Directionality and maneuvering effects on a surface ship underwater acoustic signature

Abstract

This work examines underwater source spectra of a small (560 tons, 40 m length), single-screw oceanographic vessel, focusing on directionality and effects of maneuvers. The measurements utilized a set of four, self-contained buoys with GPS positioning, each recording two calibrated hydrophones with effective acoustic bandwidth from 150 Hz to 5 kHz. In straight, constant-speed runs at speeds up to 6.2 m s(-1), the ship source spectra showed spectral levels in reasonable agreement with reference spectra. The broadband source level was observed to increase as approximately speed to the fourth power over the range of 2.6-6.1 m s(-1), partially biased at low speeds by nonpropulsion machinery signals. Source directionality patterns were extracted from variations in source spectra while the ship transited past the buoy field. The observed spectral source levels exhibited a broadside maximum, with bow and stern aspect reduced by approximately 12-9 dB, respectively, independent of frequency. An empirical model is proposed assuming that spectral source levels exhibit simultaneous variations in aspect angle, speed, and turn rate. After correction for source directionality and speed during turning maneuvers, an excess of up to 18 dB in one-third octave source levels was observed.