Acoustics for Underwater

applications
Dr. G. A. Ramadass
ramadass@niot.res.in
NIOT
Chennai
Under water sound
Why so much noise about sound ?
E M waves suffer heavy losses in the water
Range Hardly a few metres
Sound wave is a mechanical wave
Travels 100s of kilo meters
It is the only radiation that can travel long
ranges in water
Technological Applications of
Underwater Sound

Geophysical measurements
- Echo Sounders
Depth Profiling
- Multibeam Sonars
Acoustic Imaging Systems
- Sidescan Sonars
- Acoustic cameras
Geotechnical measurements
- Sub bottom Profiler, Boomer, Sparker
Oceanographic measurements
- Current meters/Profilers
Technological Applications of
Underwater Sound

Obstacle Avoidance
Underwater Acoustics Positioning
- Long Base Line (LBL)
- Short Base Line (SBL)
- Ultra Short Base Line (USBL)
Underwater Communications
- Under Water Acoustic Modems
Underwater Surveillance
Light vs. Sound
Light Sound
EM Wave Mechanical Wave
Does not need medium Needs medium
Velocity 3 X 10
8
m/s 330 m/s in air
1500 m/s in water
Transverse Longitudinal Fluids
Can be polarized Can not be polarized
Travels millions of kM in air Travels only tens of kM

Travels only metres in water Travels hundreds of kM in water
Easy to focus Difficult to focus
Bandwidth very high Bandwidth very low
Light Vs. Sound
Resoution = 1.22 /2
N= refractive index
Bandwidth low for sound
Spreading dispersion
Analogy is valid only at high frequencies

Under water sound
How does it travel?
Sound is mechanical wave
It is longitudinal wave in water and in air





Units
Frequency
1 Hertz (Hz) = 1 cycle per second - a measure of
frequency
1 kilo Hertz (kHz) = 1,000 Hertz
Sound Air vs Underwater
Air Water
Velocity330 m/s in air Velocity 1500 m/s in water
Travels tens of kM in air Travels hundreds of kM in water
Low Impedance High Impedance
Less dispersive More dispersive
Ref pressure 20 Pa Ref pressure 1 Pa
Reference Level Conventions
Location
Reference
Intensity
Reference
Pressure*
Air 1 x 10
-12
W/m
2
20 mPa
Water 6.67 x 10
-19
W/m
2
1 uPa
2
ref
ref
o
p
I =
c
Difference is 20 log
10
(20) i.e 20*1.3 =26 dB
Underwater hearing
Can human beings hear underwater? Do we use
our ears?
The eardrums that connect the outer to the inner
ear are too soft to be able to pick up sound
underwater. We hear underwater sounds through
a phenomenon called 'bone conduction'.
The neck and skull bones are hard enough to pick
up the sound, which is then transmitted directly to
the inner ear, which is filled with fluid.
Underwater, the outer and the middle ear (filled
with air) are bypassed.


Concepts of Sound
Three (3) elements required for this to work
Source
Medium
Detector (Receiver)
The source VIBRATES causing a series of
compressions and rarefactions in the
medium
Underwater sound
Pressure
1 Pascal (Pa) - a measure of pressure
1 microPascal (Pa) = 10
-6
Pa - commonly
used when measuring sound pressures
1 atmosphere (atm) = 10 332.275 548 kg-
f/sq.m= 101,325 Pa
Intensity
Watts/ sq m


I = (p
2
/c)
a

Underwater sound
Pressure is analogous to Voltage
P ~ V
Particle Velocity ~ Electric Current
Ohms law
V = IR
Underwater sound
P = z v where v is particle velocity
z = c where is density & c is sound velocity

Measurements of Sound
Sound related quantities are measured on
logarithmic scale (dB), because sound pressure
and intensity vary over 12 orders of magnitude

Mean distance between the Sun and the Earth
size of a pocket ruler
Intensity at threshold of pain
Intensity at threshold of hearing
Multiplication to Addition
Let a = 100000000
b= 1000000000
a*b= 100000000000000000 = 10
17

