Acoustic particle velocity sensor: Application to infrasonic detection

Abstract

Infrasonics is the study of low-frequency acoustics that is below the normal limit of human hearing. Infrasound has the ability to propagate extremely long ranges and is often utilized to monitor naturally occurring phenomena and explosives. Acoustic particle velocity sensors have shown promise in detection and localization of transient signals in the audio range such as small arms fire, mortars, and rocket propelled grenades. Ideally, this sensor can be used to detect various targets spanning a broad range of frequencies to include that of infrasound. The primary objective of this research is to characterize the acoustic vector sensor’s localization performance for infrasonic sources given varying atmospheric conditions using algorithms developed at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL).