Design optimization of a Class VII Flextensional Transducer

Class VII Flextensional Transducers (FTs) have been proposed as a means of overcoming the limitation of very high prestress in Class IV FTs. These transducers are made from shells shaped like dog bone and hence are also known as dog-bone shell transducers. In this work, we report design optimization of a low frequency aluminum shell Class VII FT, resonating at 2.5 kHz, using piezoelectric drive. Two and three dimensional Finite Element Modeling (FEM), with the help of a commercially available package ATILA have been used for the design optimization. Dimensional details of the base model have been adapted from previous literature. Parametric analyses have been done with respect to various aspects like type of rubber, shell height, shell material, etc. in order to optimize the design. Experimental results obtained from an initial prototype are also presented. The results match fairly well with the predicted values.     

基于EKF的水下LD通信精对准控制算法

高速激光通信中接收机与光斑中心很难处于精对准状态,导致水下光通信链路难以稳定建立.首先采用蒙特卡洛仿真统计法分析激光光子在海水中传输的接收光强分布规律,再通过实验对接收端的光斑图像进行采样分析,利用曲线拟合得到接收器位置与接收光强的关系.仿真与实验结果表明:光束经过25 m的水下传输,接收光强分布仍近似为高斯分布.采用非线性估计算法(扩展卡尔曼滤波)与基本状态控制反馈理论,根据接收光强度估计接收器当前位置与最大光强处的距离,通过反馈算法实现接收端与光斑中心的主动跟踪对准.算法仿真结果显示,接收端对准误差在2 mm以下,稳定后接收效率超过98%.     

结合区域提取和改进卷积神经网络的水下小目标检测

针对水下小目标信息量有限而难以提取有效特征导致的检测性能不佳问题,提出了一种结合区域提取和融合Hu矩特征的改进卷积神经网络水下小目标检测方法。该方法包含区域提取和分类两个步骤。首先以马尔可夫随机场分割算法为基础进行区域提取,对潜在目标定位的同时降低伪目标对后续分类的干扰;然后提取潜在目标区域的Hu矩特征并融入卷积神经网络,形成一种形状特征表征能力更强的改进卷积神经网络用于分类。声呐实测数据处理结果表明,该方法可以有效提升对水下小目标的发现概率和正确报警率,与其他目标检测方法相比,该方法具有更好的检测性能和泛化性。     

Channel temporal correlation-based optimization method for imperfect underwater acoustic channel state information

The rapid time variations and large channel estimation errors in underwater acoustic (UWA) channels mean that transmitters for adaptive resource allocation quickly become outdated and provide inaccurate channel state information (CSI). This results in poor resource allocation efficiency. To address this issue, this paper proposes an optimization approach for imperfect CSI based on a Gauss–Markov model and the per-subcarrier channel temporal correlation (PSCTC) factor. The proposed scheme is applicable to downlink UWA orthogonal frequency division multiple access systems. The proposed PSCTC factors are measured, and their long-term stability is verified using data recorded in real-world sea tests. Simulation and experimental results show that the optimized CSI effectively mitigates the effects of the temporal variability of UWA channels. It demonstrates that the resource allocation scheme using optimized CSI achieves a higher effective throughput and a lower bit error rate than both imperfect CSI and the CSI predicted by the recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm.     

Performance analysis and design of quasi-cyclic LDPC codes for underwater magnetic induction communications

Magnetic induction (MI) communication is an effective scheme for underwater wireless communication. In this paper, we aim to design an underwater MI communication system based on Quasi-cyclic LDPC (QC-LDPC) codes. Firstly, for a given QC-LDPC code used in underwater MI communication, we propose a novel algorithm to evaluate its performance, which is named as underwater magnetic induction protograph (UWMIP) extrinsic information transfer algorithm. Furthermore, we present a differential evolution UWMIP (DE-UWMIP) algorithm, which incorporates the differential evolution method and the UWMIP algorithm. By this algorithm, we search the optimized QC-LDPC codes with best distance threshold. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is effective and provide a good guidance to design the underwater MI communication system.     

