In search of a noncontact underwater acoustic source

The history of studies of the photoacoustic effect in liquids and its applications to the development of a “virtual” source of underwater acoustic signals is briefly reviewed. The problem of the efficiency of the photoacoustic conversion is considered. The modes of laser generation of sound, i.e., the thermooptical, nonlinear surface, and nonlinear bulk modes of operation, are discussed taking into account the real features of the marine environment, the most important of them being the surface waves. A review of the publications concerned with the problem of a moving photoacoustic source is presented. Advances in the photoacoustic underwater remote sensing technology are described.     

A mixed method for measuring low-frequency acoustic properties of macromolecular materials

A mixed method for measuring low-frequency acoustic properties of macromolecular materials is presented. The dynamic mechanical parameters of materials are first measured by using Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Apparatus(DMTA) at low frequencies, usually less than 100 Hz; then based on the Principles of Time-Temperature Superposition (TTS), these parameters are extended to the frequency range that acousticians are concerned about, usually from hundreds to thousands of hertz; finally the extended dynamic mechanical parameters are transformed into acoustic parameters with the help of acoustic measurement and inverse analysis. To test the feasibility and accuracy, we measure a kind of rubber sample in DMTA and acquire the basic acoustic parameters of the sample by using this method. While applying the basic parameters to calculating characteristics of the sample in acoustic pipe, a reasonable agreement of sound absorption coefficients is obtained between the calculations and measurements in the acoustic pipe.     

Direct regressions for underwater acoustic source localization in fluctuating oceans

In this paper, we show the potential of machine learning regarding the task of underwater source localization through a fluctuating ocean. Underwater source localization is classically addressed under the angle of inversion techniques. However, because an inversion scheme is necessarily based on the knowledge of the environmental parameters, it may be not well adapted to a random and fluctuating underwater channel. Conversely, machine learning only requires using a training database, the environmental characteristics underlying the regression models. This makes machine learning adapted to fluctuating channels. In this paper, we propose to use non linear regressions for source localization in fluctuating oceans. The kernel regression as well as the local linear regression are compared to typical inversion techniques, namely Matched Field Beamforming and the algorithm MUSIC. Our experiments use both real tank-based and simulated data, introduced in the works of Real et al. Based on Monte Carlo iterations, we show that the machine learning approaches may outperform the inversion techniques.     

海洋声学环境下水中声源的时延估计法定位精度分析

水中声源的定位精度受到海洋声学环境的重要影响。结合海上试验的实际应用,分析了水下观测平台采用时延估计法对声源的定位精度问题。根据理论分析,计算了时延估计误差、海洋中声速不均匀、平台非稳性、及声传播起伏等因素引起的俯仰角和方位角误差。利用误差传递公式,获得了上述因素引起的不同平台深度下,不同距离声源的定位误差。比较了采用平面阵与立体阵、是否补偿声线弯曲效应等条件下定位误差的变化,并通过海上试验结果进行了部分验证。研究结果表明,海洋声速不均匀对定位误差的贡献最大。采用立体阵代替平面阵、测量海洋声速剖面并补偿声线弯曲引起的定位误差,在1000m距离上可使定位相对误差从最大30%降低到约10%,有效提高了较远距离上的定位精度。研究结果对于采取措施提高水中声源的定位精度有指导意义。     

A restraining multipath effect method for the measurement of insertion loss of underwater acoustic materials

A method suppressing multipath effect when measuring the underwater acoustic materials in a reverberant field is proposed, which is called virtual end-fire array method.To weaken the coherence of the same-frequency reflection interference of each path, signal of different phases at different positions was transmitted by a single transducer in the simulation design, and a sharp directionality in the direction of the array length was formed. All signals at the above positions were superimposed t...     

An underwater acoustic imaging method for pattern recognition

An underwater acoustic imaging method for pattern recognition in a free-field en-vironment was proposed,where angular domain filtering is used to separate plane...     