log
10
(a) = 8
log
10
(b) = 9
log
10
(a*b) = log
10
(a) +log
10
(b) = 8+9 =17



Decibel scale
Ears judge loudness on a logarithmic vice linear scale

Sound Pressure Level (dB) = 20 log (p/pref) where pref is
the reference pressure
Sound Intensity Level (dB) = 10 log (I/Iref) where Iref is
the reference intensity
I p
2
therefore
SIL(dB) = 10 log (I/Ir) = 10 log (p
2
water / p
2
ref-water) =
20 log (p
water
/1Pa)
In other words, once we start using the decibel scale, SIL
and SPL are pretty much the same thing.
Reference Level Conventions
Location
Reference
Intensity
Reference
Pressure*
Air 1 x 10
-12
W/m
2
20 mPa
Water 6.67 x 10
-19
W/m
2
1 uPa
2
ref
ref
o
p
I =
c
Difference is 20 log
10
(20) i.e 20*1.3 =26 dB
Units
Reference unit of intensity (I
0
) in underwater
sound:
The intensity of a plane wave with rms pressure equal
to 1 Pa
In physical units: .67x10
-22
W/cm
2
Acoustic intensities usually referred to in terms of
decibels (dB)
XXX dB re 1 Pa = 10log
10
(I
1
/I
0
)
Multiplications of intensities are additions of decibel
levels
Sound Speed
Bulk modulus B
c
density

Air Water Steel

Bulk Modulus 1.01 x 105 Pa 2.2 x 10
9
Pa ~2.5 x 10
11
Pa
Density 1.21 kg/m
3
1000 kg/m
3
~10
4
kg/m
3
Speed
343 m/s 1500 m/s 5000 m/s
Transducers for underwater
applications
Hydrophone - equivalent of microphone in air
Transmitter - equivalent of speaker in air
Transceiver - underwater transmitter cum
receiver
Transponder - replies to an underwater
command
Responder - replies to command through
cables
Conversion Between Electrical
and Acoustic Energy
Transduction
Piezoelectricity and magnetostriction
Receiving response
XXX dB re 1 V/Pa
Transmitting response
XXX dB re 1 Pa/V @ 1 m
Source level (SL) specified in dB re 1 Pa @ 1 m
Efficiency: E=P
a
/P
e
(usually .2<E<.7)
What in the world is a
dB re 1 V/Pa @ 1 m?
Calibration of Sensors
Hydrophone

KELTRON 01
-190
-185
-180
-175
-170
-165
-160
-155
-150
2
2
.
53
3
.
54
4
.
55
5
.
56
6
.
57
7
.
58
8
.
59
9
.
5
1
0
Frequency kHz
d
B

r
e

1
V
/
u
P
a

@
1
m
0
330
300
270
240
210
180
150
120
90
60
30
-10 0 10
Test Conditions:
Ambient Temperature : 26-280 C
Humidity : 40-60%
Water temperature : 29-300 C
Distance between projector
And receiver : 4.5m
Transducer depth in water : 3m
Transducer characteristics
Is the Receiving sensitivity constant/flat
over the entire frequency range?
Are there any resonance peaks in the
range?
Is there a pre amplifier ?
Does the power supply to transducer have
any ripples ?
Transmission Losses
Two main types:
Spreading
Spherical (omni-directional point source)
Cylindrical (horiz radiation only, or thermal
layer, or large ranges compared to depth)
Spreading Loss
Transmission Losses (cont.)
Attenuation
Absorption
Process of converting acoustic energy into
heat.
Increases with higher frequency
Scattering and Reverberation
Volume: Marine life, bubbles, etc.
Surface: Ocean surface, wind speed
Bottom:
Not a problem in deep water.
Significant problem in shallow water; combined with
refraction and absorption into bottom.
SOUND PROPAGATION
Sound loss
Absorption
I = I
0
10 exp (-)
Spreading
I = I
0
/(4 r
2
)
Hence I = I
0
10 exp (-) /(4 r
2
)
I/ I
0
=

10 exp (-) /(4 r
2
)
Transmission Loss
TL = 20 log (I/ I
0
)

=20 log r + r

Detection & Position Fixing
Active
Passive
Determinants of Underwater
Detection
Transmission Loss (TL)
Noise Level (NL)
Self Noise (SN)
Ambient Noise (AN)
Source level (SL)
Directivity Index (DI)
Target Strength (TS)


What is Ambient noise
It is the prevailing, sustained unwanted background noise
in the ocean, typical of the location & depth against which
a signal such as the sound of a submarine or the echo
from a target must be detected

Excludes

All forms of self noise such as the noise of the platform on
which the measuring system is mounted eg. Ship, buoy etc
and all forms of electrical noise


Ambient Noise in Oceans

Oceans are inherently noisy. In some
places, the sound levels can be comparable
to that of a busy traffic junction at peak
hours !

Need for characterization of
underwater ambient noise
Ambient noise because of its masking
the signals received in the underwater
acoustic systems, such as the sonar,
echo sounder, etc limits their useful
range.

