1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

Introduction to Sonar

Passive Sonar Equation

NL

DI
TL

DT

range absorption

SL

SL T L (N L DI) = DT

Active Sonar Equation

RL

SL

Iceberg

TL
TS
NL
DI

DT

SL 2T L + T S (

N L DI
) = DT
RL

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

Tomography
NL

SL

DT

DI
TL

Hawaii

SL T L (N L DI) = DT

Parameter denitions:
SL = Source Level
TL = Transmission Loss
NL = Noise Level
DI = Directivity Index
RL = Reverberation Level
TS = Target Strength
DT = Detection Threshold

USA

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

Summary of array formulas

Source Level
SL = 10 log I I = 10 log pp2
ref

(general)

ref

SL = 171 + 10 log P
SL = 171 + 10 log P + DI

(omni)
(directional)

Directivity Index
DI = 10 log( IID )
O

(general)

ID = directional intensity (measured at center of beam)

IO = omnidirectional intensity
(same source power radiated equally in all directions)
DI = 10 log( 2L )
D
2
DI = 10 log(( D
) ) = 20 log( )
4L L
DI = 10 log( x2 y )

(line array)
(disc array)
(rect. array)

3-dB Beamwidth 3dB

3dB = 25.3
L deg.
3dB = 29.5
D deg.
25.3
3dB = 25.3
Lx , Ly deg.

(line array)
(disc array)
(rect. array)

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

f = 12 kHz D = 0.25 m beamwidth = +14.65 deg

20
Source level normalized to onaxis response

40
60
80
90

60

30

60

90

30

60

90

60

90

0
30
theta (degrees)
f = 12 kHz D = 0.5 m beamwidth = +7.325 deg

20
40
60
80
90

60

0
30
theta (degrees)
f = 12 kHz D = 1 m beamwidth = +3.663 deg

20
40
60
80
90

60

30

0
theta (degrees)

30

This gure shows the beam pattern for a circular transducer for D/ equal
to 2, 4, and 8. Note that the beampattern gets narrower as the diameter is
increased.

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

comparison of 2*J1(x)/x and sinc(x) for f=12kHz and D=0.5m

0

sinc(x)

Source level normalized to onaxis response

10

2*J1(x)/x
20

30

40

50

60

70

80
90

60

30

0
theta (degrees)

30

60

90

This gure compares the response of a line array and a circular disc
transducer. For the line array, the beam pattern is:

sin( 12 kL sin )

b() =
1
2 kL sin
whereas for the disc array, the beam pattern is

2J1 ( 12 kD sin )

b() =
1
2 kD sin

where J1 (x) is the Bessel function of the rst kind. For the line array, the
height of the rst side-lobe is 13 dB less than the peak of the main lobe.
For the disc, the height of the rst side-lobe is 17 dB less than the peak of
the main lobe.

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

6
Line Array

z
L/2

l




dz

r


A/L

L/2

Problem geometry
Our goal is to compute the acoustic eld at the point (r, ) in the far eld of a uniform
line array of intensity A/L. First, lets nd an expression for l in terms of r and . From
the law of cosines, we can write:
l2 = r2 + z 2 2rz cos .
If we factor out r 2 from the left hand side, and substitute sin for cos , we get:


l =r

2z
z2
1
sin + 2
r
r

and take the square root of each side we get:



2z
z2
l =r 1
sin + 2
r
r

1
2

We can simplify the square root making use of the fact:

(1 + x)p = 1 + px +

p(p 1) p(p 1)(p 2)

+
+
2!
3!

and keeping only the rst term for p = 12 :

1
1
(1 + x) 2
=1+ x
2
Applying this to the above expression yields:

1 2z
z2
l
= r 1 + ( sin + 2 )
2
r
r

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

Finally, making the assuming that z << r, we can drop the term

z2
r2

to get

l
= r z sin
Field calculation
For an element of length dz at position z, the amplitude at the eld position (r, ) is:
A 1 i(klt)
e
dz
Ll
We obtain the total pressure at the eld point (r, ) due to the line array by integrating:
dp =

p=

A  L/2 1 i(klt)
dz
e
L L/2 l

but l
= r z sin , so we can write:

A i(krt)  L/2
1
p= e
eikz sin dz
L
L/2 r z sin

Since we are assuming we are in the far eld, r >> z sin , so we can replace
1
and move it outside the integral:
r
p=

1
rz sin

with

A i(krt)  L/2 ikz sin

e
dz
e
rL
L/2

Next, we evaluate the integral:



