Methods for studying water characteristics and the spatial orientation of vector-scalar module

The results of natural studies of the methods for simultaneous measurements of the speed of sound in water and water temperature, as well as the depth, true bearing, and orientation of vector-scalar antenna in three-dimensional space, are reported. The tests were performed in the towing mode using a portable multifunctional complex, including hydrophysical, orientation, and direction finding units. The complex is recommended to be included in the composition of stationary or towed scalar or vector-scalar antennas.     

Comparison of unidirectional signal reception in a waveguide with linear vector-scalar and combined antennas

Experimentally measured spatial responses of linear scalar, vector-scalar, and combined antennas have been analyzed. A combined antenna consists of an extended scalar antenna and one or several vector-scalar modules. It is shown that a combined antenna, which multiplicatively processes signals (just like a vector-scalar antenna), suppresses reflection lobes and provides unidirectional reception (in comparison with a scalar antenna). At the same time, the side field level decreases, thus increasing noise immunity.     

Interferometric Direction Finding by a Vector-Scalar Receiver

A method for interferometric direction finding of a broadband sound source in an oceanic waveguide by a single vector-scalar receiver is presented. The method is based on the double Fourier transform of the interference pattern formed during motion. The efficiencies of the proposed direction finding method and the method based on measuring the delay times of signals arriving at spaced scalar receivers are compared based on the natural experiment results. The noise immunity of the interferometric direction finding method is considered.     

Resolving Power of the Interferometric Method of Source Localization

Results of a computer simulation of the resolution of three noise sources with different intensities against the background of isotropic noise in an oceanic waveguide are presented. A comparative analysis of the error in determining their coordinates (bearing, radial velocity, distance, depth) is performed. A computational experiment is implemented based on the interferometric method of source localization using vector-scalar receivers.     

Vector-scalar noise fields formed by an excited sea surface

Vector-scalar noise fields in a waveguide were studied using computer simulation. A stochastic model of dynamic acoustic noise was used in the calculations. Noise field parameters on a single vector-scalar module and spatial correlation functions on vector-scalar arrays in a homogeneous waveguide were analyzed. Calculations were performed for vertically and horizontally located arrays. It was shown that the vector-scalar noise field characteristics depend on the bottom parameters and the state of the ocean surface due to the wind force. The calculation results can be used to predict the characteristics of detection and direction finding of signal sources for vector-scalar arrays working in a waveguide against the background of sea noise.     

Direction finding of pulsed signals from a towed pneumatic source by an antenna composed of vector-scalar modules

The results of direction finding of broadband pulses from a pneumatic source, towed along an arc at a distance of 11 to 12 km, using spatial-diversity scalar detectors and vector-scalar modules are compared. The problem of direction finding based on power flux and according to a new method, using artificial vectors constructed from components of only vibration velocity vector, is solved. It is shown that, despite the complicated conditions for sound propagation, the error of direction finding using 100-m-aperture scalar detectors and single (point) vector-scalar detectors is almost the same and does not exceed 1 to 2°. The results of direction finding according to all algorithms are in good agreement. A method for suppressing noise from a local source by a four-component vector-scalar detector has been developed and investigated. A real possibility of increasing the signal-to-noise ratio on scalar detectors to 10?15 dB is established. Application of the developed suppression algorithm is found to increase noise immunity of the detection and direction finding.     

Aspherical single-lens objective for radio-vision systems of the millimeter-wavelength range

The characteristics of a system for video imaging of objects in the 3-mm-wavelength range are presented. A calculation procedure and characteristics of an aspherical single-lens objective that is used for imaging (point scattering function, resolution, and field of vision) are presented. An 8 × 8 array of antenna elements that are loaded with detectors is used for the detection of signals in the image plane. A digital processing unit is used for the detection, control, and input-output of electric signals that form the image. The processing and data-transfer rates of the unit are presented. Test experiments on imaging of simple objects (one or several metal spheres with different diameters) are performed in the active radar regime using the proposed system and monochromatic signal.     

Baseline optimization for scalar magnetometer array and its application in magnetic target localization

Generally, a magnetic target can be described with six parameters, three describing the position and three describing the magnetic moment. Due to a lack of sufficient components from one magnetometer, we need more than one magnetometer when locating the magnetic target. Thus, a magnetometer array should be designed. The baseline of the array is an important factor that affects the localization accuracy of the target. In this paper, we focus on the localization of a static target by using a scalar magnetometer array. We present the scalar magnetometer array with a cross-shaped structure.We propose a method of determining the optimal baseline according to the parameters of the magnetometer and detection requirements. In the method, we use the traditional signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) as a performance index, and obtain the optimal baseline of the array by using the Monte Carlo method. The proposed method of determining the optimal baseline is verified in simulation. The arrays with different baselines are used to locate a static magnetic target. The results show that the location performance is better when using the array with the optimal baseline determined by the proposed method.     