A Novel Fluid Structure Interaction Experiment to Investigate Deformation of Structural Elements Subjected to Impulsive Loading

This paper presents a novel experimental methodology for the study of dynamic deformation of structures under underwater impulsive loading. The experimental setup simulates fluid–structure interactions (FSI) encountered in various applications of interest. To generate impulsive loading similar to blast, a specially designed flyer plate impact experiment was designed and implemented. The design is based on scaling analysis to achieve a laboratory scale apparatus that can capture essential features in the deformation and failure of large scale naval structures. In the FSI setup, a water chamber made of a steel tube is incorporated into a gas gun apparatus. A scaled structure is fixed at one end of the steel tube and a water piston seals the other end. A flyer plate impacts the water piston and produces an exponentially decaying pressure history in lieu of explosive detonation. The pressure induced by the flyer plate propagates and imposes an impulse to the structure (panel specimen), which response elicits bubble formation and water cavitations. Calibration experiments and numerical simulations proved the experimental setup to be functional. A 304 stainless steel monolithic plate was tested and analyzed to assess its dynamic deformation behavior under impulsive loading. The experimental diagnostic included measurements of flyer impact velocity, pressure wave history in the water, and full deformation fields by means of shadow moiré and high speed photography.     

Experimental study of bubble dynamics in the neighbourhood of a vertical incomplete boundary

The bubbles have been widely used in biomedical field, military and chemical industry. The liquid jet generated by the bubble collapse through an orifice is utilized in needle-free injections and inkjet printing. In this paper we devised synchronized triggering equipment, experimentally investigated the mechanism in the interaction of an electric-spark generated a single bubble and a vertical wall with an air-back opening. Detailed observations were recorded and described for bubble oscillation, migration, jetting, as well as the high-speed water spike penetrating through the opening. The results revealed that there was a critical value of the bubble-wall distance, below which the bubble was directed away from the incomplete boundary, while the bubble may tear from the middle for larger distance. As the distance varied, we studied the volume of the water that rushed through the opening, the velocity at the tip of the water spike, and the center of the bubble as well as the migration of the bubble boundary. This work reveals that the high-speed water spike caused by the bubble may be a potential threat to the structures, specifically for cases with a small opening size and short bubble-boundary distance.     

Time reversal acoustic communication receivers: DSP implementation and fast channel estimation

A communication system is implemented on digital signal processors (DSPs) for the underwater acoustic environment. The implemented receiver uses time reversal multi-channel combining followed by a single-channel decision feedback equalizer. Periodic channel estimation is employed to track the channel fluctuations. These techniques are used to mitigate time-varying inter-symbol interference, which is the main challenge in the underwater acoustic channel at operating frequencies greater than 10 kHz. Various optimization tasks are performed to reduce the receiver computational complexity. A fast implementation of the matching pursuit algorithm is tested on the DSP platform. Its performance, in terms of accuracy and run-time, is compared with that of the basic matching pursuit algorithm. Experimental results of the transmission and demodulation of binary phase-shift keying signals at three different symbol rates were obtained in the local Delaware Bay. The low bit error rates demonstrate the effectiveness of our implementation.     

水声通信中基于信道辨识的盲turbo均衡方法

水声信道多途效应明显,造成接收信号存在严重的码间干扰(ISI,Intersymbol interference)。基于最小均方误差(MMSE,Minimum mean square error)准则的turbo均衡器级联了均衡和信道译码,能够有效去除ISI,并获得优良的性能。由于水声信道的时变性,传统MMSE-turbo均衡需要周期性的训练序列,以实现连续可靠的通信。训练序列虽然提高了通信的可靠性,但降低了信息的有效传输速率。因此,为提高通信效率,本文提出了一种盲turbo均衡方法,该方法通过引入新的盲信道辨识器来同时获得信道估计响应和已去除部分ISI的初步均衡输出信号,并为turbo均衡提供初始的响应参数和比特软信息。与水声通信中应用较多的盲判决反馈均衡器(DFE,Decision feedback equalizer)相比,海上实验结果证明本文提出的盲turbo均衡方法抗信道多途衰落的能力较强,并且与传统MMSE-turbo均衡相比无需训练序列,因此提高了信息的有效传输速率。     

Coherent underwater communication using passive time reversal over multipath channels

Passive time reversal exploits underwater acoustic channels’ spatial and temporal diversity. It can refocus multipath propagated signal at the receiver and can be realized simply by the passive phase conjugation (PPC) method. By the temporal focusing, time delay spread caused by multipath propagation is mitigated for spectral efficient coherent communications. However, the PPC method is unable to eliminate multipath and is limited by channel variations. An adaptive equalizer is therefore needed to compensate residual multipath after refocusing and to track channel temporal variations. Spatial diversity is obtained by using a vertical receiving array. In this paper we used 4-hydrophone array and demonstrated that the adaptive decision feedback equalization in conjunction with PPC significantly decreased the bit error rate.