Passive synthetic acoustic arrays for ocean acoustics applications.

Abstract

This paper gives a brief review, based on the concept of the inverse radiation problem, on the formulation of a synthetic virtual receiving array formed by scanning a single sensor following a designed locus in a stationary acoustic field. Both the beamforming method and the signal decomposition analysis are used to examine the parameters needed for determining the radiation sources’ locations. Studies show that considerable angular resolution can be achieved for observing distant sound sources through adaptive signal processing techniques. Applications in ocean acoustics for directional acoustic field measurement are discussed for two special types of synthetic arrays, linear and circular. Problems involved with the directionality ambiguity due to Doppler frequency shift, angular resolution degradation originated from array deformation, effects caused by instability of ocean conditions, and deployment feasibility are also addressed. The concluding results may be used to establish the guidelines for engineering design and deployment of passive synthetic arrays for ocean acoustics applications.