Energy Harvesting Hybrid Acoustic-Optical Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks Localization

KAUST Repository

Saeed, Nasir

2017-12-26

Underwater wireless technologies demand to transmit at higher data rate for ocean exploration. Currently, large coverage is achieved by acoustic sensor networks with low data rate, high cost, high latency, high power consumption, and negative impact on marine mammals. Meanwhile, optical communication for underwater networks has the advantage of the higher data rate albeit for limited communication distances. Moreover, energy consumption is another major problem for underwater sensor networks, due to limited battery power and difficulty in replacing or recharging the battery of a sensor node. The ultimate solution to this problem is to add energy harvesting capability to the acoustic-optical sensor nodes. Localization of underwater sensor networks is of utmost importance because the data collected from underwater sensor nodes is useful only if the location of the nodes is known. Therefore, a novel localization technique for energy harvesting hybrid acoustic-optical underwater wireless sensor networks (AO-UWSNs) is proposed. AO-UWSN employs optical communication for higher data rate at a short transmission distance and employs acoustic communication for low data rate and long transmission distance. A hybrid received signal strength (RSS) based localization technique is proposed to localize the nodes in AO-UWSNs. The proposed technique combines the noisy RSS based measurements from acoustic communication and optical communication and estimates the final locations of acoustic-optical sensor nodes. A weighted multiple observations paradigm is proposed for hybrid estimated distances to suppress the noisy observations and give more importance to the accurate observations. Furthermore, the closed form solution for Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) is derived for localization accuracy of the proposed technique.

A Secure Communication Suite for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

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Angelica Lo Duca

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper we describe a security suite for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks comprising both fixed and mobile nodes. The security suite is composed of a secure routing protocol and a set of cryptographic primitives aimed at protecting the confidentiality and the integrity of underwater communication while taking into account the unique characteristics and constraints of the acoustic channel. By means of experiments and simulations based on real data, we show that the suite is suitable for an underwater networking environment as it introduces limited, and sometimes negligible, communication and power consumption overhead.

An Environment-Friendly Multipath Routing Protocol for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network

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Yun Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network (UASN is a promising technique by facilitating a wide range of aquatic applications. However, routing scheme in UASN is a challenging task because of the characteristics of the nodes mobility, interruption of link, and interference caused by other underwater acoustic systems such as marine mammals. In order to achieve reliable data delivery in UASN, in this work, we present a disjoint multipath disruption-tolerant routing protocol for UASN (ENMR, which incorporates the Hue, Saturation, and Value color space (HSV model to establish routing paths to greedily forward data packets to sink nodes. ENMR applies the mechanism to maintain the network topology. Simulation results show that, compared with the classic underwater routing protocols named PVBF, ENMR can improve packet delivery ratio and reduce network latency while avoiding introducing additional energy consumption.

Cognitive Routing in Software-Defined Underwater Acoustic Networks

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Huma Ghafoor

2017-12-01

Full Text Available There are two different types of primary users (natural acoustic and artificial acoustic, and there is a long propagation delay for acoustic links in underwater cognitive acoustic networks (UCANs. Thus, the selection of a stable route is one of the key design factors for improving overall network stability, thereby reducing end-to-end delay. Software-defined networking (SDN is a novel approach that improves network intelligence. To this end, we propose a novel SDN-based routing protocol for UCANs in order to find a stable route between source and destination. A main controller is placed in a surface buoy that is responsible for the global view of the network, whereas local controllers are placed in different autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs that are responsible for a localized view of the network. The AUVs have fixed trajectories, and sensor nodes within transmission range of the AUVs serve as gateways to relay the gathered information to the controllers. This is an SDN-based underwater communications scheme whereby two nodes can only communicate when they have a consensus about a common idle channel. To evaluate our proposed scheme, we perform extensive simulations and improve network performance in terms of end-to-end delay, delivery ratio, and overhead.

Wireless Underwater Monitoring Systems Based on Energy Harvestings

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Sea-Hee HWANGBO

2013-01-01

Full Text Available One of the important research fields for aquatic exploitation and conservation is underwater wireless sensor network. Since limited energy source for underwater nodes and devices is a main open problem, in this paper, we propose wireless underwater monitoring systems powered by energy harvester which resolves the energy constraint. The target system generates renewable energy from energy harvester and shares the energy with underwater sensor nodes. For the realization of the system, key components to be investigated are discriminated as follows: acoustic modem, actuator, smart battery charge controller, energy harvester and wireless power transfer module. By developing acoustic modem, actuator and smart battery charge controller and utilizing off-the-shelf energy harvester and wireless power transfer module, we design and implement a prototype of the system. Also, we verify the feasibility of concept of target system by conducting indoor and outdoor experiments.

Underwater Acoustic Tracer System

Science.gov (United States)

2009-03-13

for controlling and utilizing supercavitating projectile dynamics to produce a distinctive radiated noise signal. (2) Description of the Prior Art...metallic objects which travel relatively closely to a magnetic pickup. For larger, high speed, underwater projectiles, supercavitating underwater vehicles...have been proposed for use. The conditions for supercavitation are known in the art. Supercavitation allows for higher speeds to be sustainable

High-rate wireless data communications: An underwater acoustic communications framework at the physical layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bessios Anthony G.

1996-01-01

Full Text Available A variety of signal processing functions are performed by Underwater Acoustic Systems. These include: 1 detection to determine presence or absence of information signals in the presence of noise, or an attempt to describe which of a predetermined finite set of possible messages { m i , i , ... , M } the signal represents; 2 estimation of some parameter θ ˆ associated with the received signal (i.e. range, depth, bearing angle, etc.; 3 classification and source identification; 4 dynamics tracking; 5 navigation (collision avoidance and terminal guidance; 6 countermeasures; and 7 communications. The focus of this paper is acoustic communications. There is a global current need to develop reliable wireless digital communications for the underwater environment, with sufficient performance and efficiency to substitute for costly wired systems. One possible goal is a wireless system implementation that insures underwater terminal mobility. There is also a vital need to improve the performance of the existing systems in terms of data-rate, noise immunity, operational range, and power consumption, since, in practice, portable high-speed, long range, compact, low-power systems are desired. We concede the difficulties associated with acoustic systems and concentrate on the development of robust data transmission methods anticipating the eventual need for real time or near real time video transmission. An overview of the various detection techniques and the general statistical digital communication problem is given based on a statistical decision theory framework. The theoretical formulation of the underwater acoustic data communications problem includes modeling of the stochastic channel to incorporate a variety of impairments and environmental uncertainties, and proposal of new compensation strategies for an efficient and robust receiver design.

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammed, Dalhatu; Anisi, Mohammad Hossein; Zareei, Mahdi; Vargas-Rosales, Cesar; Khan, Anwar

2018-02-01

Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal), long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node's cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted.

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dalhatu Muhammed

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal, long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node’s cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted.

Game Theory-Based Cooperation for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: Taxonomy, Review, Research Challenges and Directions

Science.gov (United States)

Muhammed, Dalhatu; Anisi, Mohammad Hossein; Vargas-Rosales, Cesar; Khan, Anwar

2018-01-01

Exploring and monitoring the underwater world using underwater sensors is drawing a lot of attention these days. In this field cooperation between acoustic sensor nodes has been a critical problem due to the challenging features such as acoustic channel failure (sound signal), long propagation delay of acoustic signal, limited bandwidth and loss of connectivity. There are several proposed methods to improve cooperation between the nodes by incorporating information/game theory in the node’s cooperation. However, there is a need to classify the existing works and demonstrate their performance in addressing the cooperation issue. In this paper, we have conducted a review to investigate various factors affecting cooperation in underwater acoustic sensor networks. We study various cooperation techniques used for underwater acoustic sensor networks from different perspectives, with a concentration on communication reliability, energy consumption, and security and present a taxonomy for underwater cooperation. Moreover, we further review how the game theory can be applied to make the nodes cooperate with each other. We further analyze different cooperative game methods, where their performance on different metrics is compared. Finally, open issues and future research direction in underwater acoustic sensor networks are highlighted. PMID:29389874

Micromachined fiber optic Fabry-Perot underwater acoustic probe

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fuyin; Shao, Zhengzheng; Hu, Zhengliang; Luo, Hong; Xie, Jiehui; Hu, Yongming

2014-08-01

One of the most important branches in the development trend of the traditional fiber optic physical sensor is the miniaturization of sensor structure. Miniature fiber optic sensor can realize point measurement, and then to develop sensor networks to achieve quasi-distributed or distributed sensing as well as line measurement to area monitoring, which will greatly extend the application area of fiber optic sensors. The development of MEMS technology brings a light path to address the problems brought by the procedure of sensor miniaturization. Sensors manufactured by MEMS technology possess the advantages of small volume, light weight, easy fabricated and low cost. In this paper, a fiber optic extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometric underwater acoustic probe utilizing micromachined diaphragm collaborated with fiber optic technology and MEMS technology has been designed and implemented to actualize underwater acoustic sensing. Diaphragm with central embossment, where the embossment is used to anti-hydrostatic pressure which would largely deflect the diaphragm that induce interferometric fringe fading, has been made by double-sided etching of silicon on insulator. By bonding the acoustic-sensitive diaphragm as well as a cleaved fiber end in ferrule with an outer sleeve, an extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer has been constructed. The sensor has been interrogated by quadrature-point control method and tested in field-stable acoustic standing wave tube. Results have been shown that the recovered signal detected by the sensor coincided well with the corresponding transmitted signal and the sensitivity response was flat in frequency range from 10 Hz to 2kHz with the value about -154.6 dB re. 1/μPa. It has been manifest that the designed sensor could be used as an underwater acoustic probe.

Task Allocation and Path Planning for Collaborative Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Operating through an Underwater Acoustic Network

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Yueyue Deng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Dynamic and unstructured multiple cooperative autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV missions are highly complex operations, and task allocation and path planning are made significantly more challenging under realistic underwater acoustic communication constraints. This paper presents a solution for the task allocation and path planning for multiple AUVs under marginal acoustic communication conditions: a location-aided task allocation framework (LAAF algorithm for multitarget task assignment and the grid-based multiobjective optimal programming (GMOOP mathematical model for finding an optimal vehicle command decision given a set of objectives and constraints. Both the LAAF and GMOOP algorithms are well suited in poor acoustic network condition and dynamic environment. Our research is based on an existing mobile ad hoc network underwater acoustic simulator and blind flooding routing protocol. Simulation results demonstrate that the location-aided auction strategy performs significantly better than the well-accepted auction algorithm developed by Bertsekas in terms of task-allocation time and network bandwidth consumption. We also demonstrate that the GMOOP path-planning technique provides an efficient method for executing multiobjective tasks by cooperative agents with limited communication capabilities. This is in contrast to existing multiobjective action selection methods that are limited to networks where constant, reliable communication is assumed to be available.

Acoustic and Vibration Control for an Underwater Structure under Mechanical Excitation

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Shi-Jian Zhu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Acoustic and vibration control for an underwater structure under mechanical excitation has been investigated by using negative feedback control algorithm. The underwater structure is modeled with cylindrical shells, conical shells, and circular bulkheads, of which the motion equations are built with the variational approach, respectively. Acoustic property is analyzed by the Helmholtz integration formulation with boundary element method. Based on negative feedback control algorithm, a control loop with a coupling use of piezoelectric sensor and actuator is built, and accordingly some numerical examples are carried out on active control of structural vibration and acoustic response. Effects of geometrical and material parameters on acoustic and vibration properties are investigated and discussed.

Acoustically sticky topographic metasurfaces for underwater sound absorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hunki; Jung, Myungki; Kim, Minsoo; Shin, Ryung; Kang, Shinill; Ohm, Won-Suk; Kim, Yong Tae

2018-03-01

A class of metasurfaces for underwater sound absorption, based on a design principle that maximizes thermoviscous loss, is presented. When a sound meets a solid surface, it leaves a footprint in the form of thermoviscous boundary layers in which energy loss takes place. Considered to be a nuisance, this acoustic to vorticity/entropy mode conversion and the subsequent loss are often ignored in the existing designs of acoustic metamaterials and metasurfaces. The metasurface created is made of a series of topographic meta-atoms, i.e., intaglios and reliefs engraved directly on the solid object to be concealed. The metasurface is acoustically sticky in that it rather facilitates the conversion of the incident sound to vorticity and entropy modes, hence the thermoviscous loss, leading to the desired anechoic property. A prototype metasurface machined on a brass object is tested for its anechoicity, and shows a multitude of absorption peaks as large as unity in the 2-5 MHz range. Computations also indicate that a topographic metasurface is robust to hydrostatic pressure variation, a quality much sought-after in underwater applications.

Underwater acoustic positioning system for the SMO and KM3NeT - Italia projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viola, S.; Barbagallo, G.; Cacopardo, G.; Calí, C.; Cocimano, R.; Coniglione, R.; Costa, M.; Cuttone, G.; D' Amato, C.; D' Amato, V.; D' Amico, A.; De Luca, V.; Del Tevere, F.; Distefano, C.; Ferrera, F.; Gmerk, A.; Grasso, R.; Imbesi, M.; Larosa, G.; Lattuada, D. [INFN - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, via Santa Sofia 62, 95125 Catania (Italy); and others

2014-11-18

In the underwater neutrino telescopes, the positions of the Cherenkov light sensors and their movements must be known with an accuracy of few tens of centimetres. In this work, the activities of the SMO and KM3NeT-Italia teams for the development of an acoustic positioning system for KM3NeT-Italia project are presented. The KM3NeT-Italia project foresees the construction, within two years, of 8 towers in the view of the several km{sup 3}-scale neutrino telescope KM3NeT.

Underwater acoustic positioning system for the SMO and KM3NeT - Italia projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viola, S.; Barbagallo, G.; Cacopardo, G.; Calí, C.; Cocimano, R.; Coniglione, R.; Costa, M.; Cuttone, G.; D'Amato, C.; D'Amato, V.; D'Amico, A.; De Luca, V.; Del Tevere, F.; Distefano, C.; Ferrera, F.; Gmerk, A.; Grasso, R.; Imbesi, M.; Larosa, G.; Lattuada, D.

2014-01-01

In the underwater neutrino telescopes, the positions of the Cherenkov light sensors and their movements must be known with an accuracy of few tens of centimetres. In this work, the activities of the SMO and KM3NeT-Italia teams for the development of an acoustic positioning system for KM3NeT-Italia project are presented. The KM3NeT-Italia project foresees the construction, within two years, of 8 towers in the view of the several km 3 -scale neutrino telescope KM3NeT

An acoustic system for autonomous navigation and tracking of marine fauna

KAUST Repository

De la Torre, Pedro; Salama, Khaled N.; Berumen, Michael L.

2014-01-01

A marine acoustic system for underwater target tracking is described. This system is part of the Integrated Satellite and Acoustic Telemetry (iSAT) project to study marine fauna. It is a microcontroller-based underwater projector and receiver. A

Investigation on the Effect of Underwater Acoustic Pressure on the Fundamental Mode of Hollow-Core Photonic Bandgap Fibers

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Adel Abdallah

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, microstructured optical fibers have become the subject of extensive research as they can be employed in many civilian and military applications. One of the recent areas of research is to enhance the normalized responsivity (NR to acoustic pressure of the optical fiber hydrophones by replacing the conventional single mode fibers (SMFs with hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers (HC-PBFs. However, this needs further investigation. In order to fully understand the feasibility of using HC-PBFs as acoustic pressure sensors and in underwater communication systems, it is important to study their modal properties in this environment. In this paper, the finite element solver (FES COMSOL Multiphysics is used to study the effect of underwater acoustic pressure on the effective refractive index neff of the fundamental mode and discuss its contribution to NR. Besides, we investigate, for the first time to our knowledge, the effect of underwater acoustic pressure on the effective area Aeff and the numerical aperture (NA of the HC-PBF.