Traveling wave tube measurements for low-frequency properties of underwater acoustic materials

A traveling wave tube measurement technique for measuring acoustic properties of underwater acoustic materials was developed.Water temperature and pressure environments of the ocean can be simulated in a water-filled tube,and the acoustic parameters of samples of underwater acoustic materials are measured in the range of low-frequency.A tested sample is located at central position of the tube.A pair of projectors is separately located at both ends of the tube.Using an active anechoic technique,the sound wave transmitting the tested sample is hardly reflected by the surface of secondary transducer.So the traveling sound field is built up in the tube.By separately calculating the transfer functions of every pair of double hydrophones in the sound fields from the both sides of the sample,its reflection coefficients and transmission coefficients are obtained.In the measurement system,the inside diameter of the tube isΦ208 mm,the working frequency range is from 100 to 4000 Hz,the maximum pressure is 5 MPa.The reflection coefficients and transmission coefficients of a water layer and a stainless steel layer samples are measured actually and calculated theoretically.The results show that the measured values are in good agreement with the values calculated,and the measurement uncertainty is not greater than 1.5 dB.     

The measurement of acoustic properties of limited size panels by use of a parametric source

A method of measuring the acoustic properties of limited size panels immersed in water, with a truncated parametric array used as the acoustic source, is described. The insertion loss and reflection loss of thin metallic panels, typically 0·45 m square, were measured at normal incidence by using this technique. Results were obtained for a wide range of frequencies (10 to 100 kHz) and were found to be in good agreement with the theoretical predictions for plane waves. Measurements were also made of the insertion loss of aluminium, Perspex and G.R.P. panels for angles of incidence up to 50°. The broad bandwidth available from the parametric source permitted detailed measurements to be made over a wide frequency range using a single transmitting transducer. The small spot sizes obtainable with the parametric source also helped to reduce the significance of diffraction from edges of the panel under test.     

水声无源材料回声降低测量时反聚焦方法

提出了利用时间反转(时反)聚焦技术的水声无源材料回声降低测量方法。首先实现有界水声环境下有、无试样接收信号的时反聚焦,然后利用聚焦信号测量试样反射系数,最后通过标准试样对反射系数进行修正,从而得到试样的回声降低测量值。在小型水池中进行了铝板试样和钢板试样回声降低的测量,铝板试样的尺寸为1.1 m×1.0 m×0.005 m,测量频率范围为3~20kHz,钢板试样尺寸与铝板试样相同,测量频率范围为0.5~20 kHz,测量结果经修正后与平面波理论计算值基本一致,和理论计算值的相对误差小于10%,扩展不确定度小于1.5 dB。本方法采用时反原理实现了接收信号的空时聚焦,提高了测量信混比,因此适用于非自由场环境下无源材料回声降低的测量试验,尤其适用于低频的回声降低测量。     

Extension of the angular spectrum method to calculate pressure from a spherically curved acoustic source

The angular spectrum method is an accurate and computationally efficient method for modeling acoustic wave propagation. The use of the typical 2D fast Fourier transform algorithm makes this a fast technique but it requires that the source pressure (or velocity) be specified on a plane. Here the angular spectrum method is extended to calculate pressure from a spherical transducer-as used extensively in applications such as magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery-to a plane. The approach, called the Ring-Bessel technique, decomposes the curved source into circular rings of increasing radii, each ring a different distance from the intermediate plane, and calculates the angular spectrum of each ring using a Fourier series. Each angular spectrum is then propagated to the intermediate plane where all the propagated angular spectra are summed to obtain the pressure on the plane; subsequent plane-to-plane propagation can be achieved using the traditional angular spectrum method. Since the Ring-Bessel calculations are carried out in the frequency domain, it reduces calculation times by a factor of approximately 24 compared to the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld method and about 82 compared to the Field II technique, while maintaining accuracies of better than 96% as judged by those methods for cases of both solid and phased-array transducers.     

