, 得出了水平振速与垂直振速的传播损失与声线到达接收点处的掠射角以及收发水平距离之间的关系. 在以上分析的基础上, 提出了一种利用水平振速与垂直振速的能量差估计声源距离的方法, 并结合2014年实验数据对实验中两条航线上8 km范围内的目标声源进行了测距, 测距结果与目标的GPS数据符合得较好.     

浅海周期起伏海底环境下的声传播

海底粗糙对水下声传播及水声探测等应用具有重要影响.利用黄海夏季典型海洋环境,分析了同时存在海底周期起伏和强温跃层条件下的声传播特性,结果表明:由于海底周期起伏的存在,对于低频(<1 kHz)、近程(10 km)的声信号,传播损失可增大5—30 dB.总结了声传播损失及脉冲到达结构随声源深度、海底起伏周期及起伏高度等因素变化的规律.当海底起伏周期不变时,起伏高度越大引起的异常声传播的影响随之变大;当起伏高度不变时,随着起伏周期变大,其对声传播的影响逐渐变小.用射线理论分析了其影响机理,由于海底周期起伏改变了声波与海底的入射和反射角度,使得原本小掠射角入射到海底的声线变为大掠射角,导致海底的反射损失增大;另一方面,声线反射角度的改变会使得原本可以到达接收点的声能量,由于与海底作用次数增加或变为反向传播而大幅度衰减.在浅海负跃层环境下,声源位于跃层上比位于跃层下对声传播影响更大.周期起伏海底对脉冲声传播的影响表现在引起不同角度的声线(或简正波号数)之间的能量发生转化,一些大角度声线能量衰减加大,多途结构变少.多途结构到达时间及相对幅度的变化进而影响声场的频谱,会使得基于匹配场定位的方法性能受到影响.所以,声呐在实际浅海环境中应用时,应对起伏海底的影响予以重视.此外,研究结果对海底地形测绘空间精度的提高也具有重要参考意义.     

Breakdown of the homogeneity of weakly conducting liquids in high electric fields

A study of the structure of electrohydrodynamic flows shows that the electric charge carriers are ions that are practically frozen into the surrounding liquid. In other words, ions in weakly conducting liquids are capable of forming more or less stable structures whose viscoelastic properties are different from those of an uncharged liquid. One method of studying this effect is to investigate the velocity dispersion of ultrasound on charged supermolecular formations. The results of theoretical and experimental investigations of acoustic dispersion in liquid dielectrics subjected to prebreakdown electric fields are presented. A model problem of sound propagation in a liquid in which supermolecular structures have formed around elementary charge carriers is studied theoretically. Approximate formulas describing the dispersion of the acoustic phase velocity as a function of the electric field parameters and the electrophysical parameters of the liquid are obtained. The frequency dependence of the sound velocity is of a resonance character, the resonance frequency being determined by the electric charge density and the mass of the charged supermolecular structures. The experiments showed that the space charge affects the velocity of acoustic waves in liquid dielectrics. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 105–111 (October 1997)     

Acoustic positioning using multiple microphone arrays

Passive acoustic techniques are presented to solve the localization problem of a sound source in three-dimensional space using off-the-shelf hardware. Multiple microphone arrays are employed, which operate independently, in estimating the direction of arrival of sound, or, equivalently, a direction vector from the array's geometric center towards the source. Direction vectors and array centers are communicated to a central processor, where the source is localized by finding the intersection of the direction lines defined by the direction vectors and the associated array centers. The performance of the method in the air is demonstrated experimentally and compared with a state-of-the-art method that requires centralized digitization of the signals from the microphones of all the arrays.     

Calculating acoustical properties of cells: influence of surface topography and liquid layer between cell and substrate.