A GPS-free passive acoustic localization scheme for underwater wireless sensor networks

KAUST Repository

Mirza, Mohammed; Shakir, Muhammad; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2011-01-01

Seaweb is an acoustic communication technology that enables communication between sensor nodes. Seaweb interconnects the underwater nodes through digital signal processing (DSP)-based modem by using acoustic links between the neighbouring sensors

Optimal Node Placement in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network

KAUST Repository

Felemban, Muhamad

2011-10-01

Almost 70% of planet Earth is covered by water. A large percentage of underwater environment is unexplored. In the past two decades, there has been an increase in the interest of exploring and monitoring underwater life among scientists and in industry. Underwater operations are extremely difficult due to the lack of cheap and efficient means. Recently, Wireless Sensor Networks have been introduced in underwater environment applications. However, underwater communication via acoustic waves is subject to several performance limitations, which makes the relevant research issues very different from those on land. In this thesis, we investigate node placement for building an initial Underwater Wireless Sensor Network infrastructure. Firstly, we formulated the problem into a nonlinear mathematic program with objectives of minimizing the total transmission loss under a given number of sensor nodes and targeted volume. We conducted experiments to verify the proposed formulation, which is solved using Matlab optimization tool. We represented each node with a truncated octahedron to fill out the 3D space. The truncated octahedrons are tiled in the 3D space with each node in the center where locations of the nodes are given using 3D coordinates. Results are supported using ns-3 simulator. Results from simulation are consistent with the obtained results from mathematical model with less than 10% error.

Underwater unidirectional acoustic transmission through a plate with bilateral asymmetric gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Ailing; Chen, Tianning; Wang, Xiaopeng; Xi, Yanhui; Liang, Qingxuan

2018-04-01

In this paper, a novel underwater unidirectional acoustic transmission (UAT) device consisting of a plate with bilateral asymmetric gratings is proposed and numerically investigated. The transmission spectra, the acoustic intensity field distributions, and the displacement field distributions are numerically calculated based on the finite element method. The transmission spectra show that the proposed device exhibits different UAT effects in three bands. The acoustic intensity field distributions demonstrate that the proposed device can realize UAT, which agree well with the transmission spectra. The mechanism is discussed by analyzing the displacement field distributions, and the UAT is attributed to the symmetric mode excited in brass plate. Furthermore, the effects of the lattice constant, the upper slit width, and the lower slit width on bands are discussed. Our design provides a good reference for designing underwater UAT devices and has potential applications in some fields, such as medical ultrasonic devices, acoustic barrier, and noise insulation.

An Acoustic OFDM System with Symbol-by-Symbol Doppler Compensation for Underwater Communication.

Science.gov (United States)

MinhHai, Tran; Rie, Saotome; Suzuki, Taisaku; Wada, Tomohisa

2016-01-01

We propose an acoustic OFDM system for underwater communication, specifically for vertical link communications such as between a robot in the sea bottom and a mother ship in the surface. The main contributions are (1) estimation of time varying Doppler shift using continual pilots in conjunction with monitoring the drift of Power Delay Profile and (2) symbol-by-symbol Doppler compensation in frequency domain by an ICI matrix representing nonuniform Doppler. In addition, we compare our proposal against a resampling method. Simulation and experimental results confirm that our system outperforms the resampling method when the velocity changes roughly over OFDM symbols. Overall, experimental results taken in Shizuoka, Japan, show our system using 16QAM, and 64QAM achieved a data throughput of 7.5 Kbit/sec with a transmitter moving at maximum 2 m/s, in a complicated trajectory, over 30 m vertically.

An Acoustic OFDM System with Symbol-by-Symbol Doppler Compensation for Underwater Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tran MinhHai

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We propose an acoustic OFDM system for underwater communication, specifically for vertical link communications such as between a robot in the sea bottom and a mother ship in the surface. The main contributions are (1 estimation of time varying Doppler shift using continual pilots in conjunction with monitoring the drift of Power Delay Profile and (2 symbol-by-symbol Doppler compensation in frequency domain by an ICI matrix representing nonuniform Doppler. In addition, we compare our proposal against a resampling method. Simulation and experimental results confirm that our system outperforms the resampling method when the velocity changes roughly over OFDM symbols. Overall, experimental results taken in Shizuoka, Japan, show our system using 16QAM, and 64QAM achieved a data throughput of 7.5 Kbit/sec with a transmitter moving at maximum 2 m/s, in a complicated trajectory, over 30 m vertically.

An Acoustic OFDM System with Symbol-by-Symbol Doppler Compensation for Underwater Communication

Science.gov (United States)

MinhHai, Tran; Rie, Saotome; Suzuki, Taisaku; Wada, Tomohisa

2016-01-01

We propose an acoustic OFDM system for underwater communication, specifically for vertical link communications such as between a robot in the sea bottom and a mother ship in the surface. The main contributions are (1) estimation of time varying Doppler shift using continual pilots in conjunction with monitoring the drift of Power Delay Profile and (2) symbol-by-symbol Doppler compensation in frequency domain by an ICI matrix representing nonuniform Doppler. In addition, we compare our proposal against a resampling method. Simulation and experimental results confirm that our system outperforms the resampling method when the velocity changes roughly over OFDM symbols. Overall, experimental results taken in Shizuoka, Japan, show our system using 16QAM, and 64QAM achieved a data throughput of 7.5 Kbit/sec with a transmitter moving at maximum 2 m/s, in a complicated trajectory, over 30 m vertically. PMID:27057558

Secure Cooperation of Autonomous Mobile Sensors Using an Underwater Acoustic Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianluca Dini

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Methodologies and algorithms are presented for the secure cooperation of a team of autonomous mobile underwater sensors, connected through an acoustic communication network, within surveillance and patrolling applications. In particular, the work proposes a cooperative algorithm in which the mobile underwater sensors (installed on Autonomous Underwater Vehicles—AUVs respond to simple local rules based on the available information to perform the mission and maintain the communication link with the network (behavioral approach. The algorithm is intrinsically robust: with loss of communication among the vehicles the coverage performance (i.e., the mission goal is degraded but not lost. The ensuing form of graceful degradation provides also a reactive measure against Denial of Service. The cooperative algorithm relies on the fact that the available information from the other sensors, though not necessarily complete, is trustworthy. To ensure trustworthiness, a security suite has been designed, specifically oriented to the underwater scenario, and in particular with the goal of reducing the communication overhead introduced by security in terms of number and size of messages. The paper gives implementation details on the integration between the security suite and the cooperative algorithm and provides statistics on the performance of the system as collected during the UAN project sea trial held in Trondheim, Norway, in May 2011.

Cascading Multi-Hop Reservation and Transmission in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Won Lee

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The long propagation delay in an underwater acoustic channel makes designing an underwater media access control (MAC protocol more challenging. In particular, handshaking-based MAC protocols widely used in terrestrial radio channels have been known to be inappropriate in underwater acoustic channels, because of the inordinately large latency involved in exchanging control packets. Furthermore, in the case of multi-hop relaying in a hop-by-hop handshaking manner, the end-to-end delay significantly increases. In this paper, we propose a new MAC protocol named cascading multi-hop reservation and transmission (CMRT. In CMRT, intermediate nodes between a source and a destination may start handshaking in advance for the next-hop relaying before handshaking for the previous node is completed. By this concurrent relaying, control packet exchange and data delivery cascade down to the destination. In addition, to improve channel utilization, CMRT adopts a packet-train method where multiple data packets are sent together by handshaking once. Thus, CMRT reduces the time taken for control packet exchange and accordingly increases the throughput. The performance of CMRT is evaluated and compared with that of two conventional MAC protocols (multiple-access collision avoidance for underwater (MACA-U and MACA-U with packet trains (MACA-UPT. The results show that CMRT outperforms other MAC protocols in terms of both throughput and end-to-end delay.

Combined Hybrid DFE and CCK Remodulator for Medium-Range Single-Carrier Underwater Acoustic Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xialin Jiang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Advanced modulation and channel equalization techniques are essential for improving the performance of medium-range single-carrier underwater acoustic communications. In this paper, an enhanced detection scheme, hybrid time-frequency domain decision feedback equalizer (DFE combined with complementary code keying (CCK remodulator, is presented. CCK modulation technique provides strong tolerance to intersymbol interference caused by multipath propagation in underwater acoustic channels. The conventional hybrid DFE, using a frequency domain feedforward filter and a time domain feedback filter, provides good performance along with low computational complexity. The error propagation in the feedback filter, caused by feedbacking wrong decisions prior to CCK demodulation, may lead to great performance degradation. In our proposed scheme, with the help of CCK coding gain, more accurate remodulated CCK chips can be used as feedback. The proposed detection scheme is tested by the practical ocean experiments. The experimental results show that the proposed detection scheme ensures robust communications over 10-kilometre underwater acoustic channels with the data rate at 5 Kbits/s in 3 kHz of channel bandwidth.

Multiuser underwater acoustic communication using single-element virtual time reversal mirror

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

YIN JingWei; WANG YiLin; WANG Lei; HUI JunYing

2009-01-01

Pattern time delay shift coding (PDS) scheme is introduced and combined with spread spectrum tech-nique called SS-PDS for short which is power-saving and competent for long-range underwater acous-tic networks.Single-element virtual time reversal mirror (VTRM) is presented in this paper and validated by the lake trial results.Employing single-element VTRM in multiuser communication system based on SS-PDS can separate different users' information simultaneously at master node as indicated in the simulation results.

Design and Analysis of Underwater Acoustic Networks with Reflected Links

Science.gov (United States)

Emokpae, Lloyd

Underwater acoustic networks (UWANs) have applications in environmental state monitoring, oceanic profile measurements, leak detection in oil fields, distributed surveillance, and navigation. For these applications, sets of nodes are employed to collaboratively monitor an area of interest and track certain events or phenomena. In addition, it is common to find autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) acting as mobile sensor nodes that perform search-and-rescue missions, reconnaissance in combat zones, and coastal patrol. These AUVs are to work cooperatively to achieve a desired goal and thus need to be able to, in an ad-hoc manner, establish and sustain communication links in order to ensure some desired level of quality of service. Therefore, each node is required to adapt to environmental changes and be able to overcome broken communication links caused by external noise affecting the communication channel due to node mobility. In addition, since radio waves are quickly absorbed in the water medium, it is common for most underwater applications to rely on acoustic (or sound) rather than radio channels for mid-to-long range communications. However, acoustic channels pose multiple challenging issues, most notably the high transmission delay due to slow signal propagation and the limited channel bandwidth due to high frequency attenuation. Moreover, the inhomogeneous property of the water medium affects the sound speed profile while the signal surface and bottom reflections leads to multipath effects. In this dissertation, we address these networking challenges by developing protocols that take into consideration the underwater physical layer dynamics. We begin by introducing a novel surface-based reflection scheme (SBR), which takes advantage of the multipath effects of the acoustic channel. SBR works by using reflections from the water surface, and bottom, to establish non-line-of-sight (NLOS) communication links. SBR makes it possible to incorporate both line

Evaluation of an Efficient Approach for Target Tracking from Acoustic Imagery for the Perception System of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastián A. Villar

2014-02-01

Full Text Available This article describes the core algorithms of the perception system to be included within an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV. This perception system is based on the acoustic data acquired from side scan sonar (SSS. These data should be processed in an efficient time, so that the perception system is able to detect and recognize a predefined target. This detection and recognition outcome is therefore an important piece of knowledge for the AUVs dynamic mission planner (DMP. Effectively, the DMP should propose different trajectories, navigation depths and other parameters that will change the robot's behaviour according to the perception system output. Hence, the time in which to make a decision is critical in order to assure safe robot operation and to acquire good quality data; consequently, the efficiency of the on-line image processing from acoustic data is a key issue. Current techniques for acoustic data processing are time and computationally intensive. Hence, it was decided to process data coming from a SSS using a technique that is used for radars, due to its efficiency and its amenability to on-line processing. The engineering problem to solve in this case was underwater pipeline tracking for routine inspections in the off-shore industry. Then, an automatic oil pipeline detection system was developed borrowing techniques from the processing of radar measurements. The radar technique is known as Cell Average – Constant False Alarm Rate (CA – CFAR. With a slight variation of the algorithms underlying this radar technique, which consisted of the previous accumulation of partial sums, a great improvement in computing time and effort was achieved. Finally, a comparison with previous approaches over images acquired with a SSS from a vessel in the Salvador de Bahia bay in Brazil showed the feasibility of using this on-board technique for AUV perception.

Throughput Analysis on 3-Dimensional Underwater Acoustic Network with One-Hop Mobile Relay

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Xuefeng; Fan, Jiasheng; Guan, Quansheng; Ji, Fei; Yu, Hua

2018-01-01

Underwater acoustic communication network (UACN) has been considered as an essential infrastructure for ocean exploitation. Performance analysis of UACN is important in underwater acoustic network deployment and management. In this paper, we analyze the network throughput of three-dimensional randomly deployed transmitter–receiver pairs. Due to the long delay of acoustic channels, complicated networking protocols with heavy signaling overhead may not be appropriate. In this paper, we consider only one-hop or two-hop transmission, to save the signaling cost. That is, we assume the transmitter sends the data packet to the receiver by one-hop direct transmission, or by two-hop transmission via mobile relays. We derive the closed-form formulation of packet delivery rate with respect to the transmission delay and the number of transmitter–receiver pairs. The correctness of the derivation results are verified by computer simulations. Our analysis indicates how to obtain a precise tradeoff between the delay constraint and the network capacity. PMID:29337911

Throughput Analysis on 3-Dimensional Underwater Acoustic Network with One-Hop Mobile Relay.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Xuefeng; Chen, Fangjiong; Fan, Jiasheng; Guan, Quansheng; Ji, Fei; Yu, Hua

2018-01-16

Underwater acoustic communication network (UACN) has been considered as an essential infrastructure for ocean exploitation. Performance analysis of UACN is important in underwater acoustic network deployment and management. In this paper, we analyze the network throughput of three-dimensional randomly deployed transmitter-receiver pairs. Due to the long delay of acoustic channels, complicated networking protocols with heavy signaling overhead may not be appropriate. In this paper, we consider only one-hop or two-hop transmission, to save the signaling cost. That is, we assume the transmitter sends the data packet to the receiver by one-hop direct transmission, or by two-hop transmission via mobile relays. We derive the closed-form formulation of packet delivery rate with respect to the transmission delay and the number of transmitter-receiver pairs. The correctness of the derivation results are verified by computer simulations. Our analysis indicates how to obtain a precise tradeoff between the delay constraint and the network capacity.

An acoustic system for autonomous navigation and tracking of marine fauna

KAUST Repository

De la Torre, Pedro

2014-08-01

A marine acoustic system for underwater target tracking is described. This system is part of the Integrated Satellite and Acoustic Telemetry (iSAT) project to study marine fauna. It is a microcontroller-based underwater projector and receiver. A narrow-band, passive sonar detection architecture is described from signal generation, through transduction, reception, signal processing and up to tone extraction. Its circuit and operation principles are described. Finally, a comparison between the current energy detection method versus an alternative matched filter approach is included.

The influence of environmental parameters on the optimal frequency in a shallow underwater acoustic channel

Science.gov (United States)

Zarnescu, George

2015-02-01

In a shallow underwater acoustic channel the delayed replicas of a transmitted signal are mainly due to the interactions with the sea surface and the bottom layer. If a specific underwater region on the globe is considered, for which the sedimentary layer structure is constant across the transmission distance, then the variability of the amplitude-delay profile is determined by daily and seasonal changes of the sound speed profile (SSP) and by weather changes, such as variations of the wind speed. Such a parameter will influence the attenuation at the surface, the noise level and the profile of the sea surface. The temporal variation of the impulse response in a shallow underwater acoustic channel determines the variability of the optimal transmission frequency. If the ways in which the optimal frequency changes can be predicted, then an adaptive analog transceiver can be easily designed for an underwater acoustic modem or it can be found when a communication link has high throughput. In this article it will be highlighted the way in which the amplitude-delay profile is affected by the sound speed profile, wind speed and channel depth and also will be emphasized the changes of the optimal transmission frequency in a configuration, where the transmitter and receiver are placed on the seafloor and the bathymetry profile will be considered flat, having a given composition.

A GPS-free passive acoustic localization scheme for underwater wireless sensor networks

KAUST Repository

Mirza, Mohammed

2011-10-01

Seaweb is an acoustic communication technology that enables communication between sensor nodes. Seaweb interconnects the underwater nodes through digital signal processing (DSP)-based modem by using acoustic links between the neighbouring sensors. In this paper, we design and investigate a global positioning system (GPS)-free passive localization protocol using seaweb technology. This protocol uses the range data and planar trigonometry to estimate the positions of the discovered nodes. We take into consideration the small displacement of sensor nodes due to watch circles and placement of sensor nodes on non-uniform underwater surface, for precise localization. Once the nodes are localized, we divide the whole network .eld into circular levels that minimizes the traf.c complexity and thereby increases the lifetime of the sensor network .eld. We then form the mesh network inside each of the circular levels that increases the reliability. The algorithm is designed in such a way that it overcomes the ambiguous nodes errata and re.ected paths and makes the algorithm more robust. The synthetic network geometries are so designed which can evaluate the algorithm in the presence of perfect or imperfect ranges or in case of incomplete data. A comparative study is made with the existing algorithms which proves our newly proposed algorithm to be more effective. © 2011 IEEE.

Underwater Gliders by Dr. Kevin Smith [video

OpenAIRE

Naval Postgraduate School Physics

2015-01-01

NPS Physics NPS Physics Research Projects Underwater glider research is currently underway in the physics department at the naval postgraduate in Monterey Ca. Dr. Kevin Smith is a specialist in underwater acoustics and sonar systems. He and his team are currently focused on autonomous underwater gliders and developing systems capable of detecting parameters in the ocean and listening for various sources of sound.

A new electronic control system for unmanned underwater vehicles

OpenAIRE

Molina Molina, J.C.; Guerrero González, A.; Gilabert, J.

2015-01-01

In this paper a new electronic control system for unmanned underwater vehicles is presented. This control system is characterized by a distribution in control over two network of type CANBus and Ethernet. This new electronic control system integrates functionalities of AUVs, as the automatic execution of preprogrammed trajectories. The control system also integrates an acoustic positioning system based on USBL. The information of relative positioning is sent through specific...

An acoustically controlled tetherless underwater vehicle for installation and maintenance of neutrino detectors in the deep ocean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballou, Philip J.

1997-01-01

The task of installing and servicing high energy neutrino detectors in the deep ocean from a surface support vessel is problematic using conventional tethered systems. An array of multiple detector strings rising 500 m from the ocean floor, and forming a grid with 50 m spacing between the strings, presents a substantial entanglement hazard for equipment cables deployed from the surface. Such tasks may be accomplished with fewer risks using a tetherless underwater remotely operated vehicle that has a local acoustic telemetry link to send control commands and sensor data between the vehicle and a stationary hydrophone suspended above or just outside the perimeter of the work site. The Phase I effort involves the development of an underwater acoustic telemetry link for vehicle control and sensor feedback, the evaluation of video compression methods for real-time acoustic transmission of video through the water, and the defining of local control routines on board the vehicle to allow it to perform certain basic maneuvering tasks autonomously, or to initiate a self-rescue if the acoustic control link should be lost. In Phase II, a prototype tetherless vehicle system will be designed and constructed to demonstrate the ability to install cable interconnections within a detector array at 4 km depth. The same control technology could be used with a larger more powerful vehicle to maneuver the detector strings into desired positions as they are being lowered to the ocean floor

An Underwater Acoustic Vector Sensor with High Sensitivity and Broad Band

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Zhang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Recently, acoustic vector sensor that use accelerators as sensing elements are widely used in underwater acoustic engineering, but the sensitivity of which at low frequency band is usually lower than -220 dB. In this paper, using a piezoelectric trilaminar optimized low frequency sensing element, we designed a high sensitivity internal placed ICP piezoelectric accelerometer as sensing element. Through structure optimization, we made a high sensitivity, broadband, small scale vector sensor. The working band is 10-2000 Hz, sound pressure sensitivity is -185 dB (at 100 Hz, outer diameter is 42 mm, length is 80 mm.

Latency-Optimized and Energy-Efficient MAC Protocol for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks: A Cross-Layer Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng Xiuzhen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Considering the energy constraint for fixed sensor nodes and the unacceptable long propagation delay, especially for latency sensitive applications of underwater acoustic sensor networks, we propose a MAC protocol that is latency-optimized and energy-efficient scheme and combines the physical layer and the MAC layer to shorten transmission delay. On physical layer, we apply convolution coding and interleaver for transmitted information. Moreover, dynamic code rate is exploited at the receiver side to accelerate data reception rate. On MAC layer, unfixed frame length scheme is applied to reduce transmission delay, and to ensure the data successful transmission rate at the same time. Furthermore, we propose a network topology: an underwater acoustic sensor network with mobile agent. Through fully utilizing the supper capabilities on computation and mobility of autonomous underwater vehicles, the energy consumption for fixed sensor nodes can be extremely reduced, so that the lifetime of networks is extended.

An Alignment Method for the Integration of Underwater 3D Data Captured by a Stereovision System and an Acoustic Camera

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Lagudi

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The integration of underwater 3D data captured by acoustic and optical systems is a promising technique in various applications such as mapping or vehicle navigation. It allows for compensating the drawbacks of the low resolution of acoustic sensors and the limitations of optical sensors in bad visibility conditions. Aligning these data is a challenging problem, as it is hard to make a point-to-point correspondence. This paper presents a multi-sensor registration for the automatic integration of 3D data acquired from a stereovision system and a 3D acoustic camera in close-range acquisition. An appropriate rig has been used in the laboratory tests to determine the relative position between the two sensor frames. The experimental results show that our alignment approach, based on the acquisition of a rig in several poses, can be adopted to estimate the rigid transformation between the two heterogeneous sensors. A first estimation of the unknown geometric transformation is obtained by a registration of the two 3D point clouds, but it ends up to be strongly affected by noise and data dispersion. A robust and optimal estimation is obtained by a statistical processing of the transformations computed for each pose. The effectiveness of the method has been demonstrated in this first experimentation of the proposed 3D opto-acoustic camera.

Classification of underwater targets from autonomous underwater vehicle sampled bistatic acoustic scattered fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischell, Erin M; Schmidt, Henrik

2015-12-01

One of the long term goals of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) minehunting is to have multiple inexpensive AUVs in a harbor autonomously classify hazards. Existing acoustic methods for target classification using AUV-based sensing, such as sidescan and synthetic aperture sonar, require an expensive payload on each outfitted vehicle and post-processing and/or image interpretation. A vehicle payload and machine learning classification methodology using bistatic angle dependence of target scattering amplitudes between a fixed acoustic source and target has been developed for onboard, fully autonomous classification with lower cost-per-vehicle. To achieve the high-quality, densely sampled three-dimensional (3D) bistatic scattering data required by this research, vehicle sampling behaviors and an acoustic payload for precision timed data acquisition with a 16 element nose array were demonstrated. 3D bistatic scattered field data were collected by an AUV around spherical and cylindrical targets insonified by a 7-9 kHz fixed source. The collected data were compared to simulated scattering models. Classification and confidence estimation were shown for the sphere versus cylinder case on the resulting real and simulated bistatic amplitude data. The final models were used for classification of simulated targets in real time in the LAMSS MOOS-IvP simulation package [M. Benjamin, H. Schmidt, P. Newman, and J. Leonard, J. Field Rob. 27, 834-875 (2010)].

Autonomous Acoustic Receiver System

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — FUNCTION: Collects underwater acoustic data and oceanographic data. Data are recorded onboard an ocean buoy and can be telemetered to a remote ship or shore station...

Acoustic Communications Measurement Systems (ACOMMS)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — FUNCTION: Design and develop adaptive signal processing techniques to improve underwater acoustic communications and networking. Phase coherent and incoherent signal...

The influence of acoustic emissions for underwater data transmission on the behaviour of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in a floating pen

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kastelein, R.A.; Verboom, W.C.; Muijsers, M.; Jennings, N.V.; Heul, S. van der

2005-01-01

To prevent grounding of ships and collisions between ships in shallow coastal waters, an underwater data collection and communication network is currently under development: Acoustic Communication network for Monitoring of underwater Environment in coastal areas (ACME). Marine mammals might be

Statistical Modeling of Large-Scale Signal Path Loss in Underwater Acoustic Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Perez Malumbres

2013-02-01

Full Text Available In an underwater acoustic channel, the propagation conditions are known to vary in time, causing the deviation of the received signal strength from the nominal value predicted by a deterministic propagation model. To facilitate a large-scale system design in such conditions (e.g., power allocation, we have developed a statistical propagation model in which the transmission loss is treated as a random variable. By applying repetitive computation to the acoustic field, using ray tracing for a set of varying environmental conditions (surface height, wave activity, small node displacements around nominal locations, etc., an ensemble of transmission losses is compiled and later used to infer the statistical model parameters. A reasonable agreement is found with log-normal distribution, whose mean obeys a log-distance increases, and whose variance appears to be constant for a certain range of inter-node distances in a given deployment location. The statistical model is deemed useful for higher-level system planning, where simulation is needed to assess the performance of candidate network protocols under various resource allocation policies, i.e., to determine the transmit power and bandwidth allocation necessary to achieve a desired level of performance (connectivity, throughput, reliability, etc..

Design of underwater work systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lovelace, R.B.

1980-01-01

In the near future, underwater vehicles will replace divers as the principal means for inspection and maintenance work. These vehicles will provide a maneuverable work platform for an underwater viewing system and manipulator/tool package. Some of the problems faced by the underwater designer, and some areas to consider in the design of an integrated underwater work system, are considered

The Control Packet Collision Avoidance Algorithm for the Underwater Multichannel MAC Protocols via Time-Frequency Masking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Yu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Establishing high-speed and reliable underwater acoustic networks among multiunmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs is basic to realize cooperative and intelligent control among different UUVs. Nevertheless, different from terrestrial network, the propagation speed of the underwater acoustic network is 1500 m/s, which makes the design of the underwater acoustic network MAC protocols a big challenge. In accordance with multichannel MAC protocols, data packets and control packets are transferred through different channels, which lowers the adverse effect of acoustic network and gradually becomes the popular issues of underwater acoustic networks MAC protocol research. In this paper, we proposed a control packet collision avoidance algorithm utilizing time-frequency masking to deal with the control packets collision in the control channel. This algorithm is based on the scarcity of the noncoherent underwater acoustic communication signals, which regards collision avoiding as separation of the mixtures of communication signals from different nodes. We first measure the W-Disjoint Orthogonality of the MFSK signals and the simulation result demonstrates that there exists time-frequency mask which can separate the source signals from the mixture of the communication signals. Then we present a pairwise hydrophones separation system based on deep networks and the location information of the nodes. Consequently, the time-frequency mask can be estimated.

Separating underwater ambient noise from flow noise recorded on stereo acoustic tags attached to marine mammals

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Benda-Beckmann, A.M. von; Wensveen, P.J.; Samarra, F.I.P.; Beerens, S.P.; Miller, P.J.O.

2016-01-01

Sound-recording acoustic tags attached to marine animals are commonly used in behavioural studies. Measuring ambient noise is of interest to efforts to understand responses of marine mammals to anthropogenic underwater sound, or to assess their communication space. Noise of water flowing around the

Warfare Ecology on an Underwater Demolition Range: Acoustic Observations of Marine Life and Shallow Water Detonations in Hawai`i

Science.gov (United States)

Shannon, Lee H.

Most studies investigating the effects of military-associated anthropogenic noise concentrate on deep sea or open ocean propagation of sonar and its effect on marine mammals. In littoral waters, U.S. military special operations units regularly conduct shallow water explosives training, yet relatively little attention has been given to the potential impact on nearshore marine ecosystems from these underwater detonations. This dissertation research focused on the Pu'uloa Underwater Detonation Range off the coast of O`ahu, and examined multiple aspects of the surrounding marine ecosystem and the effects of detonations using acoustic monitoring techniques. The soundscape of a nearshore reef ecosystem adjacent to the UNDET range was characterized through analysis of passive acoustic recordings collected over the span of 6 years. Snapping shrimp were the predominant source of noise, and a diel pattern was present, with increased sound energy during the night hours. Results revealed a difference of up to 7dB between two Ecological Acoustic Recorder locations 2.5km apart along the 60ft isobath. Passive acoustic recording files were searched visually and aurally for odontocete whistles. Whistles were detected in only 0.6% of files analyzed, indicating this area is not frequently transited by coastal odontocete emitting social sounds. The study also opportunistically captured a humpback whale singing during a detonation event, during which the animal showed no obvious alteration of its singing behavior. Four separate underwater detonation events were recorded using a surface deployed F-42C transducer, and the resulting analysis showed no measurable drop in the biologically produced acoustic energy in reaction to the explosive events. Coral reef fishes were recorded visually and acoustically during detonation events at a known distance and bearing from a known explosive sound source. Individual fish behavioral responses to the explosion varied, and a sharp uptick in fish

The Theseus Autonomous Underwater Vehicle: A Canadian Success Story

Science.gov (United States)

1997-04-01

P502414.PDF [Page: 1 of 9] P502414.PDF [Page: 2 of 9] P502414.PDF [Page: 3 of 9] The Theseus Autonomous Underwater Vehicle A Canadian Success Story...autonomous underwater vehicle, named Theseus , for laying optical fiber cables in ice- covered waters. In trials and missions conducted in 1996, this...stations. An acoustic telemetry system enables communication with Theseus from surface stations, and an optical telemetry system is used for system

An Ultra-Lightweight Encryption Scheme in Underwater Acoustic Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chunyan Peng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We tackle a fundamental security problem in underwater acoustic networks (UANs. The S-box in the existing block encryption algorithm is more energy consuming and unsuitable for resources-constrained UANs. In this paper, instead of S-box, we present a lightweight, 8-round iteration block cipher algorithm for UANs communication based on chaotic theory and increase the key space by changing the number of iteration round. We further propose secure network architecture of UANs. By analysis, our algorithm can resist brute-force searches and adversarial attacks. Simulation results show that, compared with traditional AES-128 and PRESENT algorithms, our cryptographic algorithm can make a good trade-off between security and overhead, has better energy efficiency, and applies to UANs.

The application of standard definitions of sound to the fields of underwater acoustics and acoustical oceanography

Science.gov (United States)

Carey, William M.

2004-05-01

Recent societal concerns have focused attention on the use of sound as a probe to investigate the oceans and its use in naval sonar applications. The concern is the impact the use of sound may have on marine mammals and fishes. The focus has changed the fields of acoustical oceanography (AO) and underwater acoustics (UW) because of the requirement to communicate between disciplines. Multiple National Research Council publications, Dept. of Navy reports, and several monographs have been written on this subject, and each reveals the importance as well as the misapplication of ASA standards. The ANSI-ASA standards are comprehensive, however not widely applied. The clear definition of standards and recommendations of their use is needed for both scientists and government agencies. Traditionally the U.S. Navy has been responsible for UW standards and calibration; the ANSI-ASA standards have been essential. However, recent changes in the Navy and its laboratory structure may necessitate a more formal recognition of ANSI-ASA standards and perhaps incorporation of UW-AO in the Bureau of Standards. A separate standard for acoustical terminology, reference levels, and notation used in the UW-AO is required. Since the problem is global, a standard should be compatible and cross referenced with the International Standard (CEI/IEC 27-3).

Energy-Efficient Channel Coding Strategy for Underwater Acoustic Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grasielli Barreto

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Underwater acoustic networks (UAN allow for efficiently exploiting and monitoring the sub-aquatic environment. These networks are characterized by long propagation delays, error-prone channels and half-duplex communication. In this paper, we address the problem of energy-efficient communication through the use of optimized channel coding parameters. We consider a two-layer encoding scheme employing forward error correction (FEC codes and fountain codes (FC for UAN scenarios without feedback channels. We model and evaluate the energy consumption of different channel coding schemes for a K-distributed multipath channel. The parameters of the FEC encoding layer are optimized by selecting the optimal error correction capability and the code block size. The results show the best parameter choice as a function of the link distance and received signal-to-noise ratio.

Model-based processing for underwater acoustic arrays

CERN Document Server

Sullivan, Edmund J

2015-01-01

This monograph presents a unified approach to model-based processing for underwater acoustic arrays. The use of physical models in passive array processing is not a new idea, but it has been used on a case-by-case basis, and as such, lacks any unifying structure. This work views all such processing methods as estimation procedures, which then can be unified by treating them all as a form of joint estimation based on a Kalman-type recursive processor, which can be recursive either in space or time, depending on the application. This is done for three reasons. First, the Kalman filter provides a natural framework for the inclusion of physical models in a processing scheme. Second, it allows poorly known model parameters to be jointly estimated along with the quantities of interest. This is important, since in certain areas of array processing already in use, such as those based on matched-field processing, the so-called mismatch problem either degrades performance or, indeed, prevents any solution at all. Third...

