A Parametric Sonar Analysis of R. Laval's 'Various Concepts for Future Sonars in Shallow Water',

摘要

The shallow water environment imposes acoustical limitations that preclude effective use of conventional hull mounted sonar. Laval has recently discussed this problem from the standpoint of future concepts for linear sonar systems. The present paper analyzes that discussion from the standpoint of parametric sonar. Topics addressed include doppler resolution, frequency optimization, broadnband signals, increased horizontal directivity, increased vertical directivity, and multistatic techniques. It is argued that parametric arrays could provide improvements in most of these categories. Although the parametric technique has the disadvantage of a low conversion efficiency, the highly reverberant shallow water environment need not necessitate systems of high source level. This and other peculiarities of shallow water acoustics render parametric techniques worthy of consideration in future research and development.