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Abstract:
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One key element of underwater transducer design is the acoustic baffle . Acoustic baffles isolate a structure , such as a submarine hull , from noise and vibration produced by the active elements of the transducer and vice versa . Baffle materials must meet many conflicting requirements such as the need to be lightweight while providing high acoustic isolation . Currently Syntactic Acoustic Damping Material (SADM ) is widely used as the primary acoustic baffle material . However , SADM baffles have many undesirable characteristics such as high density , poor machinability , high lead content and depth dependent acoustical behavior .
The study of baffle materials is an under -represented area of sonar design . Most sonar transducer research focuses on the electrically active materials and their response to a variety of conditions . Relatively fewer studies have been devoted to understanding the effects of the supporting and baffle materials . This work considers the effects of the entire hydrophone system on the response while developing a method for aiding in proper system material selection .
This was accomplished by first developing a model for a transducer's response in a variety of conditions . The response was validated with numerical finite -element models and experiments . Next , a generic model was developed that allows any number of layers with any material to be analyzed . This generic model is applied in concert with a material optimization method to aid in the selection of materials that will improve the transducer's response . The tools are finally applied to a simple real world problem to illustrate its strengths and weaknesses . |