A continuous structure has several response characteristics that make it a candidate for a sensor used to locate an acoustic source. One of primary goals in developing such a sensor is to ensure that the response is rich enough to provide information about the impinging acoustic wave and its direction of travel without being too sensitive to background noise. As such, there are several factors that must be examined with regard to sensor configuration and measurement requirements. The research described here includes the initial study that examines various configuration requirements for such a sensor. Some of the parameters of interest include the size and aperture of the structure, boundary conditions, material properties, and thickness. Since it is expected that an inverse formulation will be used to reconstruct the transient acoustic pressure wave propagating across the structure's surface, the requirements for the inverse approach may also impact the structure's configuration. The initial results presented here include the impact of these factors on the response of a beam-like sensor structure. The response of the structure to transient sinusoidal wave excitations is examined numerically. To gain insight into the dynamic information contained within the response, methods like the wavenumber spectrum are utilized to assess the behavior. The tools presented here will be extended to alternative configurations prior to prototype development and testing. Supported by NSF Sensor Innovation and Systems.
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