A scalar-mode representation of stochastic, planar, electromagnetic sources

A very useful theoretical tool for investigating coherence properties of stochastic scalar sources and stochastic scalar fields is the so-called coherent-mode representation. We introduce a somewhat similar new representation for planar, secondary stochastic electromag netic sources which generate beams. It consists of three expansions for the three independent elements of the 2 × 2 electric cross-spectral density matrix of the beam. The expansion of the diagonal elements of the matrix are coherent-mode representations in the sense of the scalar theory. The third one, for each off-diagonal element, is a bi-modal expansion, expressed in terms of the coherent modes of the diagonal elements.     

An Interferometric Method for Detecting a Moving Sound Source with a Vector-Scalar Receiver

The paper discusses the conditions imposed on the spectrum of an emitted signal for which the interferometric method of detecting a moving sound source in shallow water is applicable for vector-scalar receivers. It is shown that a normalized spectrogram representing a two-dimensional Fourier transform of the interferometric pattern is identical for all four acoustic field components and combinations thereof. Results of a field experiment in which a vector-scalar receiver was applied are presented. The interference immunity of the method is considered for different field components in the case of isotropic interference.     

Coherent aperture synthesis for incoherent source

We propose a refinement of the method for aperture synthesis for an incoherent source, imparting selectivity and noise immunity to the method. Instead of measuring the phase difference between the signals of the array receivers, we measure the array-averaged phase difference between neighboring receivers by searching for the maximum of the magnitude of the moving array’s response to the source signal during its direction-of-arrival-scanning (phasing). This procedure is carried out after incoherent accumulation. The gain in noise immunity is determined by the gain in the array with the addition of the gain in incoherent accumulation. The size of this gain in the experiment was on the order of 20 dB. The method retains applicability to wideband signals and the possibility of observing other incoherent signals. We demonstrate the possibility of high angular resolution with the synthesized antenna of the source, which does not possess the perfect time coherency of the source and other sources coherent with it. Owing to phase averaging over the array aperture, we obtain an increase in the method’s stability to reverberation. We present results of simulation and applicability of the method in full-scale experiments.     

On the possibility of applying the reciprocity principle in the vector-scalar fields of mutipole sources in a waveguide

We study the applicability of the reciprocity principles in an underwater waveguide for the vector-scalar fields of multipole sources. We show analytically and numerically that multipole sources are divided into two groups according to this principle: in the first group, the sound pressure field and the horizontal projections of the vibration velocity vectors satisfy the reciprocity principle, while the vertical projections of these vectors do not. In the second group, the pressure and the horizontal projections of the vibration velocity vector do not satisfy the reciprocity principle, while their vertical projections do. We establish that the phase gradients and angles of arrival of signals in the vertical plane do not satisfy the reciprocity principle for the vector-scalar fields of volumetric sources with arbitrary directivity in the vertical plane.     

Propagator methods for finding wideband source parameters

In this paper, an investigation of the passive angular location of sources using an array of sensors is presented. First, the propagator method, which is an algebraic and linear operator extracted from the cross-spectral matrix of the received data, is extended to the wideband signals through the transformation matrices. This development reduces the rather expensive eigendecomposition of cross-spectral matrices at each frequency of the analysis bandwidth used in the well known eigenstructure high-resolution methods. Then, in the presence of white noise with different powers along the array, a new partitioned propagator method is developed which improves the localisation of the sources. This improvement is based on a particular choice of the partition of the matrix corresponding to the propagation operator. The developed method is also used to estimate the antenna shape from the received wideband signals. It is well known, in the narrowband case, that the interest of knowing of the antenna shape is illustrated by the improvement of the signal to noise ratio and the antenna directivity. The results of simulations are provided to illustrate the theoretical predictions.     

Beamformer performance with acoustic vector sensors in air

For some time, compact acoustic vector sensors (AVSs) capable of sensing particle velocity in three orthogonal directions have been used in underwater acoustic sensing applications. Potential advantages of using AVSs in air include substantial noise reduction with a very small aperture and few channels. For this study, a four-microphone array approximating a small (1 cm3) AVS in air was constructed using three gradient microphones and one omnidirectional microphone. This study evaluates the signal extraction performance of one nonadaptive and four adaptive beamforming algorithms. Test signals, consisting of two to five speech sources, were processed with each algorithm, and the signal extraction performance was quantified by calculating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the output. For a three-microphone array, robust and nonrobust versions of a frequency-domain minimum-variance (FMV) distortionless-response beamformer produced SNR improvements of 11 to 14 dB, and a generalized sidelobe canceller (GSC) produced improvements of 5.5 to 8.5 dB. In comparison, a two-microphone omnidirectional array with a spacing of 15 cm yielded slightly lower SNR improvements for similar multi-interferer speech signals.     