水声无源材料回声降低测量时反聚焦方法

提出了利用时间反转(时反)聚焦技术的水声无源材料回声降低测量方法。首先实现有界水声环境下有、无试样接收信号的时反聚焦,然后利用聚焦信号测量试样反射系数,最后通过标准试样对反射系数进行修正,从而得到试样的回声降低测量值。在小型水池中进行了铝板试样和钢板试样回声降低的测量,铝板试样的尺寸为1.1m×1.0×0.005m,测量频率范围为3~20kHz,钢板试样尺寸与铝板试样相同,测量频率范围为0.5~20kHz,测量结果经修正后与平面波理论计算值基本一致,和理论计算值的相对误差小于10%,扩展不确定度小于1.5dB。本方法采用时反原理实现了接收信号的空时聚焦,提高了测量信混比,因此适用于非自由场环境下无源材料回声降低的测量试验,尤其适用于低频的回声降低测量。     

On the selection of loads in the multiload method for measuring the acoustic source parameters of duct systems

The in-duct source can be characterized by two acoustical parameters such as the source strength and the source impedance, which permit the prediction of radiated sound pressure or insertion loss of the whole duct system. One-port acoustic characteristics of an in-duct source can be measured by the multiload method using an overdetermined set of open pipes or side-branch pipes with different lengths as applied loads. The input data, viz. load pressure and load impedance, are usually contaminated by measurement error in the actual measurements, which result in errors in the calculated source parameters. In this paper, the effects of the errors in the input data on the results have been studied numerically, varying the number of loads and their impedances in order to determine what combination of the loads will yield the best result. It is noted that, frequently, only a set of open pipes is used when applying the multiload method to the internal combustion engine sources. A set of pipe lengths, which cause the calculated results to be least sensitive to the input data error, can be found when using open pipe loads. The present work is intended to produce guidelines for preparing an appropriate load set in order to obtain accurate source properties of fluid machines.     

New method for measuring beam profiles using a parametric X-ray pinhole camera

We propose a new method for measuring electron beam profiles using parametric X-ray radiation. In this method, a pinhole is placed between the source of parametric X-ray radiation and a two-dimensional X-ray detector, and the beam profile can be reconstructed on the detector, i.e., based on the principle of a pinhole camera. The profiles are in good agreement with the results obtained using a standard method with optical transition radiation. This method may prove useful to measure profiles of electron beams with short bunch lengths in recent advanced linear accelerators.     

Refined multiload method for measuring acoustical source characteristics of an intake or exhaust system

The one-port source characteristics in a duct system, viz., source impedance and strength, can be determined by using the four-load method. In this paper, to avoid the instability problem of the conventional four-load method, a new formulation for the multiload method has been proposed, which employs an error function based on the linear, time-invariant source model. It is shown that the method is less sensitive to input errors compared to the previous methods. For a 10% input error, the proposed method yields a relative error in the source resistance that is about 1/100 times smaller than for the conventional method. The effectiveness of the present method is demonstrated by two test examples, a loudspeaker and a blower, each operating in a duct. It is observed that the conventional and least-squares methods result in large errors, whereas the present method yields far better agreement with the actual source parameters, as measured by the direct method. The present method is then used to obtain the source parameters on the exhaust side of an operating internal combustion engine. The radiated sound spectrum from the exhaust opening is predicted by using the measured source parameters and the calculated result agrees very well with the measured one.     

Measurement and modeling of the acoustic field near an underwater vehicle and implications for acoustic source localization

The performance of traditional techniques of passive localization in ocean acoustics such as time-of-arrival (phase differences) and amplitude ratios measured by multiple receivers may be degraded when the receivers are placed on an underwater vehicle due to effects of scattering. However, knowledge of the interference pattern caused by scattering provides a potential enhancement to traditional source localization techniques. Results based on a study using data from a multi-element receiving array mounted on the inner shroud of an autonomous underwater vehicle show that scattering causes the localization ambiguities (side lobes) to decrease in overall level and to move closer to the true source location, thereby improving localization performance, for signals in the frequency band 2-8 kHz. These measurements are compared with numerical modeling results from a two-dimensional time domain finite difference scheme for scattering from two fluid-loaded cylindrical shells. Measured and numerically modeled results are presented for multiple source aspect angles and frequencies. Matched field processing techniques quantify the source localization capabilities for both measurements and numerical modeling output.     