To enhance the signal to noise ratio
of acoustic instruments the ambient
noise field must be detected
Noise Levels in Ocean
Nosie Source Maxiumum
Source Level
Undersea Earthquake 255 dB
Seafloor Volcano Eruption 250 dB+
Lightning Stike on Water Surface 250 dB
Seismic Exploration Devices 212-230 dB
Container Ship 198 dB
Blue Whale 190 dB (avg.
145-172)
Open Ocean Ambient Noise 74-100 dB (71-
97 dB in deep
sound channel)
Spectral Classification of ambient
noise
Ultra low band (< 1 Hz),
Infrasonic band (1Hz to 20 Hz )
Low sonic band (20Hz to 200Hz)
High sonic band (200Hz to 50,000Hz)
Ultrasonic band (> 50 kHz)
High sonic band (200Hz to 50,000Hz)
Sources of noise in the ocean
Geophysical Seismic waves, rain, hail and snow,
hydrostatic and hydrodynamic sources such as
bubbles, waves and wind turbulence.
Human made Ship traffic, Coastal of off shore
activity, aircraft flying over the sea.
Biological sources Marine species
Thermal noise due to bombardment of
molecules.

Sources of Noise
Source Freq. Band

Tides /Swell (internal waves) <1Hz
Seismic activity FR 3-10nM 2 30 Hz
Wave interaction, Turbulence 0.1 100
Wind waves 100Hz 30 kHz
Precipitation 100Hz 30 kHz
Ice cover 10 Hz 1- kHz
Thermal >100kHz

Sources of Noise.
Biological sources Freq. Band

Marine Mammals 10 300 Hz
Fish 100 300 Hz
Crustaceans 0.1 10kHz

Industrial

Oil / Gas RIGS 10 100 Hz
Off-shore exploration 10 100 Hz
Distant ship traffic 10Hz 1kHz

Blade-rate frequency of propeller driven vessels
Ship noise
Infra sonic band (1 to 20Hz)
Low sonic band (20 to 200 Hz)

Noise of distant shipping

Man made activities other than shipping
High sonic band (200 to 50KHz)

Noise due to wind dominates in this region

Noise due to heavy rain
Ambient Noise in Oceans
Ambient noise at different depths
Deep water behavior more predictable than
shallow water one
In shallow water reverberation sets the limit
In noisy boats their self noise sets the limit
As the underwater warfare is shifting to
shallow waters water studies have become
more important
Boom in the off shore operations is leading to
noise pollution in the shallow waters
Its effect on environmental aspects needs to
be studied

Noise Level (NL)
NL = SN + AN
Source Level
Passive
Generated by the target
Broadband Propeller, Flow Noise, Propulsion
System
Narrowband Pieces of Machinery on target
Pumps, Electrical Generators, Motors
Active
Narrowband pulse generated by SONAR.
Reverberation
Caused by producing sound.
Medium pushes back
Directivity Index
Ability of receiver to look in one direction
and at individual frequency
Increases the likelihood of separating the
desired sound from the Ambient and Self Noise.
How do we see underwater?
Detect the reflected SIGNAL (Active)
Detect Submarine produced Signal (Passive)
SONAR (Sound Navigation Ranging)
SONAR equations
Look at losses compared to signal
Probability of detection
Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)
Same as with RADAR. The ratio to the received echo from
the target to the noise produced by everything else.
Detection Threshold (DT)
The level, of received signal, required for an experienced
operator to detect a target signal 50% of the time.
S - N > DT
Passive Sonar Equation

SL - TL - NL + DI > DT
SL: Source level:- sound level of targets noise source.
TL: Transmission Losses: (reflection, absorption, etc.)
NL: Noise Level: (AN+SN)
DI: Directivity Index
DT: Detection Threshold
SL
TL
NL
DI
DT
Sonar
Equipment
SL-TL-NL+DI=DT
Active Sonar Equations
Ambient Noise Limited:
Reverberation Noise Limited: (Reverb > ambient noise)
RL > NL+DI
SL - 2TL + TS - NL + DI > DT
SL - 2TL + TS - RL > DT
TS: Target Strength, A measure of the reflectivity of the
target to an active sonar signal.
SL
2TL
NL
DI
DT
Sonar
Equipment
SL - 2TL + TS - NL + DI > DT
TS
Figure of Merit (FOM)
FOM = the maximum allowable one-way transmission
loss in passive sonar, and the maximum two-way trans-
mission loss in active for a detection probability of 50%.
PFOM = SL - NL + DI - DT
AFOM = SL + TS - NL + DI - DT
Factors that affect Sound Water
Temperature
Pressure
Salinity
Sound is lazy. Sound bends towards areas of slower speed