Adaptive Equalizer Based on Second-Order Cone Programming in Underwater Acoustic Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang CHEN

2014-01-01

Full Text Available An improved adaptive equalizer based on the principle of minimum mean square error (MMSE is proposed. This optimization problem which is shown to be convex, is transformed to second-order cone (SOC and solved using the interior point method instead of conventional iterative methods such as least mean squares (LMS or recursive least squares (RLS. To validate its performance a single-carrier system for underwater acoustic communication with digital phase-locked loop and the adaptive fractional spaced equalizers was designed and a lake trial was carried out. According to the results, comparing with traditional equalizers based on LMS and RLS algorithms, the equalizer proposed needs no iterative process and gets rid of the contradiction between convergent rate and precision. Therefore it overcomes the difficulty of parameters setting. Furthermore, the algorithm needs much less training codes to achieve the same equalization performance and improves the communication efficiency.

Deep Learning Methods for Underwater Target Feature Extraction and Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Hu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The classification and recognition technology of underwater acoustic signal were always an important research content in the field of underwater acoustic signal processing. Currently, wavelet transform, Hilbert-Huang transform, and Mel frequency cepstral coefficients are used as a method of underwater acoustic signal feature extraction. In this paper, a method for feature extraction and identification of underwater noise data based on CNN and ELM is proposed. An automatic feature extraction method of underwater acoustic signals is proposed using depth convolution network. An underwater target recognition classifier is based on extreme learning machine. Although convolution neural networks can execute both feature extraction and classification, their function mainly relies on a full connection layer, which is trained by gradient descent-based; the generalization ability is limited and suboptimal, so an extreme learning machine (ELM was used in classification stage. Firstly, CNN learns deep and robust features, followed by the removing of the fully connected layers. Then ELM fed with the CNN features is used as the classifier to conduct an excellent classification. Experiments on the actual data set of civil ships obtained 93.04% recognition rate; compared to the traditional Mel frequency cepstral coefficients and Hilbert-Huang feature, recognition rate greatly improved.

Comparing autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and vessel-based tracking performance for locating acoustically tagged fish

OpenAIRE

Eiler, John H.; Grothues, Thomas M.; Dobarro, Joseph A.; Masuda, Michele M.

2013-01-01

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV’s) are increasingly used to collect physical, chemical, and biological information in the marine environment. Recent efforts include merging AUV technology with acoustic telemetry to provide information on the distribution and movements of marine fish. We compared surface vessel and AUV tracking capabilities under rigorous conditions in coastal waters near Juneau, Alaska. Tracking surveys were conducted with a REMUS 100 AUV equipped with an integrated acous...

Underwater target positioning with a single acoustic sensor

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

David, M-S; Pascoal, A.M.; Joaquin, A.

The availability of reliable underwater positioning systems to localize one or more vehicles simultaneously based on information received on-board a support ship or an autonomous surface vessel is key to the operation of some classes of AUVs...

A Support Vector Learning-Based Particle Filter Scheme for Target Localization in Communication-Constrained Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xinbin; Zhang, Chenglin; Yan, Lei; Han, Song; Guan, Xinping

2017-12-21

Target localization, which aims to estimate the location of an unknown target, is one of the key issues in applications of underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs). However, the constrained property of an underwater environment, such as restricted communication capacity of sensor nodes and sensing noises, makes target localization a challenging problem. This paper relies on fractional sensor nodes to formulate a support vector learning-based particle filter algorithm for the localization problem in communication-constrained underwater acoustic sensor networks. A node-selection strategy is exploited to pick fractional sensor nodes with short-distance pattern to participate in the sensing process at each time frame. Subsequently, we propose a least-square support vector regression (LSSVR)-based observation function, through which an iterative regression strategy is used to deal with the distorted data caused by sensing noises, to improve the observation accuracy. At the same time, we integrate the observation to formulate the likelihood function, which effectively update the weights of particles. Thus, the particle effectiveness is enhanced to avoid "particle degeneracy" problem and improve localization accuracy. In order to validate the performance of the proposed localization algorithm, two different noise scenarios are investigated. The simulation results show that the proposed localization algorithm can efficiently improve the localization accuracy. In addition, the node-selection strategy can effectively select the subset of sensor nodes to improve the communication efficiency of the sensor network.

Comparison of PAM Systems for Acoustic Monitoring and Further Risk Mitigation Application.

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, Stefan; Kreimeyer, Roman; Knoll, Michaela

2016-01-01

We present results of the SIRENA 2011 research cruises conducted by the NATO Undersea Research Centre (NURC) and joined by the Research Department for Underwater Acoustics and Geophysics (FWG), Bundeswehr Technical Centre (WTD 71) and the Universities of Kiel and Pavia. The cruises were carried out in the Ligurian Sea. The main aim of the FWG was to test and evaluate the newly developed towed hydrophone array as a passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) tool for risk mitigation applications. The system was compared with the PAM equipment used by the other participating institutions. Recorded sounds were used to improve an automatic acoustic classifier for marine mammals, and validated acoustic detections by observers were compared with the results of the classifier.

Low complexity adaptive equalizers for underwater acoustic communications

Science.gov (United States)

Soflaei, Masoumeh; Azmi, Paeiz

2014-08-01

Interference signals due to scattering from surface and reflecting from bottom is one of the most important problems of reliable communications in shallow water channels. To solve this problem, one of the best suggested ways is to use adaptive equalizers. Convergence rate and misadjustment error in adaptive algorithms play important roles in adaptive equalizer performance. In this paper, affine projection algorithm (APA), selective regressor APA(SR-APA), family of selective partial update (SPU) algorithms, family of set-membership (SM) algorithms and selective partial update selective regressor APA (SPU-SR-APA) are compared with conventional algorithms such as the least mean square (LMS) in underwater acoustic communications. We apply experimental data from the Strait of Hormuz for demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed methods over shallow water channel. We observe that the values of the steady-state mean square error (MSE) of SR-APA, SPU-APA, SPU-normalized least mean square (SPU-NLMS), SPU-SR-APA, SM-APA and SM-NLMS algorithms decrease in comparison with the LMS algorithm. Also these algorithms have better convergence rates than LMS type algorithm.

A Survey of Routing Issues and Associated Protocols in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Khalid

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Underwater wireless sensor networks are a newly emerging wireless technology in which small size sensors with limited energy and limited memory and bandwidth are deployed in deep sea water and various monitoring operations like tactical surveillance, environmental monitoring, and data collection are performed through these tiny sensors. Underwater wireless sensor networks are used for the exploration of underwater resources, oceanographic data collection, flood or disaster prevention, tactical surveillance systems, and unmanned underwater vehicles. Sensor nodes consist of a small memory, a central processing unit, and an antenna. Underwater networks are much different from terrestrial sensor networks as radio waves cannot be used in underwater wireless sensor networks. Acoustic channels are used for communication in deep sea water. Acoustic signals have many limitations, such as limited bandwidth, higher end-to-end delay, network path loss, higher propagation delay, and dynamic topology. Usually, these limitations result in higher energy consumption with a smaller number of packets delivered. The main aim nowadays is to operate sensor nodes having a smaller battery for a longer time in the network. This survey has discussed the state-of-the-art localization based and localization-free routing protocols. Routing associated issues in the area of underwater wireless sensor networks have also been discussed.

A hybrid path-oriented code assignment CDMA-based MAC protocol for underwater acoustic sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Huifang; Fan, Guangyu; Xie, Lei; Cui, Jun-Hong

2013-11-04

Due to the characteristics of underwater acoustic channel, media access control (MAC) protocols designed for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UWASNs) are quite different from those for terrestrial wireless sensor networks. Moreover, in a sink-oriented network with event information generation in a sensor field and message forwarding to the sink hop-by-hop, the sensors near the sink have to transmit more packets than those far from the sink, and then a funneling effect occurs, which leads to packet congestion, collisions and losses, especially in UWASNs with long propagation delays. An improved CDMA-based MAC protocol, named path-oriented code assignment (POCA) CDMA MAC (POCA-CDMA-MAC), is proposed for UWASNs in this paper. In the proposed MAC protocol, both the round-robin method and CDMA technology are adopted to make the sink receive packets from multiple paths simultaneously. Since the number of paths for information gathering is much less than that of nodes, the length of the spreading code used in the POCA-CDMA-MAC protocol is shorter greatly than that used in the CDMA-based protocols with transmitter-oriented code assignment (TOCA) or receiver-oriented code assignment (ROCA). Simulation results show that the proposed POCA-CDMA-MAC protocol achieves a higher network throughput and a lower end-to-end delay compared to other CDMA-based MAC protocols.

A Hybrid Path-Oriented Code Assignment CDMA-Based MAC Protocol for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huifang Chen

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Due to the characteristics of underwater acoustic channel, media access control (MAC protocols designed for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UWASNs are quite different from those for terrestrial wireless sensor networks. Moreover, in a sink-oriented network with event information generation in a sensor field and message forwarding to the sink hop-by-hop, the sensors near the sink have to transmit more packets than those far from the sink, and then a funneling effect occurs, which leads to packet congestion, collisions and losses, especially in UWASNs with long propagation delays. An improved CDMA-based MAC protocol, named path-oriented code assignment (POCA CDMA MAC (POCA-CDMA-MAC, is proposed for UWASNs in this paper. In the proposed MAC protocol, both the round-robin method and CDMA technology are adopted to make the sink receive packets from multiple paths simultaneously. Since the number of paths for information gathering is much less than that of nodes, the length of the spreading code used in the POCA-CDMA-MAC protocol is shorter greatly than that used in the CDMA-based protocols with transmitter-oriented code assignment (TOCA or receiver-oriented code assignment (ROCA. Simulation results show that the proposed POCA-CDMA-MAC protocol achieves a higher network throughput and a lower end-to-end delay compared to other CDMA-based MAC protocols.

Acoustic wave simulation using an overset grid for the global monitoring system

Science.gov (United States)

Kushida, N.; Le Bras, R.

2017-12-01

The International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) has been monitoring hydro-acoustic and infrasound waves over the globe. Because of the complex natures of the oceans and the atmosphere, computer simulation can play an important role in understanding the observed signals. In this regard, methods which depend on partial differential equations and require minimum modelling, are preferable. So far, to our best knowledge, acoustic wave propagation simulations based on partial differential equations on such a large scale have not been performed (pp 147 - 161 of ref [1], [2]). The main difficulties in building such simulation codes are: (1) considering the inhomogeneity of medium including background flows, (2) high aspect ratio of computational domain, (3) stability during long time integration. To overcome these difficulties, we employ a two-dimensional finite different (FDM) scheme on spherical coordinates with the Yin-Yang overset grid[3] solving the governing equation of acoustic waves introduces by Ostashev et. al.[4]. The comparison with real recording examples in hydro-acoustic will be presented at the conference. [1] Paul C. Etter: Underwater Acoustic Modeling and Simulation, Fourth Edition, CRC Press, 2013. [2] LIAN WANG et. al.: REVIEW OF UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC PROPAGATION MODELS, NPL Report AC 12, 2014. [3] A. Kageyama and T. Sato: "Yin-Yang grid": An overset grid in spherical geometry, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 5, Q09005, 2004. [4] Vladimir E. Ostashev et. al: Equations for finite-difference, time-domain simulation of sound propagation in moving inhomogeneous media and numerical implementation, Acoustical Society of America. DOI: 10.1121/1.1841531, 2005.

Optimal Node Placement in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

KAUST Repository

Felamban, M.; Shihada, Basem; Jamshaid, K.

2013-01-01

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are expected to play a vital role in the exploration and monitoring of underwater areas which are not easily reachable by humans. However, underwater communication via acoustic waves is subject to several performance

Localization with a mobile beacon in underwater acoustic sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sangho; Kim, Kiseon

2012-01-01

Localization is one of the most important issues associated with underwater acoustic sensor networks, especially when sensor nodes are randomly deployed. Given that it is difficult to deploy beacon nodes at predetermined locations, localization schemes with a mobile beacon on the sea surface or along the planned path are inherently convenient, accurate, and energy-efficient. In this paper, we propose a new range-free Localization with a Mobile Beacon (LoMoB). The mobile beacon periodically broadcasts a beacon message containing its location. Sensor nodes are individually localized by passively receiving the beacon messages without inter-node communications. For location estimation, a set of potential locations are obtained as candidates for a node's location and then the node's location is determined through the weighted mean of all the potential locations with the weights computed based on residuals.

Localization with a Mobile Beacon in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sangho Lee

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Localization is one of the most important issues associated with underwater acoustic sensor networks, especially when sensor nodes are randomly deployed. Given that it is difficult to deploy beacon nodes at predetermined locations, localization schemes with a mobile beacon on the sea surface or along the planned path are inherently convenient, accurate, and energy-efficient. In this paper, we propose a new range-free Localization with a Mobile Beacon (LoMoB. The mobile beacon periodically broadcasts a beacon message containing its location. Sensor nodes are individually localized by passively receiving the beacon messages without inter-node communications. For location estimation, a set of potential locations are obtained as candidates for a node’s location and then the node’s location is determined through the weighted mean of all the potential locations with the weights computed based on residuals.

High-Frequency Seafloor Acoustics

CERN Document Server

Jackson, Darrell R

2007-01-01

High-Frequency Seafloor Acoustics is the first book in a new series sponsored by the Office of Naval Research on the latest research in underwater acoustics. This exciting new title provides ready access to experimental data, theory, and models relevant to high-frequency seafloor acoustics and will be of interest to sonar engineers and researchers working in underwater acoustics. The physical characteristics of the seafloor affecting acoustic propagation and scattering are covered, including physical and geoacoustic properties and surface roughness. Current theories for acoustic propagation in sediments are presented along with corresponding models for reflection, scattering, and seafloor penetration. The main text is backed up by an extensive bibliography and technical appendices.

Communication and cooperation in underwater acoustic networks

Science.gov (United States)

Yerramalli, Srinivas

In this thesis, we present a study of several problems related to underwater point to point communications and network formation. We explore techniques to improve the achievable data rate on a point to point link using better physical layer techniques and then study sensor cooperation which improves the throughput and reliability in an underwater network. Robust point-to-point communications in underwater networks has become increasingly critical in several military and civilian applications related to underwater communications. We present several physical layer signaling and detection techniques tailored to the underwater channel model to improve the reliability of data detection. First, a simplified underwater channel model in which the time scale distortion on each path is assumed to be the same (single scale channel model in contrast to a more general multi scale model). A novel technique, which exploits the nature of OFDM signaling and the time scale distortion, called Partial FFT Demodulation is derived. It is observed that this new technique has some unique interference suppression properties and performs better than traditional equalizers in several scenarios of interest. Next, we consider the multi scale model for the underwater channel and assume that single scale processing is performed at the receiver. We then derive optimized front end pre-processing techniques to reduce the interference caused during single scale processing of signals transmitted on a multi-scale channel. We then propose an improvised channel estimation technique using dictionary optimization methods for compressive sensing and show that significant performance gains can be obtained using this technique. In the next part of this thesis, we consider the problem of sensor node cooperation among rational nodes whose objective is to improve their individual data rates. We first consider the problem of transmitter cooperation in a multiple access channel and investigate the stability of

Underwater Multi-Vehicle Trajectory Alignment and Mapping Using Acoustic and Optical Constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricard Campos

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Multi-robot formations are an important advance in recent robotic developments, as they allow a group of robots to merge their capacities and perform surveys in a more convenient way. With the aim of keeping the costs and acoustic communications to a minimum, cooperative navigation of multiple underwater vehicles is usually performed at the control level. In order to maintain the desired formation, individual robots just react to simple control directives extracted from range measurements or ultra-short baseline (USBL systems. Thus, the robots are unaware of their global positioning, which presents a problem for the further processing of the collected data. The aim of this paper is two-fold. First, we present a global alignment method to correct the dead reckoning trajectories of multiple vehicles to resemble the paths followed during the mission using the acoustic messages passed between vehicles. Second, we focus on the optical mapping application of these types of formations and extend the optimization framework to allow for multi-vehicle geo-referenced optical 3D mapping using monocular cameras. The inclusion of optical constraints is not performed using the common bundle adjustment techniques, but in a form improving the computational efficiency of the resulting optimization problem and presenting a generic process to fuse optical reconstructions with navigation data. We show the performance of the proposed method on real datasets collected within the Morph EU-FP7 project.

iSAT: The Integrated Satellite and Acoustic Telemetry system for tracking marine megafauna

KAUST Repository

De La Torre, Pedro R.