A i(krt) eikz sin

p=
e
rL
ik sin

L/2
L/2

A i(krt) e 2 ikL sin e 2 ikL sin

p=
e
rL
ik sin
Next move the term

1
L

into the square brackets:

A
e 2 ikL sin e 2 ikL sin
p = ei(krt)
r
ikL sin
and, using the fact that sin(x) =

eix eix
,
2i

we can write:


A i(krt) sin( 12 kL sin )

p= e
1
r
kL sin
2

which is the pressure at (r, ) due to the line array. The square of the term in brackets is
dened as the beam pattern b() of the array:


sin( 12 kL sin )
b() =
1
kL sin
2

2

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

Steered Line Array

Recall importance of phase:
Spatial phase: kz sin = 2 z sin
Temporal phase: t = 2T ; T = f1
z
L/2
r

A/L

-L/2

k sin = vertical wavenumber

k sin 0 = vertical wavenumber reference
To make a steered line array, we apply a linear phase shift zk sin 0 to the excitation of
the array:
dp =

A/L iz(k sin k sin 0 ) it

e
e dz
r

We can write
zk sin 0 = z

(1)

sin 0
c

z sin 0
c
The phase term is equivalent to a time delay T0 (z) that varies with position along the line
array. We can re-write the phase term as follows.
zk sin 0 = T0 (z) ; T0 (z) =

eiz(k sin k sin 0 ) eit = eikz sin ei(t+T0 (z))

integrating Equation 1 yields:


[sin sin 0 ])
sin( kL
A
2
p = ei(krt)
kL
r
( 2 [sin sin 0 ])

The resulting beam pattern is a shifted version of the beampattern of the unsteered line
array. The center of the main lobe of the response occurs at = 0 instead of = 0.

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

steered and unsteered line array (theta_0 = 20 deg)

0

Source level normalized to onaxis response

10

20

30

40

50

60

unsteered beam

70

steered beam
80
90

60

30

0
30
theta (degrees)

60

This plot shows the steered line array beam pattern

sin( kL
2 [sin sin 0 ])

b() =
( kL
2 [sin sin 0 ])
for 0 = 0 and 0 = 20 degrees.

90

120

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

10

Example 1: Acoustic Bathymetry

23dB

D = 0.5 m

Given:

Compute:

f = 12 kHz

Baed disc transducer

DI =

D = 0.5 m

SL =

Acoustic power P = 2.4 W

3dB =

Spatial resolution, 
 = 2d tan 3dB
=d

Depth resolution,
TF =

2d
c

(earliest arrival time)

TL =

2r
c

(latest arrival time)

= (TL TF ) c/2
= d( cos 13dB 1)
=d
For d = 2 km
=
=

1 INTRODUCTION TO SONAR

11

Example 2: SeaBeam Swath Bathymetry

Transmit: 5 meter unsteered line array (along ship axis)

2 degrees

90 degrees

Receive array: 5 meter steered line array (athwartships)



returns received
only from + 2 degrees

2 degrees

No returns

No returns

Net beam (plan view)

Ships
Track

Ships
Track

One beam,
2 by 2 degrees
(without steering)

100 beams, 2 by 2 degrees

(with steering)

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

Propagation Part I: spreading and absorption

Table of values for absorption coefficent (alpha)

13.00 Fall, 1999 Acoustics: Table of attentuation coefficients

frequency [Hz] alpha [dB/km]
1
0.003
10
0.003
100
0.004
200
0.007
300
0.012
400
0.018
500
0.026
600
0.033
700
0.041
800
0.048
900
0.056
1000 (1kHz)
0.063
2000
0.12
3000
0.18
4000
0.26
5000
0.35
6000
0.46
7000
0.59
8000
0.73
9000
0.90
10000 (10 kHz)
1.08
20000
3.78
30000
7.55
40000
11.8

frequency [Hz] alpha [dB/km]

50000
15.9
60000
19.8
70000
23.2
80000
26.2
90000
28.9
100000 (100 kHz) 31.2
200000
47.4
300000
63.1
400000
83.1
500000
108
600000
139
700000
174
800000
216
264
900000
315
1000000 (1 MHz)
1140
2000000
2520
3000000
4440
4000000
6920
5000000
9940
6000000
13520
7000000
17640
8000000
22320
9000000
10000000 (10 MHz)
27540

12

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

13

10-2

103

10

1
MgSO4
Shear Viscosity

10-1

102

Boron
10-3
S = 35 %
T = 4 oC
P = 300 ATM

10-5
10-2

rl, Range in km (from rl = 10 dB)

, Absorption in dB/km

Structural

104

106
1

102
f, Frequency, kHz

104

Absorption of Sound in Sea Water

Figure by MIT OCW.