Laboratory investigation of a passive acoustic method for measurement of underwater gas seep ebullition

Passive acoustic techniques are of interest as a low-power means of quantifying underwater point-source gas ebullition. Toward the development of systems for logging natural seep activity, laboratory experiments were performed that exploited the bubble's Minnaert natural frequency for the measurement of gas flow from a model seep. Results show agreement among acoustic, optical, and gas trap ebullition measurements over the range of emission rates from 0 to 10 bubbles per second. A mathematical model is proposed to account for the real gas behavior of bubbles which cannot be approximated as ideal, such as methane at marine depths exceeding 30 m.     

一种快速水声目标波达方向估计方法

以基追踪为重构算法的水声目标波达方向估计方法在实际的应用中往往运算速度较慢,针对这一问题,在分析水声目标空间稀疏特性的基础上,结合压缩感知理论框架下波达方向估计的特点,提出一种快速水声目标波达方向估计方法。该方法通过逐步减小逼近参数的方式来得到l₀范数最优解,实现水声目标信号的波达方向估计。通过计算机仿真从成功率、运算时间、分辨角度等多个方面与基追踪算法进行比较分析,实验表明:在成功率和分辨角度上所提出算法与基追踪算法性能相当,但运算时间却仅仅是基追踪算法的1/11。     

水声无源材料插入损失测量时反聚焦方法

提出了利用时间反转(时反)聚焦技术的水声无源材料插入损失测量方法。通过无试样及有试样情况下实现接收信号的时反聚焦,并对聚焦信号进行透射系数计算,获得试样的插入损失。由于时反原理可实现接收信号的空时聚焦,从而提高测量信混比,因此本方法适用于非自由场环境下材料声学参数的测量,尤其适用于低频条件下的声学参数测量。波导水池试验开展了对两块试样的测量,试样尺寸为1.1m×1.0m×5mm,测量频率范围为1—20kHz,通过测量值与理论值的对比验证了该方法的有效性。     

Formation of characteristics of a parametric acoustic array in the vicinity of a rough surface

We present an experimental study of the fields of difference frequency waves (DFW) generated by a parametric acoustic array in laboratory conditions. The spatial distribution of the DFW field of a parametric acoustic array with oblique incidence of the source radiation onto a rough water-air interface that models a disturbed ocean surface is considered. It is experimentally shown that the presence of a reflecting surface in the region of interaction of the pump wave results in a significant distortion of the angular dependences of the DFW fields in a reflected beam.State University, Nizhny Novgorod. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 38, Nos. 1–2, pp. 82–87, January–February, 1995.     

A theoretical estimation of the pre-breakdown-heating time in the underwater discharge acoustic source

One of the common characteristics of the electrothermal breakdown in an underwater discharge acoustic source(UDAS) is the existence of a pre-breakdown-heating phase.In our experiment,two phenomena were observed:(1) the breakdown time that takes on high randomicity and obeys a "double-peak" stochastic distribution;(2) the higher salt concentration that reduces the residual voltage and causes 100% non-breakdown.The mechanism of electrothermal breakdown is analysed.To specify the end of the pre-breakdown-heating phase,a "border boiling" assumption is proposed,in which the breakdown time is assumed to be the time needed to heat the border water around the initial arc to 773 K.Based on this ’border boiling’ assumption,the numerical simulation is performed to evaluate the effects of two heating mechanisms:the Joule heating from the ionic current,and the radiation heating from the initial arc.The simulation results verify the theoretical explanations to these two experiment phenomena:(1) the stochastic distribution of the radius of the initial arc results in the randomicity of the breakdown time;(2) the difference in efficiency between the radiation heating and the Joule heating determines that,in the case of higher salt concentration,more energy will be consumed in the pre-breakdown-heating phase.