High-frequency passive sonobuoy designs with PVDF wires and their predicted performance

Abstract

A novel piezoelectric material technology is used to design high-frequency (>10 kHz) air-deployed sonobuoys that exploit ambient noise anisotropy to enhance their passive performance. High frequencies have the advantages of smaller arrays and reduced clutter from distant shipping noise. PVDF wires are used to design vector sensors in azimuth with vertical directionality. Such hydrophones are used to design vertical and volumetric array configurations. Performance predictions of developed array designs are presented for selected environmental conditions. Results clearly indicate that vertical aperture is necessary to increase array gain against wind-driven noise by exploiting its anisotropy while azimuthal discrimination is required to enhance gain against nearby shipping interference. [This work is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).]