Absorption of sound in sea water.

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

14

Absorption of sound in sea water

Relaxation mechanism
(conversion of acoustic energy to heat)
Four mechanisms
shear viscosity ( 1012 sec)
structural viscosity ( 1012 sec)
magnesium sulfate MgSO4 ( 106 sec) [1.35 ppt]
boric acid ( 104 sec) [4.6 ppm]
Relaxation time,
if << 1, then little loss.
if 1 or greater, then generating heat (driving the uid too fast).
The attenuation coecient depends on temperature, salinity, pressure
and pH. The following formula for in dB/km applies at T=4 C, S=35
ppt, pH = 8.0, and depth = 1000 m. (Urick page 108).
3.0 10

0.1f 2
44f 2
+
+
+ 2.75 104 f 2
2
2
1+f
4100 + f

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

15

Solving for range given transition loss TL

The equation
20 log r + 103 r = T L
cannot be solved analytically. If absorption and spreading losses are
comparable in magnitude, you have three options:
In a back-of-the-envelope sonar design, one can obtain an initial
estimate for the range by rst ignoring absorption, then plugging in
numbers with absorption until you get an answer that is close
enough.
For a more systematic procedure, one can do Newton-Raphson
iteration (either by hand or with a little computer program), using
the range without absorption as the initial guess.
Another good strategy (and a good way to check your results) is to
make a plot of TL vs. range with a computer program (e.g., Matlab).
Newton-Raphson method: (Numerical recipes in C, page 362)
xi+1 = xi

f (xi )
f  (xi )

To solve for range given TL, we have:

f (xi ) = T L 20 log xi 103 xi
f  (xi ) =
TL =

=
i xi
0
1
2
3
4

20
103
r

20 log xi

0.001xi f (xi )

x0 =
f  (xi )

f (xi )/f  (xi ) xi+1 = xi

f (xi )
f
(xi )

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

Example 1: whale tracking

L = 2 km

Passive sonar equation:

Given:
f0 = 250 Hz

DT = 15 dB

P = 1 Watt (omni)

NL = 70 dB

line array: L = 2 km

Question: How far away can we hear the whale?

=

TL =
=

DI =
SL =
TL = 20 log r + r 103 =
=

Rt =
r=

8680

=
(w/o absorption)

r=

(with absorption)

16

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

17

TL vs range for alpha=0.003 dB/km, f=250 Hz

140

120

TL (dB)

100

80

60

40
100

1000

10000

100000
range (m)

1000000

Figure 1: TL vs. range for whale tracking example (f=250 Hz, = 0.003 dB/km).

f (xi ) = T L 20 log xi 103 xi =

f  (xi ) =
=
i xi

20
103 =
r
TL =

20 log xi

0 500,000 114
1 459,500 13.2
2 445,000 112.96
3
4

x0 =

0.001xi f (xi )

f  (xi )

f (xi )/f  (xi ) xi+1 = xi

1.5
1.38
1.34

3.7 105
4.05 105

40540
14805

-1.5
-0.6
-0.3

459500
444694

f (xi )
f
(xi )

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

Example 2: dolphin tracking

L = 1 m

Passive sonar equation:

Given:
f0 = 125 kHz

DT = 15 dB

SL 220 dB re 1 Pa at 1 meter

NL = 70 dB

line array: L = 1 m

Question: How far away can we hear (detect) the dolphin?

=

TL =

=
DI =
TL = 20 log r + r 103 =

=
Rt =

8680

r=

(w/o absorption)

r=

(w/o spreading)

r=

f (xi ) = T L 20 log xi 103 xi =

(with absorption)

18

2 PROPAGATION PART I: SPREADING AND ABSORPTION

19

TL vs range for alpha=30 dB/km, f=125 kHz

400

350

300

TL (dB)

250

200

150

100

50

0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000 6000
range (m)

7000

8000

9000

10000

Figure 2: TL vs. range for dolphin tracking example (f=125 kHz, = 30 dB/km).

f  (xi ) =
=

20
103 =
r
x0 =

TL =

i xi

20 log xi

0.001xi f (xi )

f  (xi )

f (xi )/f  (xi ) xi+1 = xi

0
1
2
3
4

74
69.6
69.35

150
90.9
88.05

-0.034
-0.037
-0.368

1970
95
10.9

5000
3030
2935
2925

-67
-3.5
-0.4

3030
2935
2925

f (xi )
f
(xi )