2014-05-01

In this dissertation an innovative technology to study whale sharks, Rhincodon typus is presented. The Integrated Satellite and Acoustic Telemetry project (iSAT) combines underwater acoustic telemetry, autonomous navigation and radio frequency communications into a standalone system. The whale shark, a resident of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea, is the target of the study. The technology presented is designed to help close current gaps in the knowledge of whale shark biology; these are gaps that prohibit the design of optimal conservation strategies. Unfortunately, the various existing tracking technologies each have limitations and are unable to solve all the unanswered questions. Whale shark populations are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities such as targeted and indirect fishing pressure, creating an urgent need for better management practices. This dissertation addresses the current state-of-the-art of relevant technologies, including autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs), sensors for research in the ocean and remote monitoring of wild fauna (biotelemetry). iSAT contains components of all of these technologies, but the primary achievement of this dissertation is the development of iSAT’s Acoustic Tracking System (ATS). Underwater, the most efficient way of transmitting energy through long distances is sound. An electronic tag is attached to an animal and works as its acoustic identifier. iSAT’s hydrophone array detects the presence and direction of the acoustic signal generated by the tag. The expected performance, range, and capacity to tell the direction to the tag are explained and compared to the actual measured values. The first operational iSAT ATS is demonstrated. This work represents significant advancement towards a fully autonomous iSAT system. Developments on the power electronics, navigation, renewable energy harvesting, and other modules are included in this research. With the recent integration of digital acquisition systems, i

Underwater laser imaging system (UWLIS)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeLong, M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

1994-11-15

Practical limitations with underwater imaging systems area reached when the noise in the back scattered radiation generated in the water between the imaging system and the target obscures the spatial contrast and resolution necessary for target discovery and identification. The advent of high power lasers operating in the blue-green portion of the visible spectrum (oceanic transmission window) has led to improved experimental illumination systems for underwater imaging. Range-gated and synchronously scanned devices take advantage of the unique temporal and spatial coherence properties of laser radiation, respectively, to overcome the deleterious effects of common volume back scatter.

Maximization of the Supportable Number of Sensors in QoS-Aware Cluster-Based Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thi-Tham Nguyen

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a practical low-complexity MAC (medium access control scheme for quality of service (QoS-aware and cluster-based underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASN, in which the provision of differentiated QoS is required. In such a network, underwater sensors (U-sensor in a cluster are divided into several classes, each of which has a different QoS requirement. The major problem considered in this paper is the maximization of the number of nodes that a cluster can accommodate while still providing the required QoS for each class in terms of the PDR (packet delivery ratio. In order to address the problem, we first estimate the packet delivery probability (PDP and use it to formulate an optimization problem to determine the optimal value of the maximum packet retransmissions for each QoS class. The custom greedy and interior-point algorithms are used to find the optimal solutions, which are verified by extensive simulations. The simulation results show that, by solving the proposed optimization problem, the supportable number of underwater sensor nodes can be maximized while satisfying the QoS requirements for each class.

International Conference on Underwater Environment

CERN Document Server

Jaulin, Luc; Creuze, Vincent; Debese, Nathalie; Quidu, Isabelle; Clement, Benoît; Billon-Coat, Annick

2016-01-01

This volume constitutes the results of the International Conference on Underwater Environment, MOQESM’14, held at “Le Quartz” Conference Center in Brest, France, on October 14-15, 2014, within the framework of the 9th Sea Tech Week, International Marine Science and Technology Event. The objective of MOQESM'14 was to bring together researchers from both academia and industry, interested in marine robotics and hydrography with application to the coastal environment mapping and underwater infrastructures surveys. The common thread of the conference is the combination of technical control, perception, and localization, typically used in robotics, with the methods of mapping and bathymetry. The papers presented in this book focus on two main topics. Firstly, coastal and infrastructure mapping is addressed, focusing not only on hydrographic systems, but also on positioning systems, bathymetry, and remote sensing. The proposed methods rely on acoustic sensors such as side scan sonars, multibeam echo sounders, ...

Polar Cooperative Navigation Algorithm for Multi-Unmanned Underwater Vehicles Considering Communication Delays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zheping Yan

2018-03-01

Full Text Available To solve the navigation accuracy problems of multi-Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (multi-UUVs in the polar region, a polar cooperative navigation algorithm for multi-UUVs considering communication delays is proposed in this paper. UUVs are important pieces of equipment in ocean engineering for marine development. For UUVs to complete missions, precise navigation is necessary. It is difficult for UUVs to establish true headings because of the rapid convergence of Earth meridians and the severe polar environment. Based on the polar grid navigation algorithm, UUV navigation in the polar region can be accomplished with the Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS in the grid frame. To save costs, a leader-follower type of system is introduced in this paper. The leader UUV helps the follower UUVs to achieve high navigation accuracy. Follower UUVs correct their own states based on the information sent by the leader UUV and the relative position measured by ultra-short baseline (USBL acoustic positioning. The underwater acoustic communication delay is quantized by the model. In this paper, considering underwater acoustic communication delay, the conventional adaptive Kalman filter (AKF is modified to adapt to polar cooperative navigation. The results demonstrate that the polar cooperative navigation algorithm for multi-UUVs that considers communication delays can effectively navigate the sailing of multi-UUVs in the polar region.

Design and Evaluation Methods for Underwater Control Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chi, Lin

1996-12-31

This thesis on underwater control systems is written with the designer in mind, assuming that the reader has some knowledge of control theory. It can be used as a text for undergraduate students and engineers. To help readers better understand the system they will be working with, the thesis is organised in a stepwise way. The reader will gain basic knowledge about underwater operations, equipment and control systems. Then the reader will be able to follow the steps to develop a required control system for an underwater equipment by first understanding the characteristics of the design problem, customer requirement, functional requirement, and possible solution, and then to present a mathematical model of the control problem. Having developed the concept, the thesis guides the reader to develop evaluation criteria and different ways to make the decision. The thesis gives an overview of how to achieve a successful design rather than giving the techniques for detailed control system design. Chapter 1 describes underwater operations and systems. Chapter 2 discusses issues of underwater control systems and control methods. Chapter 3 deals with design method and control systems theory, focusing on human-centered control. Chapter 4 discusses methods used to evaluate and rank products, and chapter 5 applies the methods to an example. 113 refs., 115 figs., 80 tabs.

Design and Evaluation Methods for Underwater Control Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chi, Lin

1997-12-31

This thesis on underwater control systems is written with the designer in mind, assuming that the reader has some knowledge of control theory. It can be used as a text for undergraduate students and engineers. To help readers better understand the system they will be working with, the thesis is organised in a stepwise way. The reader will gain basic knowledge about underwater operations, equipment and control systems. Then the reader will be able to follow the steps to develop a required control system for an underwater equipment by first understanding the characteristics of the design problem, customer requirement, functional requirement, and possible solution, and then to present a mathematical model of the control problem. Having developed the concept, the thesis guides the reader to develop evaluation criteria and different ways to make the decision. The thesis gives an overview of how to achieve a successful design rather than giving the techniques for detailed control system design. Chapter 1 describes underwater operations and systems. Chapter 2 discusses issues of underwater control systems and control methods. Chapter 3 deals with design method and control systems theory, focusing on human-centered control. Chapter 4 discusses methods used to evaluate and rank products, and chapter 5 applies the methods to an example. 113 refs., 115 figs., 80 tabs.

Scattering of Acoustic Waves from Ocean Boundaries

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-30

at the Target and Reverberation Experiment 2013 (TREX13),” in Proc. IEEE/OES Acoustics in Underwater Geosciences Symposium, Rio de Janeiro , Brazil...a Sandy Seabed at the Target and Reverberation Experiment 2013 (TREX13),” in Proc. IEEE/OES Acoustics in Underwater Geosciences Symposium, Rio de ... Janeiro , Brazil, July 2015. PRESENTATIONS Presenter: Isakson, M.J., Chotiros, N.P., Piper, J.N. and McNeese, A. “Acoustic Scattering from a Sandy Seabed

Atlantic Herring Acoustic Surveys

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NEFSC Advanced Sampling Technologies Research Group conducts annual fisheries acoustic surveys using state-of-the-art acoustic, midwater trawling, and underwater...

GSR-TDMA: A Geometric Spatial Reuse-Time Division Multiple Access MAC Protocol for Multihop Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changho Yun

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The nonnegligible propagation delay of acoustic signals causes spatiotemporal uncertainty that occasionally enables simultaneous, collision-free packet transmission among underwater nodes (UNs. These transmissions can be handled by efficiently managing the channel access of the UNs in the data-link layer. To this end, Geometric Spatial Reuse-TDMA (GSR-TDMA, a new TDMA-based MAC protocol, is designed for use in centralized, multihop underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs, and in this case all UNs are periodically scheduled after determining a geometric map according to the information on their location. The scheduling strategy increases the number of UNs that send packets coincidentally via two subscheduling configurations (i.e., interhop and intrahop scheduling. Extensive simulations are used to investigate the reception success rate (RSR and the multihop delay (MHD of GSR-TDMA, and the results are compared to those of previous approaches, including C-MAC and HSR-TDMA. GSR-TDMA outperforms C-MAC; the RSR of GSR-TDMA is 15% higher than that of C-MAC, and the MHD of GSR-TDMA is 30% lower than that of C-MAC at the most. In addition, GSR-TDMA provides even better performance improvements over HSR-TDMA; the RSR of GSR-TDMA is 50% higher than that of HSR-TDMA, and the MHD of GSR-TDMA is an order of 102 lower than that of HSR-TDMA at the most.

Modeling and Control of Underwater Robotic Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schjoelberg, I:

1996-12-31

This doctoral thesis describes modeling and control of underwater vehicle-manipulator systems. The thesis also presents a model and a control scheme for a system consisting of a surface vessel connected to an underwater robotic system by means of a slender marine structure. The equations of motion of the underwater vehicle and manipulator are described and the system kinematics and properties presented. Feedback linearization technique is applied to the system and evaluated through a simulation study. Passivity-based controllers for vehicle and manipulator control are presented. Stability of the closed loop system is proved and simulation results are given. The equation of motion for lateral motion of a cable/riser system connected to a surface vessel at the top end and to a thruster at the bottom end is described and stability analysis and simulations are presented. The equations of motion in 3 degrees of freedom of the cable/riser, surface vessel and robotic system are given. Stability analysis of the total system with PD-controllers is presented. 47 refs., 32 figs., 7 tabs.

A bio-inspired electrocommunication system for small underwater robots.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Liu, Jindong; Xie, Guangming; Wen, Li; Zhang, Jianwei

2017-03-29

Weakly electric fishes (Gymnotid and Mormyrid) use an electric field to communicate efficiently (termed electrocommunication) in the turbid waters of confined spaces where other communication modalities fail. Inspired by this biological phenomenon, we design an artificial electrocommunication system for small underwater robots and explore the capabilities of such an underwater robotic communication system. An analytical model for electrocommunication is derived to predict the effect of the key parameters such as electrode distance and emitter current of the system on the communication performance. According to this model, a low-dissipation, and small-sized electrocommunication system is proposed and integrated into a small robotic fish. We characterize the communication performance of the robot in still water, flowing water, water with obstacles and natural water conditions. The results show that underwater robots are able to communicate electrically at a speed of around 1 k baud within about 3 m with a low power consumption (less than 1 W). In addition, we demonstrate that two leader-follower robots successfully achieve motion synchronization through electrocommunication in the three-dimensional underwater space, indicating that this bio-inspired electrocommunication system is a promising setup for the interaction of small underwater robots.

Ultrasound acoustic wave energy transfer and harvesting

Science.gov (United States)

Shahab, Shima; Leadenham, Stephen; Guillot, François; Sabra, Karim; Erturk, Alper

2014-04-01

This paper investigates low-power electricity generation from ultrasound acoustic wave energy transfer combined with piezoelectric energy harvesting for wireless applications ranging from medical implants to naval sensor systems. The focus is placed on an underwater system that consists of a pulsating source for spherical wave generation and a harvester connected to an external resistive load for quantifying the electrical power output. An analytical electro-acoustic model is developed to relate the source strength to the electrical power output of the harvester located at a specific distance from the source. The model couples the energy harvester dynamics (piezoelectric device and electrical load) with the source strength through the acoustic-structure interaction at the harvester-fluid interface. Case studies are given for a detailed understanding of the coupled system dynamics under various conditions. Specifically the relationship between the electrical power output and system parameters, such as the distance of the harvester from the source, dimensions of the harvester, level of source strength, and electrical load resistance are explored. Sensitivity of the electrical power output to the excitation frequency in the neighborhood of the harvester's underwater resonance frequency is also reported.

Time-Efficient High-Rate Data Flooding in One-Dimensional Acoustic Underwater Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Kyun Kwon

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Because underwater communication environments have poor characteristics, such as severe attenuation, large propagation delays and narrow bandwidths, data is normally transmitted at low rates through acoustic waves. On the other hand, as high traffic has recently been required in diverse areas, high rate transmission has become necessary. In this paper, transmission/reception timing schemes that maximize the time axis use efficiency to improve the resource efficiency for high rate transmission are proposed. The excellence of the proposed scheme is identified by examining the power distributions by node, rate bounds, power levels depending on the rates and number of nodes, and network split gains through mathematical analysis and numerical results. In addition, the simulation results show that the proposed scheme outperforms the existing packet train method.

Advanced Active Acoustics Lab (AAAL)

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Advanced Active Acoustics Lab (AAAL) is a state-of-the-art Undersea Warfare (USW) acoustic data analysis facility capable of both active and passive underwater...

?Underwater acoustic channel properties ?in the Gulf of Naples and their effects ?on digital data transmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Iannaccone

2007-06-01

Full Text Available ?In this paper we studied the physical properties of the Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy for its use as a commu- nication channel for the acoustic transmission of digital data acquired by seismic instruments on the seafloor to a moored buoy. The acoustic link will be assured by high frequency acoustic modems operating with a central frequency of 100 kHz and a band pass of 10 kHz. The main operational requirements of data transmission con- cern the near horizontal acoustic link, the maximum depth of the sea being about 300 m and the planned hori- zontal distance between seismic instruments and buoy 2 km. This study constructs the signal-to-noise ratio maps to understand the limits beyond which the clarity of the transmission is no longer considered reliable. Using ray- theory, we compute the amplitudes of a transmitted signal at a grid of 21×12 receivers to calculate the transmis- sion loss at each receiver. The signal-to-noise ratio is finally computed for each receiver knowing also the trans- mitter source level and the acoustic noise level in the Gulf of Naples. The results show that the multipath effects predominate over the effects produced by the sound velocity gradient in the sea in the summer period. In the case of omnidirectional transmitters with a Source Level (SL of 165 dB and a baud rate of 2.4 kbit/s, the results al- so show that distances of 1400-1600 m can be reached throughout the year for transmitter-receiver connections below 50 m depth in the underwater acoustic channel.

Underwater acoustic channel properties in the Gulf of Naples and their effects on digital data transmission

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Iannaccone

2007-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper we studied the physical properties of the Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy for its use as a communication channel for the acoustic transmission of digital data acquired by seismic instruments on the seafloor to a moored buoy. The acoustic link will be assured by high frequency acoustic modems operating with a central frequency of 100 kHz and a band pass of 10 kHz. Since the maximum depth of the sea is about 300 m and the planned horizontal distance between the seismic instruments and the buoy is 2 km, the acoustic data transmission shall be near horizontal. In this study the signal-to-noise ratio is plotted against depth and distance from the source, thus defining the limit after which the transmitted information becomes unreliable. Using ray-theory, we compute the amplitudes of a transmitted signal at a grid of 21×12 receivers to calculate the transmission loss at each receiver. The signal-to-noise ratio is finally computed for each receiver knowing also the transmitter source level and the acoustic noise level in the Gulf of Naples. The results show that the multipath effects predominate over the effects produced by the sound velocity gradient in the sea in the summer period. In the case of omnidirectional transmitters with a Source Level (SL of 165 dB and a bit rate of 2.4 kbit/s, the results also show that distances of 1400-1600 m can be reached throughout the year for transmitter-receiver connections below 50 m depth in the underwater acoustic channel.