Speed of sound in water-
temperature, pressure, and salinity

2 2 4 3 2 2
c t, z,S 1449.2 4.6t 5.5x10 t 2.9x10 t 1.34 10 t S 35 1.6x10 z
with the following limits:
0 t 35 C
0 S 45 p.s.u.
0 z 1000 meters





Sound Speed Variations with Temperature and Salinity
(z = 0 m)
1380
1400
1420
1440
1460
1480
1500
1520
1540
1560
1580
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Temperature (C)
S
o
u
n
d

S
p
e
e
d

(
m
/
s
)
0
30
35
40
ppt salinity
Sound Transmission in Water
D
e
p
t
h

D
e
p
t
h

D
e
p
t
h

Salinity
Pressure Temperature
Salinity Pressure Temperature
Variable Effects of:
Typical Deep Ocean
Sound Velocity Profile
D
e
p
t
h

o
f

W
a
t
e
r

(
m
e
t
e
r
s
)

Speed of Sound (meters/sec)
1500 1520
1480
1000
2000
3000
Surface Layer
Seasonal Thermocline
Permanent Thermocline
Deep Isothermal Layer
Ray Propagation Theory

The path sound travels can be depicted as a RAY or
VECTOR

RAYS will change direction when passing through
two mediums of different density. REFRACTION!

Snells Law!!!!!

Sound bends TOWARDS the region of SLOWER
sound speed.

Really valid only at high frequencies
ISOVELOCITY
Range
Maximum Echo Range
Depth
Transducer
Temperature
Negative Gradient
Depth
Water Warm
Shadow Zone
Water
Cool
Sound Bends Down When Water Grows
Cooler With Depth
Depth
Direction of Increasing
Temperature and Velocity
Negative Gradient Thermal Structure
T
C
Positive Gradient
Water
Cool
Shadow Zone
Water Warm
When Temperature Increases with
Depth, Sound Bends Sharply Up
Depth
Direction of Increasing
Temperature and Velocity
Positive Gradient Thermal Structure
T C
Layer Depth
Temperature
Cool
Shadow
Zone
Isothermal
Sound Beam Splits When Temperature Is
Uniform At Surface and Cool At Bottom
Depth
Direction of Increasing
Temperature and Velocity
Isothermal Gradient Thermal Structure
T
C
Depth
Sound Channel
Water Cool
Shadow Zone
Water Warm
Depth
Direction of Increasing
Temperature and Velocity
Negative Gradient Over Positive
T
C
Depth
Convergence Zone (CZ)
3-4 deg
C
T
DEAP BOTTOM DEPTH ESSENTIAL!
History
Sound Navigation And Ranging (SONAR)
developed during WW II
Sound pulses emitted reflected off metal objects
with characteristic ping
Like radar and time of flight is measured to
determine distance echo ranging
Early sonar gave only distance and direction to
target
Modern sonar used for mapping
Present Technological Applications
of Underwater Sound

Underwater Survey Systems
Single Beam Echo sounder


Multibeam Echosounder


Sidescan Sonar


Sub-bottom profiler

Principles
In environmental work there are three
kinds of sonar
Side-scan
Usually in the range of 100 kHz - 400 kHz
Single beam
Usually at 12 kHz - 200 kHz
Multi-beam
Usually at 12 kHz - 200 kHz
Lower frequency = longer range and
reduced spatial resolution
Single Beam Sonar
Used primarily for mapping channels and for
engineering applications
Uses only a single source
Does not produce much data, because only
a single point for each pulse under the
transducer
Echosounder
An echosounder sends out a sound pulse and waits for its
echo reflected from the seabed. The velocity of sound is a
known quantity and hence the time elapsed is a measure of
depth.
More about Echosounding
More about Echosounding
More about Echosounding
Multi-beam Sonar
Sensor uses an array of sources and
receivers
Energy focused on a narrow strip beneath the
ship
Multiple echoes give a profile of depths along a
strip perpendicular to ship track
Swath width depends on depth
Usually 2-4x water depth
Multibeam Echosounder
Multibeam Echosounder
MBES can increase the coverage to as
much as 240 beams (profiles) as against
one profile of conventional echosounder
Large areas can be surveyed with full
coverage in much shorter time
Requires much more survey hardware
and software
Not suitable for very shallow area as
the swath is dependent on depth

Comparison of SBES & MBES
Tide .
CD
Echosounding includes water column
caused by tidal variation
Hence tide is observed during sounding
operation and raw soundings are reduced
to Chart Datum
MSL
Side Scan Sonar
DF-1000 Towfish