3 PROPAGATION PART II: REFRACTION

20

Propagation Part II: refraction

In general, the sound speed c is determined by a complex relationship

between salinity, temperature, and pressure:
c = f (S, T, D)
Medwins formula is a useful approximation for c in seawater:
c = 1449.2 + 4.6T 0.055T 2 + 0.00029T 3
+(1.34 0.010T )(S 35) + 0.016D
where S is the salinity in parts per thousand (ppt), T is the temperature in
degrees Celsius, and D is the depth in meters. (See Ogilvie, Appendix A.)
Partial derivatives:
c
= 4.6 m/sec/C
T

c
= 1.34 m/sec/ppt
S

c
= 0.016 m/sec/m
D

For example:
T = 25 = c = 115 m/sec
S = 5 ppt = c = 6.5 m/sec
D = 6000 m = c = 96 m/sec

sound speed

depth

3 PROPAGATION PART II: REFRACTION

21

Sound across an interface

1
k1 = /c1

2
k2 = /c2

1
, c1
1

, c2
2

p1 = pi + pr = Iei(k1 x cos 1 +k1 y sin 1 ) + Rei(k1 x cos 1 +k1 y sin 1 )

p2 = pt = T ei(k2 x cos 2 +k2 y sin 2 )
At x = 0, we require that p1 = p2 (continuity of pressure)
(I + R)eik1 y sin 1 = T eik2 y sin 2
Match the phase to get Snells law:
sin 2
sin 1
=
c1
c2

3 PROPAGATION PART II: REFRACTION

22

If c2 > c1 , then 2 > 1

p

c2

c1

If c2 < c1 , then 2 < 1

y

2
x

1
p

c1

c2

Sound bends towards region with low velocity

Sound bends away from region with high velocity

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

23

Reection and target strength

Interface reection
1

c
1

1
x

c
2

2
p
t

pi = Ieitei(k1x sin 1k1y cos 1)

pr = Reitei(k1x sin 1+k1y cos 1)
pt = T eitei(k2x sin 2k2y cos 2)

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

24

Boundary condition 1: continuity of pressure:

@ y=0

p 1 = pi + pr = pt = p2

Boundary condition 2: continuity of normal particle velocity:

@ y=0

v 1 = vi + vr = vt = v2

Momentum equation
v
1 p
=
t
y
v
= iv (since v eit)
t
i p
= v =
y

but

Continuity of pressure:
pi |y=0 + pr |y=0 = pt |y=0
(I + R)eik1x sin 1 = T eik2x sin 2
(I +

sin

ix c 1
1
R)e

sin

ix c 2
2
Te

And so using Snells law, we can write:

I +R=T
Continuity of normal velocity:
vi =

i
cos 1
pi
ik1 cos 1pi =
1
1 c 1

(2)

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

25

cos 1
pr
1 c 1
cos 2
vt =
pt
2 c 2
vi |y=0 + vr |y=0 = vt |y=0
vr =

2c2 cos(1)(I R) = 1c1 cos(2)T

(3)

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

We can solve Equations 1 and 2 to get the reection and

transmission coecients R and T :
R=

R 2c2 cos 1 1c1 cos 2

=
I
2c2 cos 1 + 1c1 cos 2

T
22c2 cos 1
=
I
2c2 cos 1 + 1c1 cos 2
Recall that given 1, we can compute 2 with Snells law:
T =

sin 1 sin 2
=
c2
c1
Special case: = 0 (normal incidence)
R=

Z2 Z 1
2 c 2 1 c 1

Z2 + Z 1
2 c 2 + 1 c 1

T =

22c2
2Z2

Z2 + Z 1
2 c 2 + 1 c 1

where Z = c is dened as the acoustic impedance.

26

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

27

Example 1: source in water

Air
x

Water
1
p
i

1
p

a = 1.2 kg/m3, ca = 340 m/sec = Za = 408 kg/m2s

w = 1000 kg/m3, cw = 1500 m/sec = Zw = 1.5 106 kg/m2s
408 cos 1 1.5 106 cos 2
R=
1
408 cos 1 + 1.5 106 cos 2
T = 1 + R 0 (no sound in air)

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

28

Example 2: source in air

y

Air
x

Water
2
p
t

1.5 106 cos 1 408 cos 2

R=
+1
1.5 106 cos 1 + 408 cos 2
T = 1 + R 2 (double sound in water!)
Does this satisfy your intuition?
Consider intensity:
p2a
p2a
=
Ia =
aca 408
p2w
4p2a
4p2a
p2a
Iw =
=
=
=
w cw w cw 1.5 106 3.75 105

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

= Iw
Does this satisfy your intuition?