In this paper, a mathematical formulation is presented to compute the V(z) of a tapering layered solid and applying this formulation to the determination of acoustic properties of biological cells and tissues. The formulation is adopted in the simplex inversion algorithm to obtain the acoustic properties of a tapering cell from its V(z) values. The influence of two parameters had been considered: The tapering angle and the presence of a thin liquid layer present between cells and the substratum to which they adhere. Up to a tapering angle less than 10 degrees, it can be safely neglected. However, if a larger angle is neglected, then the acoustic wave velocity in the cell is overestimated. Cell thickness estimation is not affected significantly when the tapering angle is ignored. The calculations of acoustic properties of cells are considerably influenced by the introduction of a thin fluid layer between the solid substratum and the overlying cell, neglecting the presence of at least a very thin layer (20-30 nm), in general, results in a considerable overestimation of sound velocity. The reliability of the data calculated from V(z) values was ascertained using an independent method to determine cell thickness by calculating it from the interference fringe pattern obtained with the reflection-interference light microscope. The shape of the glutaraldehyde-fixed cells was similar to fried eggs. The highest sound velocities were found close to the periphery of the dome-shaped cell center. In the very center and over most of the area of the thin periphery, sound velocity was close to that in saline.     

风场环境中声速修正的分布式声源定位算法

为减小声速误差对定位精度的影响,提出了一种基于声速修正的分布式声源定位方法。首先,将声速表示为未知声源位置的函数,逼近风场中的声速场分布,然后将其代入TDOA (Time Differences of Arrival)算法中,构建非线性超定方程组,最后采用粒子群优化算法求解声源位置。对不同风速、不同声源位置及不同测试区域进行仿真,结果表明:修正后的定位精度比修正前有明显提高,尤其对于大范围并且声源靠近测试区域边缘位置的定位系统,改善更加明显;4个节点的定位系统实验结果表明,修正后的定位误差可降至修正前的4l%,该方法能更好的应用于风场中的定位系统。      

穿纤维微穿孔板吸声系数的有限元仿真

为拓宽微穿孔板的吸声频带,该文用有限元算法建立了典型微穿孔板和穿入不同数量金属纤维的微穿孔板模型,研究了两种微穿孔板的吸声系数、声阻抗和微孔内法向质点速度的空间分布,并进行了试验验证。有限元仿真和试验数据表明:穿入金属纤维可以拓宽微穿孔板的吸声频带,吸声系数也随纤维根数的增加而下降;吸声系数仿真结果与试验结果趋势一致,仿真模型可以有效模拟穿入纤维前后微穿孔板的吸声特性;穿入金属纤维导致黏滞效应引起的低质点速度区域增大,声阻增加,引起吸声系数的降低,而声抗变化不大。研究发现,有限元仿真方法适用于结构相对复杂的微穿孔结构的声学建模,能直观地体现微孔复杂结构的影响,值得继续深入研究和工程应用。     

Assessing auditory distance perception using virtual acoustics

In most naturally occurring situations, multiple acoustic properties of the sound reaching a listener's ears change as sound source distance changes. Because many of these acoustic properties, or cues, can be confounded with variation in the acoustic properties of the source and the environment, the perceptual processes subserving distance localization likely combine and weight multiple cues in order to produce stable estimates of sound source distance. Here, this cue-weighting process is examined psychophysically, using a method of virtual acoustics that allows precise measurement and control of the acoustic cues thought to be salient for distance perception in a representative large-room environment. Though listeners' judgments of sound source distance are found to consistently and exponentially underestimate true distance, the perceptual weight assigned to two primary distance cues (intensity and direct-to-reverberant energy ratio) varies substantially as a function of both sound source type (noise and speech) and angular position (0 degrees and 90 degrees relative to the median plane). These results suggest that the cue-weighting process is flexible, and able to adapt to individual distance cues that vary as a result of source properties and environmental conditions.     

球形传声器阵列下基于主导声源检测MUSIC群时延算法的多声源定位*

针对混响环境中,多径效应、散射、衍射等原因导致声源定位失败或分辨能力不足的现象,提出一种基于主导声源检测MUSIC群时延的邻近多声源定位方法。该方法采用球形传声器阵列,相比平面阵列可以捕获3D声场信息,利用球谐域下信号的频率分量与角度分量解耦的优势,从而可直接利用频率平滑技术处理宽带语声信号而不需要构造聚焦矩阵,并在球谐域下通过设置阈值对一组时频段进行主导声源检测,从而选择出包含直达声的一组时频块来构造MUSIC群时延空间谱。上述举措在提升波达方向估计在高混响环境下定位鲁棒性的同时,也提高了多个邻近声源的分辨能力。仿真实验结果表明,所提出的主导声源检测MUSIC群时延算法,在高混响和低信噪比条件下,仍具有更好的定位精度与更优的邻近多声源分辨效果。