Simulating elastic targets for sonar algorithm development

Abstract

Targets interrogated during synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) applications may exhibit elastic scattering behavior and re-radiate sound after the initial geometric returns. This behavior can be a discriminating feature in target identification, but may also obscure nearby targets and make the full scene difficult to comprehend. Advancing algorithms to leverage elastic scattering for target localization and identification requires data with accurate ground truth. There is a shortage of field data containing elastic targets with sufficient quality for algorithm development. Stanton’s 1984 model presents the scattering amplitude of an elastic cylinder as a function of frequency and spherical angles. This presentation uses Stanton’s scattering model to simulate the time series of pressure scattered by the cylinder. This approach allows the target scattering model to be readily coupled with time series models for the environment to generate high fidelity simulated data. Simulated time series are generated for SAS collection geometries. The presentation will explore this modeling approach as a substitute for field data during initial stages of algorithm development for improved target localization. It will investigate the impact of elastic effects on imagery and discuss the limitations of methods used to isolate such effects.