A Glider-Assisted Link Disruption Restoration Mechanism in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Zhigang; Wang, Ning; Su, Yishan; Yang, Qiuling

2018-02-07

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) have become a hot research topic. In UASNs, nodes can be affected by ocean currents and external forces, which could result in sudden link disruption. Therefore, designing a flexible and efficient link disruption restoration mechanism to ensure the network connectivity is a challenge. In the paper, we propose a glider-assisted restoration mechanism which includes link disruption recognition and related link restoring mechanism. In the link disruption recognition mechanism, the cluster heads collect the link disruption information and then schedule gliders acting as relay nodes to restore the disrupted link. Considering the glider's sawtooth motion, we design a relay location optimization algorithm with a consideration of both the glider's trajectory and acoustic channel attenuation model. The utility function is established by minimizing the channel attenuation and the optimal location of glider is solved by a multiplier method. The glider-assisted restoration mechanism can greatly improve the packet delivery rate and reduce the communication energy consumption and it is more general for the restoration of different link disruption scenarios. The simulation results show that glider-assisted restoration mechanism can improve the delivery rate of data packets by 15-33% compared with cooperative opportunistic routing (OVAR), the hop-by-hop vector-based forwarding (HH-VBF) and the vector based forward (VBF) methods, and reduce communication energy consumption by 20-58% for a typical network's setting.

Signal processing for passive detection and classification of underwater acoustic signals

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Kil Woo

2011-12-01

This dissertation examines signal processing for passive detection, classification and tracking of underwater acoustic signals for improving port security and the security of coastal and offshore operations. First, we consider the problem of passive acoustic detection of a diver in a shallow water environment. A frequency-domain multi-band matched-filter approach to swimmer detection is presented. The idea is to break the frequency contents of the hydrophone signals into multiple narrow frequency bands, followed by time averaged (about half of a second) energy calculation over each band. Then, spectra composed of such energy samples over the chosen frequency bands are correlated to form a decision variable. The frequency bands with highest Signal/Noise ratio are used for detection. The performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated for experimental data collected for a diver in the Hudson River. We also propose a new referenceless frequency-domain multi-band detector which, unlike other reference-based detectors, does not require a diver specific signature. Instead, our detector matches to a general feature of the diver spectrum in the high frequency range: the spectrum is roughly periodic in time and approximately flat when the diver exhales. The performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated by using experimental data collected from the Hudson River. Moreover, we present detection, classification and tracking of small vessel signals. Hydroacoustic sensors can be applied for the detection of noise generated by vessels, and this noise can be used for vessel detection, classification and tracking. This dissertation presents recent improvements aimed at the measurement and separation of ship DEMON (Detection of Envelope Modulation on Noise) acoustic signatures in busy harbor conditions. Ship signature measurements were conducted in the Hudson River and NY Harbor. The DEMON spectra demonstrated much better temporal stability compared with the full ship

Evanescent Acoustic Wave Scattering by Targets and Diffraction by Ripples Graduate Traineeship Award in Ocean Acoustics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Osterhoudt, Curtis F; Marston, Philip L

2007-01-01

.... The purpose of his research was to improve the understanding of the way that acoustic evanescent waves interact with targets buried in sediments in situations encountered in underwater acoustics...

On the Performance of the Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-01

performance of UWSN. 5.1 Hardware and Software Details 5.1.1 Equipment Our experimental model consisted of an indoor swimming pool , two pairs...UWSN has many constraints mainly due to limited capacity, propagation loss, as well as power limitation since in underwater environment solar energy ...since in underwater environment solar energy cannot be used to recharge batteries. In our approach, we estimate the number of operating receivers

Underwater wireless communication system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goh, J H; Shaw, A; Al-Shamma'a, A I

2009-01-01

Underwater communication has a range of applications including remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) communication and docking in the offshore industry. Current underwater transmission techniques is primarily utilise sound waves for large distance at lower frequencies and the velocity of sound in water is approximately 1500m/s the resultant communications have problems with multi-path propagation and low bandwidth problems. The use of electromagnetic (EM) techniques underwater has largely been overlooked because of the attenuation due to the conductivity of seawater. However, for short range applications, the higher frequencies and much higher velocity can prove advantageous. This paper will outline a project which will utilise recent investigations that demonstrate EM wave propagation up to the MHz frequency range is possible in seawater.

Underwater noise due to precipitation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Crum, Lawrence A.; Pumphrey, Hugh C.; Prosperetti, Andrea

1989-01-01

In 1959, G. Franz published a thorough investigation of the underwater sound produced by liquid drop impacts [G. Franz, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 31, 1080 (1959)]. He discovered that, under certain conditions, a gas bubble was entrained by the impacting droplet, and the subsequent oscillation of this b...

A scalable global positioning system-free localization scheme for underwater wireless sensor networks

KAUST Repository

Mohammed, A.M.

2013-05-07

Seaweb is an acoustic communication technology that enables communication between sensor nodes. Seaweb technology utilizes the commercially available telesonar modems that has developed link and network layer firmware to provide a robust undersea communication capability. Seaweb interconnects the underwater nodes through digital signal processing-based modem by using acoustic links between the neighboring sensors. In this paper, we design and investigate a global positioning system-free passive localization protocol by integrating the innovations of levelling and localization with the Seaweb technology. This protocol uses the range data and planar trigonometry principles to estimate the positions of the underwater sensor nodes. Moreover, for precise localization, we consider more realistic conditions namely, (a) small displacement of sensor nodes due to watch circles and (b) deployment of sensor nodes over non-uniform water surface. Once the nodes are localized, we divide the whole network field into circular levels and sectors to minimize the traffic complexity and thereby increases the lifetime of the sensor nodes in the network field. We then form the mesh network inside each of the sectors that increases the reliability. The algorithm is designed in such a way that it overcomes the ambiguous nodes errata and reflected paths and therefore makes the algorithm more robust. The synthetic network geometries are so designed which can evaluate the algorithm in the presence of perfect or imperfect ranges or in case of incomplete data. A comparative study is made with the existing algorithms which proves the efficiency of our newly proposed algorithm. 2013 Mohammed et al.

Underwater Optical Wireless Communications, Networking, and Localization: A Survey

KAUST Repository

Saeed, Nasir; Celik, Abdulkadir; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2018-01-01

Underwater wireless communications can be carried out through acoustic, radio frequency (RF), and optical waves. Compared to its bandwidth limited acoustic and RF counterparts, underwater optical wireless communications (UOWCs) can support higher data rates at low latency levels. However, severe aquatic channel conditions (e.g., absorption, scattering, turbulence, etc.) pose great challenges for UOWCs and significantly reduce the attainable communication ranges, which necessitates efficient networking and localization solutions. Therefore, we provide a comprehensive survey on the challenges, advances, and prospects of underwater optical wireless networks (UOWNs) from a layer by layer perspective which includes: 1) Potential network architectures; 2) Physical layer issues including propagation characteristics, channel modeling, and modulation techniques 3) Data link layer problems covering link configurations, link budgets, performance metrics, and multiple access schemes; 4) Network layer topics containing relaying techniques and potential routing algorithms; 5) Transport layer subjects such as connectivity, reliability, flow and congestion control; 6) Application layer goals and state-of-the-art UOWN applications, and 7) Localization and its impacts on UOWN layers. Finally, we outline the open research challenges and point out the future directions for underwater optical wireless communications, networking, and localization research.

Underwater Optical Wireless Communications, Networking, and Localization: A Survey

KAUST Repository

Saeed, Nasir

2018-02-28

Underwater wireless communications can be carried out through acoustic, radio frequency (RF), and optical waves. Compared to its bandwidth limited acoustic and RF counterparts, underwater optical wireless communications (UOWCs) can support higher data rates at low latency levels. However, severe aquatic channel conditions (e.g., absorption, scattering, turbulence, etc.) pose great challenges for UOWCs and significantly reduce the attainable communication ranges, which necessitates efficient networking and localization solutions. Therefore, we provide a comprehensive survey on the challenges, advances, and prospects of underwater optical wireless networks (UOWNs) from a layer by layer perspective which includes: 1) Potential network architectures; 2) Physical layer issues including propagation characteristics, channel modeling, and modulation techniques 3) Data link layer problems covering link configurations, link budgets, performance metrics, and multiple access schemes; 4) Network layer topics containing relaying techniques and potential routing algorithms; 5) Transport layer subjects such as connectivity, reliability, flow and congestion control; 6) Application layer goals and state-of-the-art UOWN applications, and 7) Localization and its impacts on UOWN layers. Finally, we outline the open research challenges and point out the future directions for underwater optical wireless communications, networking, and localization research.

Acoustical Imaging

CERN Document Server

Akiyama, Iwaki

2009-01-01

The 29th International Symposium on Acoustical Imaging was held in Shonan Village, Kanagawa, Japan, April 15-18, 2007. This interdisciplinary Symposium has been taking place every two years since 1968 and forms a unique forum for advanced research, covering new technologies, developments, methods and theories in all areas of acoustics. In the course of the years the volumes in the Acoustical Imaging Series have developed and become well-known and appreciated reference works. Offering both a broad perspective on the state-of-the-art in the field as well as an in-depth look at its leading edge research, this Volume 29 in the Series contains again an excellent collection of seventy papers presented in nine major categories: Strain Imaging Biological and Medical Applications Acoustic Microscopy Non-Destructive Evaluation and Industrial Applications Components and Systems Geophysics and Underwater Imaging Physics and Mathematics Medical Image Analysis FDTD method and Other Numerical Simulations Audience Researcher...

Collective Modular Underwater Robotic System for Long-Term Autonomous Operation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, David Johan; Andersen, Jens Christian; Blanke, Mogens

This paper provides a brief overview of an underwater robotic system for autonomous inspection in confined offshore underwater structures. The system, which is currently in development, consist of heterogeneous modular robots able to physically dock and communicate with other robots, transport...

DUMAND-II (deep underwater muon and neutrino detector) progress report

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Kenneth K.

1995-07-01

The DUMAND II detector will search for astronomical sources of high energy neutrinos. Successful deployment of the basic infrastructure, including the shore cable, the underwater junction box, and an environmental module was accomplished in December, 1993. One optical module string was also deployed and operated, logging data for about 10 hours. The underwater cable was connected to the shore station where we were able to successfully exercise system controls and log further environmental data. After this time, water leaking into the electronics control module for the deployed string disabled the string electrical system. The acquired data are consistent with the expected rate of downgoing muons, and our ability to reconstruct muons was demonstrated. The measured acoustical backgrounds are consistent with expectation, which should allow acoustical detection of nearby PeV particle cascades. The disabled string has been recovered and is undergoing repairs ashore. We have identified the source of the water leak and implemented additional testing and QC procedures to ensure no repetition in our next deployment. We will be ready to deploy three strings and begin continuous data taking in late 1994 or early 1995.

A Glider-Assisted Link Disruption Restoration Mechanism in Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhigang Jin

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs have become a hot research topic. In UASNs, nodes can be affected by ocean currents and external forces, which could result in sudden link disruption. Therefore, designing a flexible and efficient link disruption restoration mechanism to ensure the network connectivity is a challenge. In the paper, we propose a glider-assisted restoration mechanism which includes link disruption recognition and related link restoring mechanism. In the link disruption recognition mechanism, the cluster heads collect the link disruption information and then schedule gliders acting as relay nodes to restore the disrupted link. Considering the glider’s sawtooth motion, we design a relay location optimization algorithm with a consideration of both the glider’s trajectory and acoustic channel attenuation model. The utility function is established by minimizing the channel attenuation and the optimal location of glider is solved by a multiplier method. The glider-assisted restoration mechanism can greatly improve the packet delivery rate and reduce the communication energy consumption and it is more general for the restoration of different link disruption scenarios. The simulation results show that glider-assisted restoration mechanism can improve the delivery rate of data packets by 15–33% compared with cooperative opportunistic routing (OVAR, the hop-by-hop vector-based forwarding (HH-VBF and the vector based forward (VBF methods, and reduce communication energy consumption by 20–58% for a typical network’s setting.

WODA Technical Guidance on Underwater Sound from Dredging.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomsen, Frank; Borsani, Fabrizio; Clarke, Douglas; de Jong, Christ; de Wit, Pim; Goethals, Fredrik; Holtkamp, Martine; Martin, Elena San; Spadaro, Philip; van Raalte, Gerard; Victor, George Yesu Vedha; Jensen, Anders

2016-01-01

The World Organization of Dredging Associations (WODA) has identified underwater sound as an environmental issue that needs further consideration. A WODA Expert Group on Underwater Sound (WEGUS) prepared a guidance paper in 2013 on dredging sound, including a summary of potential impacts on aquatic biota and advice on underwater sound monitoring procedures. The paper follows a risk-based approach and provides guidance for standardization of acoustic terminology and methods for data collection and analysis. Furthermore, the literature on dredging-related sounds and the effects of dredging sounds on marine life is surveyed and guidance on the management of dredging-related sound risks is provided.

Behavioural Response Thresholds in New Zealand Crab Megalopae to Ambient Underwater Sound

Science.gov (United States)

Stanley, Jenni A.; Radford, Craig A.; Jeffs, Andrew G.

2011-01-01

A small number of studies have demonstrated that settlement stage decapod crustaceans are able to detect and exhibit swimming, settlement and metamorphosis responses to ambient underwater sound emanating from coastal reefs. However, the intensity of the acoustic cue required to initiate the settlement and metamorphosis response, and therefore the potential range over which this acoustic cue may operate, is not known. The current study determined the behavioural response thresholds of four species of New Zealand brachyuran crab megalopae by exposing them to different intensity levels of broadcast reef sound recorded from their preferred settlement habitat and from an unfavourable settlement habitat. Megalopae of the rocky-reef crab, Leptograpsus variegatus, exhibited the lowest behavioural response threshold (highest sensitivity), with a significant reduction in time to metamorphosis (TTM) when exposed to underwater reef sound with an intensity of 90 dB re 1 µPa and greater (100, 126 and 135 dB re 1 µPa). Megalopae of the mud crab, Austrohelice crassa, which settle in soft sediment habitats, exhibited no response to any of the underwater reef sound levels. All reef associated species exposed to sound levels from an unfavourable settlement habitat showed no significant change in TTM, even at intensities that were similar to their preferred reef sound for which reductions in TTM were observed. These results indicated that megalopae were able to discern and respond selectively to habitat-specific acoustic cues. The settlement and metamorphosis behavioural response thresholds to levels of underwater reef sound determined in the current study of four species of crabs, enables preliminary estimation of the spatial range at which an acoustic settlement cue may be operating, from 5 m to 40 km depending on the species. Overall, these results indicate that underwater sound is likely to play a major role in influencing the spatial patterns of settlement of coastal crab

Delay Tolerance in Underwater Wireless Communications: A Routing Perspective

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Safdar Hussain Bouk

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Similar to terrestrial networks, underwater wireless networks (UWNs also aid several critical tasks including coastal surveillance, underwater pollution detection, and other maritime applications. Currently, once underwater sensor nodes are deployed at different levels of the sea, it is nearly impossible or very expensive to reconfigure the hardware, for example, battery. Taking this issue into account, considerable amount of research has been carried out to ensure minimum energy costs and reliable communication between underwater nodes and base stations. As a result, several different network protocols were proposed for UWN, including MAC, PHY, transport, and routing. Recently, a new paradigm was introduced claiming that the intermittent nature of acoustic channel and signal resulted in designing delay tolerant routing schemes for the UWN, known as an underwater delay tolerant network. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of underwater routing protocols with emphasis on the limitations, challenges, and future open issues in the context of delay tolerant network routing.

A Data Link Layer in Support of Swarming of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Jabba Molinares, Daladier

2009-01-01

Communication underwater is challenging because of the inherent characteristics of the media. First, common radio frequency (RF) signals utilized in wireless communications cannot be used under water. RF signals are attenuated in such as way that RF communication underwater is restricted to very few meters. As a result, acoustic-based…

Underwater navigation using diffusion-based trajectory observers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jouffroy, Jerome; Opderbecke, Jan

2007-01-01

This paper addresses the issue of estimating underwater vehicle trajectories using gyro-Doppler (body-fixed velocities) and acoustic positioning signals (earth-fixed positions). The approach consists of diffusion-based observers processing a whole trajectory segment at a time, allowing the consid...

