Noise immunity of a combined hydroacoustic receiver

A statistical analysis of the noise immunity of a combined receiver is performed for the observation of a fluctuating tone signal against the background of underwater dynamic noise. The analysis is based on the experimental data obtained in deep ocean with the use of two four-component combined hydroacoustic receivers positioned at depths of 150 and 300 m. Theoretical expressions are obtained for the signal-to-noise ratio of a combined receiver, for reciprocal spectral levels of the signal and noise in both narrow and wide frequency bands. The definition of the combined receiver gain is introduced in terms of the functions of a common single-point coherence for the acoustic pressure and the particle velocity in an acoustic wave. According to the experimental data obtained, in the case of multiplicative processing, the maximal gain in the signal-to-noise ratio of a combined receiver, as compared to a hydrophone-based square-law detector, can reach 15–16 dB for the horizontal channel and 30 dB for the vertical channel of the combined receiver in the case of the compensation of opposing flows of the signal and noise energy.