Evaluation of rosette infrasonic noise-reducing spatial filters.

Abstract

This paper presents results from recent tests of rosette infrasonic noise-reducing spatial filters at the Pinon Flat Observatory in southern California. Data from 18- and 70-m aperture rosette filters and a reference port are used to gauge the reduction in atmospheric wind-generated noise levels provided by the filters and to examine the effect of these spatial filters on spatially coherent acoustic signals in the 0.02- to 10-Hz band. At wind speeds up to 5.5 m/s, the 18-m rosette filter reduces wind noise levels above 0.2 Hz by 15 to 20 dB. Under the same conditions, the 70-m rosette filter provides noise reduction of up to 15 to 20 dB between 0.02 and 0.7 Hz. Standing wave resonance inside the 70-m filter degrades the reception of acoustic signals above 0.7 Hz. The fundamental mode of the resonance, 15 dB above background, is centered at 2.65-Hz and the first odd harmonic is observed at 7.95 Hz in data from the large filter. Analytical simulations accurately reproduce the noise reduction and resonance observed in the 70-m filter at all wind speeds above 1.25 m/s. Resonance theory indicates that internal reflections that give rise to the resonance observed in the passband are occurring at the summing manifolds, and not at the inlets. Rosette filters are designed for acoustic arrivals with infinite phase velocity. The plane-wave response of the 70-m rosette filter has a strong dependence on frequency above 3.5 Hz at grazing angles of less than 15 degrees from the horizontal. At grazing angles, complete cancellation of the signal occurs at 5 Hz. Theoretical predictions of the phase and amplitude response of 18- and 70-m rosette filters, that take into account internal resonance and time delays between the inlets, compare favorably with observations derived from a cross-spectral analysis of signals from the explosion of a large bolide.