Remote Underwater Characterization System - Innovative Technology Summary Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willis, Walter David

1999-01-01

Characterization and inspection of water-cooled and moderated nuclear reactors and fuel storage pools requires equipment capable of operating underwater. Similarly, the deactivation and decommissioning of older nuclear facilities often requires the facility owner to accurately characterize underwater structures and equipment which may have been sitting idle for years. The underwater characterization equipment is often required to operate at depths exceeding 20 ft (6.1 m) and in relatively confined or congested spaces. The typical baseline approach has been the use of radiation detectors and underwater cameras mounted on long poles, or stationary cameras with pan and tilt features mounted on the sides of the underwater facility. There is a perceived need for an inexpensive, more mobile method of performing close-up inspection and radiation measurements in confined spaces underwater. The Remote Underwater Characterization System (RUCS) is a small, remotely operated submersible vehicle intended to serve multiple purposes in underwater nuclear operations. It is based on the commercially-available ''Scallop'' vehicle, but has been modified by Department of Energy's Robotics Technology Development Program to add auto-depth control, and vehicle orientation and depth monitoring at the operator control panel. The RUCS is designed to provide visual and gamma radiation characterization, even in confined or limited access areas. It was demonstrated in August 1998 at Idaho National Engineering and environmental Laboratory (INEEL) as part of the INEEL Large Scale Demonstration and Deployment Project. During the demonstration it was compared in a ''head-to-head'' fashion with the baseline characterization technology. This paper summarizes the results of the demonstration and lessons learned; comparing and contrasting both technologies in the areas of cost, visual characterization, radiological characterization, and overall operations

Blind source separation based on time-frequency morphological characteristics for rigid acoustic scattering by underwater objects

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yang; Li, Xiukun

2016-06-01

Separation of the components of rigid acoustic scattering by underwater objects is essential in obtaining the structural characteristics of such objects. To overcome the problem of rigid structures appearing to have the same spectral structure in the time domain, time-frequency Blind Source Separation (BSS) can be used in combination with image morphology to separate the rigid scattering components of different objects. Based on a highlight model, the separation of the rigid scattering structure of objects with time-frequency distribution is deduced. Using a morphological filter, different characteristics in a Wigner-Ville Distribution (WVD) observed for single auto term and cross terms can be simplified to remove any cross-term interference. By selecting time and frequency points of the auto terms signal, the accuracy of BSS can be improved. An experimental simulation has been used, with changes in the pulse width of the transmitted signal, the relative amplitude and the time delay parameter, in order to analyzing the feasibility of this new method. Simulation results show that the new method is not only able to separate rigid scattering components, but can also separate the components when elastic scattering and rigid scattering exist at the same time. Experimental results confirm that the new method can be used in separating the rigid scattering structure of underwater objects.

Signal Processing of Underwater Acoustic Waves

Science.gov (United States)

1969-11-01

for the interest they have shown in the work and for many helpful discussions. The book was supported by Naval Ship Systems Corn- mand tinder ...inclination of the ray. The relationship is such that for the maximum values of dnldz just quoted radius of 0ectromapnetic ray 2,0 radius of acoustic... relationship for the angles, in, of the geometric ray, and carry out the limiting process as h -- 0. Show that when the velocity func- tion c(z) is

Acoustic MIMO communications in a very shallow water channel

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yuehai; Cao, Xiuling; Tong, Feng

2015-12-01

Underwater acoustic channels pose significant difficulty for the development of high speed communication due to highly limited band-width as well as hostile multipath interference. Enlightened by rapid progress of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technologies in wireless communication scenarios, MIMO systems offer a potential solution by enabling multiple spatially parallel communication channels to improve communication performance as well as capacity. For MIMO acoustic communications, deep sea channels offer substantial spatial diversity among multiple channels that can be exploited to address simultaneous multipath and co-channel interference. At the same time, there are increasing requirements for high speed underwater communication in very shallow water area (for example, a depth less than 10 m). In this paper, a space-time multichannel adaptive receiver consisting of multiple decision feedback equalizers (DFE) is adopted as the receiver for a very shallow water MIMO acoustic communication system. The performance of multichannel DFE receivers with relatively small number of receiving elements are analyzed and compared with that of the multichannel time reversal receiver to evaluate the impact of limited spatial diversity on multi-channel equalization and time reversal processing. The results of sea trials in a very shallow water channel are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of very shallow water MIMO acoustic communication.

Underwater electric field detection system based on weakly electric fish

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Wei; Wang, Tianyu; Wang, Qi

2018-04-01

Weakly electric fish sense their surroundings in complete darkness by their active electric field detection system. However, due to the insufficient detection capacity of the electric field, the detection distance is not enough, and the detection accuracy is not high. In this paper, a method of underwater detection based on rotating current field theory is proposed to improve the performance of underwater electric field detection system. First of all, we built underwater detection system based on the theory of the spin current field mathematical model with the help of the results of previous researchers. Then we completed the principle prototype and finished the metal objects in the water environment detection experiments, laid the foundation for the further experiments.

Impacts of underwater noise on marine vertebrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liebschner, Alexander; Seibel, Henrike; Teilmann, Jonas; Wittekind, Dietrich; Parmentier, Eric; Dähne, Michael; Dietz, Rune; Driver, Jörg; Elk, van Cornelis; Everaarts, Eligius; Findeisen, Henning; Kristensen, Jacob; Lehnert, Kristina; Lucke, Klaus; Merck, Thomas; Müller, Sabine; Pawliczka, Iwona; Ronnenberg, Katrin; Rosenberger, Tanja; Ruser, Andreas; Tougaard, Jakob; Schuster, Max; Sundermeyer, Janne; Sveegaard, Signe; Siebert, Ursula

2016-01-01

The project conducts application-oriented research on impacts of underwater noise on marine vertebrates in the North and Baltic Seas. In distinct subprojects, the hearing sensitivity of harbor porpoises and gray seals as well as the acoustic tolerance limit of harbor porpoises to impulsive noise

SBMAC: Smart Blocking MAC Mechanism for Variable UW-ASN (Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network Environment

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Soo-Hyun Park

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, several MAC scheduling methods applicable to an underwater environment are proposed. Besides, a new marine communication system model was proposed to improve the reliability of the proposed SBMAC method. The scheme minimizes transmission of control frames except for data transmission and various transmission methods and ACK methods can be used together. Simulation models are set indices and analysis of the underwater environment is established to conduct reliable simulations. Consequently, the performance improvement of the proposed method is verified with respect to delay time, data transmission rate, memory utilization, energy efficiency, etc.

ROV-based Underwater Vision System for Intelligent Fish Ethology Research

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Rui Nian

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Fish ethology is a prospective discipline for ocean surveys. In this paper, one ROV-based system is established to perform underwater visual tasks with customized optical sensors installed. One image quality enhancement method is first presented in the context of creating underwater imaging models combined with homomorphic filtering and wavelet decomposition. The underwater vision system can further detect and track swimming fish from the resulting images with the strategies developed using curve evolution and particular filtering, in order to obtain a deeper understanding of fish behaviours. The simulation results have shown the excellent performance of the developed scheme, in regard to both robustness and effectiveness.

Influence of Pulse Shaping Filters on PAPR Performance of Underwater 5G Communication System Technique: GFDM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinqiu Wu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM is a new candidate technique for the fifth generation (5G standard based on multibranch multicarrier filter bank. Unlike OFDM, it enables the frequency and time domain multiuser scheduling and can be implemented digitally. It is the generalization of traditional OFDM with several added advantages like the low PAPR (peak to average power ratio. In this paper, the influence of the pulse shaping filter on PAPR performance of the GFDM system is investigated and the comparison of PAPR in OFDM and GFDM is also demonstrated. The PAPR is restrained by selecting proper parameters and filters to make the underwater acoustic communication more efficient.

Measurement and Modeling of Narrowband Channels for Ultrasonic Underwater Communications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco J. Cañete

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Underwater acoustic sensor networks are a promising technology that allow real-time data collection in seas and oceans for a wide variety of applications. Smaller size and weight sensors can be achieved with working frequencies shifted from audio to the ultrasonic band. At these frequencies, the fading phenomena has a significant presence in the channel behavior, and the design of a reliable communication link between the network sensors will require a precise characterization of it. Fading in underwater channels has been previously measured and modeled in the audio band. However, there have been few attempts to study it at ultrasonic frequencies. In this paper, a campaign of measurements of ultrasonic underwater acoustic channels in Mediterranean shallow waters conducted by the authors is presented. These measurements are used to determine the parameters of the so-called κ-μ shadowed distribution, a fading model with a direct connection to the underlying physical mechanisms. The model is then used to evaluate the capacity of the measured channels with a closed-form expression.

Underwater robots

CERN Document Server

Antonelli, Gianluca

2014-01-01

This book, now at the third edition, addresses the main control aspects in underwater manipulation tasks. The mathematical model with significant impact on the control strategy is discussed. The problem of controlling a 6-degrees-of-freedoms autonomous underwater vehicle is deeply investigated and a survey of fault detection/tolerant strategies for unmanned underwater vehicles is provided. Inverse kinematics, dynamic and interaction control for underwater vehicle-manipulator systems are then discussed. The code used to generate most of the numerical simulations is made available and briefly discussed.       

Underwater Communications for Video Surveillance Systems at 2.4 GHz

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Sandra Sendra

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Video surveillance is needed to control many activities performed in underwater environments. The use of wired media can be a problem since the material specially designed for underwater environments is very expensive. In order to transmit the images and videos wirelessly under water, three main technologies can be used: acoustic waves, which do not provide high bandwidth, optical signals, although the effect of light dispersion in water severely penalizes the transmitted signals and therefore, despite offering high transfer rates, the maximum distance is very small, and electromagnetic (EM waves, which can provide enough bandwidth for video delivery. In the cases where the distance between transmitter and receiver is short, the use of EM waves would be an interesting option since they provide high enough data transfer rates to transmit videos with high resolution. This paper presents a practical study of the behavior of EM waves at 2.4 GHz in freshwater underwater environments. First, we discuss the minimum requirements of a network to allow video delivery. From these results, we measure the maximum distance between nodes and the round trip time (RTT value depending on several parameters such as data transfer rate, signal modulations, working frequency, and water temperature. The results are statistically analyzed to determine their relation. Finally, the EM waves’ behavior is modeled by a set of equations. The results show that there are some combinations of working frequency, modulation, transfer rate and temperature that offer better results than others. Our work shows that short communication distances with high data transfer rates is feasible.

Underwater-manipulation system for measuring- and cutting tasks in dismantling decommissioned nuclear facilities. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stegemann, D.; Reimche, W.; Hansch, M.; Spitzer, M.

1995-01-01

Not only manipulators are necessary for dismantling and inspection of structure parts in decomissioned nuclear facilities, but flexible underwater-vehicles. Free-diving underwater-vehicles for inspection and dismantling tasks are still not developed and tested. Aim of the project is the development of sensors and devices for the position determination and the depth regulation. For inspection tasks an ultrasonic measurement and dosimeter device shall be built up. A measurement device has been developed which evaluates the ultrasonic time of flight from a transmitter at the vehicle to several receivers, installed in the reactor pressure vessel. The depth regulation is based on a pressure sensor and the direct control of the thrusters. The ultrasonic measurements are realized by an adapted ultrasonic card, the γ-dosimetry with an ionization chamber and a pA-amplifier. An acoustic orientation system was built up, which measures very accurately with one transmitter mounted on the vehicle and four receivers. Problem occur by reflection from the walls of the basin. The depth regulation is working faultless. The ultrasonic device is preferably used for distance measurement. The radiation measurement device was tested and mounted in the vehicle. (orig./HP) [de

Acoustical Imaging

CERN Document Server

Litniewski, Jerzy; Kujawska, Tamara; 31st International Symposium on Acoustical Imaging

2012-01-01

The International Symposium on Acoustical Imaging is a unique forum for advanced research, covering new technologies, developments, methods and theories in all areas of acoustics. This interdisciplinary Symposium has been taking place continuously since 1968. In the course of the years the proceedings volumes in the Acoustical Imaging Series have become a reference for cutting-edge research in the field. In 2011 the 31st International Symposium on Acoustical Imaging was held in Warsaw, Poland, April 10-13. Offering both a broad perspective on the state-of-the-art as well as  in-depth research contributions by the specialists in the field, this Volume 31 in the Series contains an excellent collection of papers in six major categories: Biological and Medical Imaging Physics and Mathematics of Acoustical Imaging Acoustic Microscopy Transducers and Arrays Nondestructive Evaluation and Industrial Applications Underwater Imaging

Detection and localisation of very high energy particles in underwater acoustic; Detection et localisation de particules de tres hautes energies en acoustique sous-marine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juennard, N

2007-12-15

The theme of this thesis is included in the Antares international project whose object is to build a neutrino telescope located in a deep water environment in the Mediterranean sea. In deep water sea, a neutrino can interact with a water molecule. The collision generates a luminous flash and an acoustic wave. The goal of this work is to study this acoustic sound wave and develop a system able to detect the corresponding wave front and to estimate the initial direction of the particle. We first focus on the acoustic sound wave. Two different models are studied, and works made recently have led to a mathematical expression of both signal and wave front. Then, several detection methods are studied, from the most classical to the more recent ones. The experimental comparison in semi-real situation leads to the choice of a detection method: the Extended stochastic matched filter. Position and direction of the neutrino are now estimated with a Gauss-Newton inspired algorithm. This estimator is based on a wave front propagation model and on the time detection information given by the telescope hydro-phones. Performances of the system are then estimated. An antenna structure is then proposed and a global simulation finalizes this thesis. In this simulation, detection and estimation are based on the results found in the previous sections. Underwater sea noise is real and the results of the simulation valid our works. (author)

State-of-the-Art System Solutions for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. E. Yilmaz

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs have gained popularity for the last decades, especially for the purpose of not risking human life in dangerous operations. On the other hand, underwater environment introduces numerous challenges in navigation, control and communication of such vehicles. Certainly, this fact makes the development of these vehicles more interesting and engineering-wise more attractive. In this paper, we first revisit the existing technology and methodology for the solution of aforementioned problems, then we try to come up with a system solution of a generic unmanned underwater vehicles.

Female harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) behavioral response to playbacks of underwater male acoustic advertisement displays.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Leanna P; Blades, Brittany; Parks, Susan E

2018-01-01

During the breeding season, male harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ) make underwater acoustic displays using vocalizations known as roars. These roars have been shown to function in territory establishment in some breeding areas and have been hypothesized to be important for female choice, but the function of these sounds remains unresolved. This study consisted of a series of playback experiments in which captive female harbor seals were exposed to recordings of male roars to determine if females respond to recordings of male vocalizations and whether or not they respond differently to roars from categories with different acoustic characteristics. The categories included roars with characteristics of dominant males (longest duration, lowest frequency), subordinate males (shortest duration, highest frequency), combinations of call parameters from dominant and subordinate males (long duration, high frequency and short duration, low frequency), and control playbacks of water noise and water noise with tonal signals in the same frequency range as male signals. Results indicate that overall females have a significantly higher level of response to playbacks that imitate male vocalizations when compared to control playbacks of water noise. Specifically, there was a higher level of response to playbacks representing dominant male vocalization when compared to the control playbacks. For most individuals, there was a greater response to playbacks representing dominant male vocalizations compared to playbacks representing subordinate male vocalizations; however, there was no statistical difference between those two playback types. Additionally, there was no difference between the playbacks of call parameter combinations and the controls. Investigating female preference for male harbor seal vocalizations is a critical step in understanding the harbor seal mating system and further studies expanding on this captive study will help shed light on this important issue.

