Determination of Far-Field Characteristics of Large Underwater Sound Transducers from Near-Field Measurements

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It has recently become necessary to find a way to determine far-field characteristics of large underwater sound transducers from measurements made in the near field of the transducer (at ranges small compared to the transducer dimensions). It is possible to compute far-field directivity patterns and source levels from pressure amplitude and phase measurements made in the near field. This can be done by using Kirchhoff's formula with a simple approximation for the normal component of the pressure gradient. Pattern computations were made on line, plane-array, dipole, and line-and-cone transducers from measurements made in open water. Extensive pattern and source level computations were made on a large, multistave cylindrical transducer from measurements made in open water and in a highly reflective tank. Agreement with measured far-field patterns and source levels was good throughout and was within ±1 dB in the more recent work with the cylindrical transducer. Particularly significant is the fact that successful measurements were made in a tank of diameter only 2.9 times that of the transducer. These measurements were made near the leading edge of the received pulses in order to avoid interference due to reflections. Preliminary work on a simplified near-field test for a cylindrical transducer has also been done. Such a test would enable one to use near-field data to make certain judgments about the far-field performance of a transducer without computations.