1
Ia
1000

29

4 REFLECTION AND TARGET STRENGTH

30

Target Strength
Assumptions:
large targets (relative to wavelength)
plane wave source
no angular variation in beam at target
curvature of wavefront is zero
Example: rigid or soft sphere
TS = 10 log

Iscat
|
Iinc r=rref
r
r

p2
Iinc =
c
Pinc = r02Iinc
Assume Pscat = Pinc (omnidirectional scattering)
Iscat

Pscat r02Iinc
=
=
4r2
4r2

For r = rref = 1 meter:

r02
TS = 10 log
4
If r0 = 2 meters, then TS = 0 dB

(Assuming r0 >> )

5 DESIGN PROBLEM: TRACKING NEUTRALLY BUOYANT FLOATS

31

Design problem: tracking neutrally buoyant oats

Sonar design problem

2r0 = 25 cm

Require:
Track to 3 bearing
Range error: 10 meters
Maximum range: R = 10 km
Active sonar with DT = 15 dB
sonar and oat at sound channel axis
baed line array (source and receiver)
Noise from sea surface waves (design for Sea State 6)

5 DESIGN PROBLEM: TRACKING NEUTRALLY BUOYANT FLOATS

receiver DI:

DIR =

pulse length:

array length:

L=

source level:

SL =

noise level:

NL =

transmission loss:

TL =

wavelength:

source DI:

DIT =

time-of-ight:

T =

ping interval:

Tp =

frequency:

f =

target strength:

TS =

range resolution:

acoustic power:

P=

average acoustic power: P =

32

6 NOISE

33

Noise

Figure removed for copyright reasons.

Figure 7.5, "Average deep-water ambient-noise spectra."
Source: Urick, Robert J. Principles of Underwater Sound. Los Altos, CA: Peninsula Publishing, 1983.

6 NOISE

34

Figure removed for copyright reasons.

Graph of ocean noise, by frequency.
Source: Urick, Robert J. Ambient Noise in the Sea. Los Altos, CA: Peninsula Publishing, 1986.

6 NOISE

35

Five bands of noise:

I. f < 1 Hz: hydrostatic, seismic
II. 1 < f < 20 Hz: oceanic turbulence
III. 20 < f < 500 Hz: shipping
IV. 500 Hz < f < 50 KHz: surface waves
V. 50 kHz < f : thermal noise
Band I:

f < 1 Hz

Tides f 2 cycles/day
p = gH 104 H Pa
noise level: NL = 200dB re 1 Pa 20 log H
example: 1 meter tide = NL = 200 dB re 1 Pa
microseisms f 17 Hz
On land, displacements are
106meters
Assume harmonic motion
eit = v =

d
= i
dt

Noise power due to microseisms

p = cv = ic = i2f c
|p| = 2f c = 1.4P a = NL = 123 dB re 1 Pa
Band II: Oceanic turbulence
Possible mechanisms:

1 Hz < f < 20 Hz

6 NOISE

36

hydrophone self-noise (spurious)

internal waves
upwelling
Band III: Shipping

20 Hz < f < 500 Hz

Example: 1100 ships in the North Atlantic

assume 25 Watts acoustic power each
SL = 171 + 10 log P = 215 dB re 1 Pa at 1 meter
Mechanisms
Internal machinery noise (strong)
Propeller cavitation (strong)
Turbulence from wake (weak)

6 NOISE

37

Band IV: surface waves

500 Hz < f < 50 KHz

Observations show NL is a function of local wind speed

(sea state)
Possible mechanisms:
breaking waves (only at high sea state)
wind ow noise (turbulence)
cavitation (100-1000 Hz)
long period waves


= kg

cp =
k
g
c2p =
2
if 2000 km, then cp 1500 m/sec = radiate noise!
Band V: Thermal noise
NL = 15 + 20 log f

50 KHz < f

6 NOISE

38

Directionality of noise
Vertical
Low frequency
distant shipping dominates
low attenuation at horizontal

90

0
NL
90

High frequency
sea surface noise
local wind speed dominates
high attenuation at horizontal

90

0
NL
90

Horizontal
Low frequency: highest in direction of shipping centers
High frequency: omnidriectional