Experimental observations of a rupture induced underwater sound source.

Abstract

A rupture induced underwater sound source (RIUSS) is being developed as an alternative to other impulsive sound sources commonly utilized in underwater acoustics experiments and surveys. The device is comprised of a graphite rupture disk mounted over an evacuated chamber. After the disk breaks, an inrush of water creates a high amplitude acoustic pulse. A field test was conducted to measure the acoustic output as a function of depth for a given source configuration, and high speed underwater video was simultaneously captured with an acoustic recording system to correlate the features of the acoustic output to the ensuing bubble activity.