Blind deconvolution of a hydrophone with a bubble-collapse shock wave

Abstract

Measuring broadband signals demands complex calibration of a detector over a sufficient bandwidth. For inertial cavitation emissions, the shock waves will be convolved with the transfer function of the hydrophone, and introduce artefacts to the measurement. Use of appropriately calibrated detectors would thus facilitate meaningful comparison of the cavitation emission data reported from groups using different detectors. However, complex calibration (magnitude and phase) is costly and time consuming, typically requiring hydrophone relocation to an institute with accredited and standardized instrumentation. This paper describes an economical, one-shot concept for ‘blind characterization’ of the magnitude of the transfer function of a hydrophone, utilizing the broadband nature of an experimental bubble collapse shock wave, an established bubble collapse model and shock wave propagation simulation.