采用条件波数谱密度函数的宽带高分辨方位谱估计算法

针对宽带高分辨方位估计存在方位估计偏差大、算法复杂度高等问题,提出了一种基于条件波数谱密度(Conditional Wavenumber Spectral Density based,CWSD-based)的宽带高分辨方位谱估计算法.该算法利用条件波数谱密度将阵列信号转换到频率-波数空间,宽带信号能量在该空间的坐标呈现与入射角相关的线性分布,通过借鉴直线检测原理,实现邻近目标的高分辨方位估计,且无需预估角度和信源数等信息。仿真结果表明,该算法理论分辨率与处理最高频率成反比,估计均方误差约为0.1°,对阵形畸变鲁棒,运算效率高。海上试验数据表明,本文方法在方位分辨率、弱目标检测、非目标向噪声抑制、稳健性等方面都优于宽带常规波束形成和最小方差无畸变算法,在实际海洋中可实现超低旁瓣高分辨波达方向估计。      

Stimulated Raman spectroscopy using chirped pulses

We present a detailed theoretical and experimental characterization of a new methodology for stimulated Raman spectroscopy using two duplicates of a chirped, broadband laser pulse. Because of the linear variation of laser frequency with time (‘chirp’), when the pulses are delayed relative to one another, there exists a narrow bandwidth, instantaneous frequency difference between them, which, when resonant with a Raman‐active vibration in the sample, generates stimulated Raman gain in one pulse and inverse Raman loss in the other. This method has previously been used for coherent Raman imaging and termed ‘spectral focusing’. Here, gain and loss signals are spectrally resolved, and the spectrally integrated signals are used to determine the spectral resolution of the measured Raman spectrum. Material dispersion is used to generate a range of pulse durations, and it is shown that there is only a small change in the magnitude of the signal and the spectral resolution as the pulse is stretched from 800 to 1800 fs in duration. A quantitative theory of the technique is developed, which reproduces both the magnitude and linewidth of the experimental signals when third‐order dispersion and phase‐matching efficiency are included. The theoretical calculations show that both spectral resolution and signal magnitude are severely hampered by the third‐order dispersion in the laser pulse, and hence, a minimal amount of chirp produces the most signal with only a slight loss of spectral resolution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Method of array shape calibration based on time delay estimation using two auxiliary sources

As for a flexible horizontal array deployed in the sea, it is difficult to obtain each sensor's precise relative position. Therefore a method of array shape calibration is proposed. The method is described as follows. Firstly two separate auxiliary sources are deployed. Secondly tune delay of each sensor's received signal is estimated. Finally, with the aid of GPS location of the sources and the horizontal array, relative sensor positions of the horizontal array can be determined. The estimation of relative sensor positions is unbiased. Simultaneously, simulation analysis has been done to estimate its standard variance, and the optimal flare angle of the two sources has been derived. Data of 2001 Asian Sea International Experiment have been used to validate the method. After array calibration, measured source azimuth angle agrees with the real one, and measured array gain agrees with the theoretical gain. In conclusion, the theoretical and experimental results both show that the method can determine each sensor's relative position precisely.     

Experimental research of the interference and phase structure of the power flux from a local source in shallow water

The paper studies the interference structure of low-frequency tonal and wideband signals in shallow water, received by four-component vector-scalar modules. The spatial amplitudes and phase characteristics of the scalar field are analyzed, as well as three components of the vibration velocity vector and the power flux vector. A relationship is established between the zone of interference maxima and minima and the phase gradient in the horizontal and vertical plane, the change in direction of the vertical and horizontal components of the vibration velocity vector, and the change in the depression angle of the power flux vector in the horizontal plane.     

The melt structural characteristics concerning the interfacial reaction in SiC(p)/Al composites

We investigated the YAG laser-generated ultrasonic wave in a solid with an array of rectilinear sources in the melting regime. By adapting the melting rectilinear sources, a 31.2 gain factor of amplitude of the excited ultrasound can be obtained for the aluminum (Al) sample in comparison with the ultrasound generated by rectilinear sources in the thermoelastic regime. In the melting regime, the sample surface remains undamaged during the inspection. Calculations and experimental results show that the array characteristics and the detection point will decide the increase of amplitude, center frequency, bandwidth, and directivity pattern of the narrow-band ultrasound signals generated by a melting-source array. Through our research, the array of melting sources is proved to be a useful tool to enhance the generation efficiency and detection sensitivity in nondestructive inspection.     

Determination of the path of a sound source moving in an inhomogeneous medium

The possibility of determining the actual paths of moving sound sources from the signals received by a linear horizontal array whose size is large compared to the wavelength is investigated with the use of procedures suggested earlier for the imaging of dynamic objects moving below an inhomogeneous layer. Two cases of signal reception are considered: when the signals propagate in the oceanic waveguide and when the signals propagate through an inhomogeneous layer located near the array. It is shown that, unlike the standard spatial processing procedures, the proposed methods allow one to measure the absolute angular displacements to within the diffraction resolution of the array and to eliminate the ambiguity in angular measurements. An important point is that the proposed methods require no prior data on the parameters of the inhomogeneous layer or the multimode waveguide.