Records tonal variation of reflected signal from objects /
seafloor
The tonal variation depends on material characteristics
It is possible to qualitatively judge the sea bed composition
sand/rock/clay or objects ship wreck, pipeline, structures

Normally towed behind the
survey vessel to avoid vessel
noise
Used in seabed engineering
investigations, geological
mapping and search
operations

50
Side Scan Sonar
Track of Tow
Fish
Side Scan Sonar
Side Scan Sonar
Sample of Ship Wreck



Sub-Bottom Profiler
Sound waves travel into the seabed and get reflected at
different depths depending on their frequency and
material nature. This property is used in SBP to
investigate the sub-bottom layers and formation details
Sub Bottom Profiler
SB-216S


T
o
w
f
i
s
h

M
o
d
e
l
S
B
-
4
2
4
































S
B
-
2
1
6
S
































S
B
-
0
4
0
8
































S
B
-
0
5
1
2
































T
o
w
f
i
s
h

M
o
d
e
l
S
B
-
4
2
4
































S
B
-
2
1
6
S
































S
B
-
0
4
0
8
































S
B
-
0
5
1
2
































Boomer and Sparker are used for sub-bottom profiling.
They use very low frequency and High Energy sound
waves to accomplish the sub-bottom penetration.
The later types known as chirp sonar produces a pulse
sweeping over a band of low frequency (eg. 0.5 to
12kHz). The reflection of signal is a function of
frequency used. Different layers of seabed
respond to different frequency component
of outgoing signal. The reflection of each
component corresponds with a layer change.
Sub Bottom Profiler
Sample record
Sample Sub-bottom profile

Under Water Acoustic Positioning
Systems




The distance between acoustic baselines is generally used
to define the type of system:
Ultrashort / Super Short Baseline (USBL/SSBL): <10cm
Short Baseline (SBL): 20m to 50m
Long Baseline (LBL): 100m to 6,000m+
Under Water Acoustic Positioning
Systems




Ultra/Super Short Base Line
Three or more receivers are spaced closely spaced and can
be mounted on a ship independent array

As the inter transducer distance spacing very short it is
very difficult to measure the difference in the times of
arrival for different transducers and hence the phase
difference of the incident wave front at the sensors is
measure
Ultra/Super Short Base Line
a
b
c



d
x
d distance between the transducers
x - extra distance traveled by the wave
front to reach transducer a after
reaching transducer b
Sin = x/d
Let T be the time taken for the
wavefront cover the distance of x and C
be the velocity of sound then
x = T C
Sin = T C /d
Let be the phase difference between wave front at b and a.

Phase difference of 2 radians corresponds to time: T = /C

Sin =( /2 d)

The angle of incidence or bearing angle is given as
= Sin-1 ( /2 d)
Doppler Navigation




Doppler effect is the change in frequency and
wavelength of a wave as perceived by an observer
moving relative to the source of the waves
The relationship between observed frequency f'
and emitted frequency f is given by:
By measuring change in frequency velocity of
source can be calculated
Doppler Velocity Log
Transducers arranged in suitable
configuration give velocity of the
source i.e. vehicle in three
orthogonal direction with respect to
the sea bottom
If bottom is not found can be
locked to the water layer at a fixed
distance
Needs calibration with respect to
the inertial navigation
Acoustic Modems
Used for wireless communication of data and signal underwater
All the principles of terrestrial communications are applicable
Limited band width & speed
Recent Tends in Underwater
Acoustics
Emphasis is on Shallow water acoustics to cater to the needs
of growing offshore industry & for under water warfare which
is shifting to littoral waters
Modern Signal processing techniques for obtaining large
ranges with high frequencies
Application of electromagnetic telecommunication techniques
in underwater acoustics for higher baud rates and error free
communications
Use of acoustics for environmental monitoring
Recent Tends in Underwater
Acoustics
Stress is on passive detection than active methods for
reasons of stealth and environmental safety
Development of new kind of acoustic transducers (e.g. vector
transducers, smart sensors) to reduce the size of the
transducers and arrays
Employing Time reversed Acoustics (TRA) techniques to
overcome the influence of the medium
Emerging Areas
Underwater Acoustic Communication
devices (MODEMS)
Underwater networking
Intruder Detection
Daylight imaging, ambient noise to to
investigate pipe line leaks, bottom
characterization etc.
Summary
Topics covered
Importance of sound in Oceans
Generation, Transmission, detection
principles
Problems in working with sound
Some underwater acoustic instruments
Thank You for your attention ?????!!!!