Conceptual Design of Cylindrical Hydrophone Arrays for Stabilization of Receiving Characteristics under Ocean Ambient Noise

Abstract

An underwater sound surveillance system detects and tracks enemy ships in real-time using hydrophone arrays, in which seabed-mounted sensor arrays play a pivotal role. In this paper the conceptual design of seabed-mounted, cylindrical hydrophone arrays for use in shallow coastal waters is performed via finite element calculations. To stabilize the receiving characteristics under the ocean ambient noise, a technique for whitening the ambient noise spectrum using a metal baffle is proposed. Optimization of the array configuration is performed to achieve the directivity in the vertical and azimuthal directions. And the effects of the sonar dome shape and material on the structural vibration and sound scattering properties are studied. It is demonstrated that a robust hydrophone array, having a sensitivity deviation less than 4 dB over the frequency range of interest, can be obtained through the whitening of the ambient noise, the optimization of the array configuration, and the design of acoustically transparent sonar domes.