Design model of large, uniform, conformal arrays of bender bar and flextensional transducers

Abstract

The single element design technology of flextensional and bender bar transducers is several decades old but use of either type of transducer in conformal arrays presents newer and more formidable design problems. When the array is very large the effects of edge diffraction on the outer elements can be ignored to generate a zeroth ordered waveguide design model to estimate radiation loading at any steering angle. Highly eccentric shelled flextensionals and bender bar transducers are then included in one common format. Since both types are largely flexural, they are resonant at frequencies where the interelement spacing is much smaller than a wavelength in water and only the low‐frequency inertial and plane‐wave volume flow components of loading need be determined. Several array geometries have been studied and the reactive loadings calculated. This paper shows both the theoretical and numerical results of various mass loadings as functions of array and element geometry. [Research supported by the Naval Underwater Systems Center, New London; the Naval Ocean Systems Center, San Diego; the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics.]