An OFDM Receiver with Frequency Domain Diversity Combined Impulsive Noise Canceller for Underwater Network

Science.gov (United States)

Saotome, Rie; Hai, Tran Minh; Matsuda, Yasuto; Suzuki, Taisaku; Wada, Tomohisa

2015-01-01

In order to explore marine natural resources using remote robotic sensor or to enable rapid information exchange between ROV (remotely operated vehicles), AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle), divers, and ships, ultrasonic underwater communication systems are used. However, if the communication system is applied to rich living creature marine environment such as shallow sea, it suffers from generated Impulsive Noise so-called Shrimp Noise, which is randomly generated in time domain and seriously degrades communication performance in underwater acoustic network. With the purpose of supporting high performance underwater communication, a robust digital communication method for Impulsive Noise environments is necessary. In this paper, we propose OFDM ultrasonic communication system with diversity receiver. The main feature of the receiver is a newly proposed Frequency Domain Diversity Combined Impulsive Noise Canceller. The OFDM receiver utilizes 20–28 KHz ultrasonic channel and subcarrier spacing of 46.875 Hz (MODE3) and 93.750 Hz (MODE2) OFDM modulations. In addition, the paper shows Impulsive Noise distribution data measured at a fishing port in Okinawa and at a barge in Shizuoka prefectures and then proposed diversity OFDM transceivers architecture and experimental results are described. By the proposed Impulsive Noise Canceller, frame bit error rate has been decreased by 20–30%. PMID:26351656

An OFDM Receiver with Frequency Domain Diversity Combined Impulsive Noise Canceller for Underwater Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Saotome, Rie; Hai, Tran Minh; Matsuda, Yasuto; Suzuki, Taisaku; Wada, Tomohisa

2015-01-01

In order to explore marine natural resources using remote robotic sensor or to enable rapid information exchange between ROV (remotely operated vehicles), AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle), divers, and ships, ultrasonic underwater communication systems are used. However, if the communication system is applied to rich living creature marine environment such as shallow sea, it suffers from generated Impulsive Noise so-called Shrimp Noise, which is randomly generated in time domain and seriously degrades communication performance in underwater acoustic network. With the purpose of supporting high performance underwater communication, a robust digital communication method for Impulsive Noise environments is necessary. In this paper, we propose OFDM ultrasonic communication system with diversity receiver. The main feature of the receiver is a newly proposed Frequency Domain Diversity Combined Impulsive Noise Canceller. The OFDM receiver utilizes 20-28 KHz ultrasonic channel and subcarrier spacing of 46.875 Hz (MODE3) and 93.750 Hz (MODE2) OFDM modulations. In addition, the paper shows Impulsive Noise distribution data measured at a fishing port in Okinawa and at a barge in Shizuoka prefectures and then proposed diversity OFDM transceivers architecture and experimental results are described. By the proposed Impulsive Noise Canceller, frame bit error rate has been decreased by 20-30%.

An OFDM Receiver with Frequency Domain Diversity Combined Impulsive Noise Canceller for Underwater Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rie Saotome

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In order to explore marine natural resources using remote robotic sensor or to enable rapid information exchange between ROV (remotely operated vehicles, AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle, divers, and ships, ultrasonic underwater communication systems are used. However, if the communication system is applied to rich living creature marine environment such as shallow sea, it suffers from generated Impulsive Noise so-called Shrimp Noise, which is randomly generated in time domain and seriously degrades communication performance in underwater acoustic network. With the purpose of supporting high performance underwater communication, a robust digital communication method for Impulsive Noise environments is necessary. In this paper, we propose OFDM ultrasonic communication system with diversity receiver. The main feature of the receiver is a newly proposed Frequency Domain Diversity Combined Impulsive Noise Canceller. The OFDM receiver utilizes 20–28 KHz ultrasonic channel and subcarrier spacing of 46.875 Hz (MODE3 and 93.750 Hz (MODE2 OFDM modulations. In addition, the paper shows Impulsive Noise distribution data measured at a fishing port in Okinawa and at a barge in Shizuoka prefectures and then proposed diversity OFDM transceivers architecture and experimental results are described. By the proposed Impulsive Noise Canceller, frame bit error rate has been decreased by 20–30%.

Environmental effects on underwater optical transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Peter C.; Breshears, Brian F.; Cullen, Alexander J.; Hammerer, Ross F.; Martinez, Ramon P.; Phung, Thai Q.; Margolina, Tetyana; Fan, Chenwu

2017-05-01

Optical communication/detection systems have potential to get around some limitations of current acoustic communications and detection systems especially increased fleet and port security in noisy littoral waters. Identification of environmental effects on underwater optical transmission is the key to the success of using optics for underwater communication and detection. This paper is to answer the question "What are the transfer and correlation functions that relate measurements of hydrographic to optical parameters?" Hydrographic and optical data have been collected from the Naval Oceanographic Office survey ships with the High Intake Defined Excitation (HIDEX) photometer and sea gliders with optical back scattering sensor in various Navy interested areas such as the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, east Asian marginal seas, and Adriatic Sea. The data include temperature, salinity, bioluminescence, chlorophyll-a fluorescence, transmissivity at two different wavelengths (TRed at 670 nm, TBlue at 490 nm), and back scattering coefficient (bRed at 700 nm, bBlue at 470 nm). Transfer and correlation functions between the hydrographic and optical parameters are obtained. Bioluminescence and fluorescence maxima, transmissivity minimum with their corresponding depths, red and blue laser beam peak attenuation coefficients are identified from the optical profiles. Evident correlations are found between the ocean mixed layer depth and the blue and red laser beam peak attenuation coefficients, bioluminescence and fluorescence maxima in the Adriatic Sea, Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and Philippine Sea. Based on the observational data, an effective algorithm is recommended for solving the radiative transfer equation (RTE) for predicting underwater laser radiance.

A Survey on Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks: Progresses, Applications, and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Premalatha J.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The endangered underwater species always drew the attention of the scientific society since their disappearance would cause irreplaceable loss. Asia is home to some of the most diverse habitats in the earth, but it is estimated that more than one in four species are endangered. In Underwater, a lot of factors are putting marine life under immense pressure. Extreme population pressure is leading to pollution, over-fishing and the devastation of crucial habitats. Consequently, the numbers of almost all fish are declining and many are already endangered. To help these species to survive, their habitat should be strictly protected. This can be achieved by strictly monitoring them. During this course, several parameters, constraints about the species and its environments are focused. Now, advances in sensor technology facilitate the monitoring of species and their habitat with less expenditure. Indeed, the increasing sophistication of underwater wireless sensors offers chances that enable new challenges in a lot of areas, like surveillance one. This paper endorses the use of sensors for monitoring underwater species endangered in their habitat. This paper further examines the key approaches and challenges in the design and implementation of underwater wireless sensor networks. We summarize major applications and the main phenomena related to acoustic propagation, and discuss how they affect the design and operation of communication systems and networking protocols at various layers.

Equation Chapter 1 Section 1Cross Layer Design for Localization in Large-Scale Underwater Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuanfeng ZHANG

2014-02-01

Full Text Available There are many technical challenges for designing large-scale underwater sensor networks, especially the sensor node localization. Although many papers studied for large-scale sensor node localization, previous studies mainly study the location algorithm without the cross layer design for localization. In this paper, by utilizing the network hierarchical structure of underwater sensor networks, we propose a new large-scale underwater acoustic localization scheme based on cross layer design. In this scheme, localization is performed in a hierarchical way, and the whole localization process focused on the physical layer, data link layer and application layer. We increase the pipeline parameters which matched the acoustic channel, added in MAC protocol to increase the authenticity of the large-scale underwater sensor networks, and made analysis of different location algorithm. We conduct extensive simulations, and our results show that MAC layer protocol and the localization algorithm all would affect the result of localization which can balance the trade-off between localization accuracy, localization coverage, and communication cost.

EDOVE: Energy and Depth Variance-Based Opportunistic Void Avoidance Scheme for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouk, Safdar Hussain; Ahmed, Syed Hassan; Park, Kyung-Joon; Eun, Yongsoon

2017-09-26

Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network (UASN) comes with intrinsic constraints because it is deployed in the aquatic environment and uses the acoustic signals to communicate. The examples of those constraints are long propagation delay, very limited bandwidth, high energy cost for transmission, very high signal attenuation, costly deployment and battery replacement, and so forth. Therefore, the routing schemes for UASN must take into account those characteristics to achieve energy fairness, avoid energy holes, and improve the network lifetime. The depth based forwarding schemes in literature use node's depth information to forward data towards the sink. They minimize the data packet duplication by employing the holding time strategy. However, to avoid void holes in the network, they use two hop node proximity information. In this paper, we propose the Energy and Depth variance-based Opportunistic Void avoidance (EDOVE) scheme to gain energy balancing and void avoidance in the network. EDOVE considers not only the depth parameter, but also the normalized residual energy of the one-hop nodes and the normalized depth variance of the second hop neighbors. Hence, it avoids the void regions as well as balances the network energy and increases the network lifetime. The simulation results show that the EDOVE gains more than 15 % packet delivery ratio, propagates 50 % less copies of data packet, consumes less energy, and has more lifetime than the state of the art forwarding schemes.

Remote Underwater Characterization System - Innovative Technology Summary Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willis, W.D.

1999-01-01

Characterization and inspection of water-cooled and moderated nuclear reactors and fuel storage pools requires equipment capable of operating underwater. Similarly, the deactivation and decommissioning of older nuclear facilities often requires the facility owner to accurately characterize underwater structures and equipment which may have been sitting idle for years. The Remote Underwater Characterization System (RUCS) is a small, remotely operated submersible vehicle intended to serve multiple purposes in underwater nuclear operations. It is based on the commercially-available Scallop vehicle 1 , but has been modified by the Department of Energys Robotics Technology Development Program to add auto-depth control, and vehicle orientation and depth monitoring at the operator control panel. The RUCS is designed to provide visual and gamma radiation characterization, even in confined or limited access areas. It was demonstrated in August 1998 at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) as part of the INEEL Large Scale Demonstration and Deployment Project. During the demonstration it was compared in a ''head-to-head fashion with the baseline characterization technology. This paper summarizes the results of the demonstration and lessons learned; comparing and contrasting both technologies in the areas of cost, visual characterization, radiological characterization, and overall operations

Underwater Electromagnetic Sensor Networks—Part I: Link Characterization

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Gara Quintana-Díaz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSNs using electromagnetic (EM technology in marine shallow waters are examined, not just for environmental monitoring but for further interesting applications. Particularly, the use of EM waves is reconsidered in shallow waters due to the benefits offered in this context, where acoustic and optical technologies have serious disadvantages. Sea water scenario is a harsh environment for radiocommunications, and there is no standard model for the underwater EM channel. The high conductivity of sea water, the effect of seabed and the surface make the behaviour of the channel hard to predict. This justifies the need of link characterization as the first step to approach the development of EM underwater sensor networks. To obtain a reliable link model, measurements and simulations are required. The measuring setup for this purpose is explained and described, as well as the procedures used. Several antennas have been designed and tested in low frequency bands. Agreement between attenuation measurements and simulations at different distances was analysed and made possible the validation of simulation setups and the design of different communications layers of the system. This leads to the second step of this work, where data and routing protocols for the sensor network are examined.

Autonomous docking control of visual-servo type underwater vehicle system aiming at underwater automatic charging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanou, Akira; Ohnishi, Shota; Ishiyama, Shintaro; Minami, Mamoru

2015-01-01

A visual-servo type remotely operated vehicle (ROV) system with binocular wide-angle lens was developed to survey submarine resources, decontaminate radiation from mud in dam lake and so on. This paper explores the experiments on regulator performance and underwater docking of the robot system utilizing Genetic Algorithm (GA) for real-time recognition of the robot's relative position and posture through 3D marker. The visual servoing performances have been verified as follows; (1) The stability performances of the proposed regulator system have been evaluated by exerting abrupt distrubane force while the ROV is controlled by visual servoing. (2) The proposed system can track time-variant desired target position in x-axis (front-back direction of the robot). (3) The underwater docking can be completed by switching visual servoing and docking modes based on the error threshold, and by giving time-varying desired target position and orientation to the controller as a desired pose. (author)

Carbon Nanotube Underwater Acoustic Thermophone

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-23

nanotubes (unless encapsulated or housed) are quite fragile and are susceptible to disintegration especially if the nanotubes are touched or moved too...The acoustic impedance (defined as the product of material density and sound speed) of the top shell 12 should match the Attorney Docket No. 300009

Acoustic communication for Maya Autonomous Underwater Vehicle - performance evaluation of acoustic modem

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Afzulpurkar, S.; Maurya, P.; Navelkar, G.S.; Desa, E.S.; Mascarenhas, A.A.M.Q.; Dabholkar, N.A.; Madhan, R.; Prabhudesai, S.P.

traffic. This necessitates monitoring the AUV status and data quality through an acoustic link which needs to perform reliably under such conditions, at long range. To address these situations partially, acoustic communication capability is planned...

Select Internet Resources on Acoustics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela R. Davis

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Merriam-Webster (2016 defines acoustics as, “a science that deals with the production, control, transmission, reception, and effects of sounds.” According to Rossing (2014, the study of acoustics began in ancient Greece with Pythagoras’ study of vibrating strings on musical instruments. Since those early beginnings, famous scientists including Rayleigh, Alexander Graham Bell, and Thomas Edison, have helped expand the field of acoustics to include architectural, physical, engineering, structural, underwater, physiological and psychological, musical acoustics, and speech. Acoustics is a highly interdisciplinary field and researchers may need resources from physics, medicine, and engineering to understand all aspects of their research.

Event localization in underwater wireless sensor networks using Monitoring Courses

KAUST Repository

Debont, Matthew John Robert

2012-08-01

We propose m-courses (Monitoring Courses), a novel solution to localize events in an underwater wireless sensor network. These networks consists of surface gateways and relay nodes. GPS can localize the position of surface gateways which can then distribute their locations through the network using acoustic modems. Relay nodes are deployed to remain static, but these untethered nodes may drift due to water currents, resulting in disruption of communication links. We develop a novel underwater alarm system using a cyclic graph model. In the event of link failure, a series of alarm packets are broadcast in the network. These alarms are then captured by the underwater m-courses, which can also be used to assure network connectivity and identify node failures. M-courses also allow the network to localize events and identify network issues locally before forwarding results upwards to a Surface Gateway node. This reduces communication overhead and allows for efficient management of nodes in a mobile network. Our results show that m-course routing reduces the number of sends required to report an event to a Surface Gateway by up to 80% when compared to a naïve routing implementation.

Technical data report : marine acoustics modelling study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chorney, N.; Warner, G.; Austin, M. [Jasco Applied Sciences, Victoria, BC (Canada)

2010-07-01

This study was conducted to predict the ensonification produced by vessel traffic transiting to and from the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project's marine terminal located near Kitimat, British Columbia (BC). An underwater acoustic propagation model was used to model frequency bands from 20 Hz to 5 kHz at a standard depth of 20 metres. The model included bathymetric grids of the modelling area; underwater sound speed as a function of depth; and geo-acoustic profiles based on the stratified composition of the seafloor. The obtained 1/3 octave band levels were then used to determine broadband received sound levels for 4 scenarios along various transit routes: the Langara and Triple Island in Dixon Entrance; the Browning Entrance in Hecate Strait, and Cape St. James in the Queen Charlotte Basin. The scenarios consisted of a tanker transiting at 16 knots, and an accompanying tug boat. Underwater sound level maps for each scenario were presented. 14 refs., 5 tabs., 16 figs.

Passive Mode Carbon Nanotube Underwater Acoustic Transducer

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-20

Acoustical transducer arrays can reflect a sound signal in reverse to the sender which can be used for echo location devices. [0008] In Jiang...States Patent No. 8,494,187) a sound wave generator is disclosed which includes a carbon nanotube structure and an insulating reinforcement structure... acoustic device that includes an electrode layer and a sound wave generator. The sound wave generator is disposed on a surface of the electrode

Swarm Underwater Acoustic 3D Localization: Kalman vs Monte Carlo

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Sergio Taraglio

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Two three-dimensional localization algorithms for a swarm of underwater vehicles are presented. The first is grounded on an extended Kalman filter (EKF scheme used to fuse some proprioceptive data such as the vessel's speed and some exteroceptive measurements such as the time of flight (TOF sonar distance of the companion vessels. The second is a Monte Carlo particle filter localization processing the same sensory data suite. The results of several simulations using the two approaches are presented, with comparison. The case of a supporting surface vessel is also considered. An analysis of the robustness of the two approaches against some system parameters is given.

Analysis of underwater decoupling properties of a locally resonant acoustic metamaterial coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Ling-Zhi; Xiao Yong; Wen Ji-Hong; Yang Hai-Bin; Wen Xi-Sen

2016-01-01

This paper presents a semi-analytical solution for the vibration and sound radiation of a semi-infinite plate covered by a decoupling layer consisting of locally resonant acoustic metamaterial. Formulations are derived based on a combination use of effective medium theory and the theory of elasticity for the decoupling material. Theoretical results show good agreements between the method developed in this paper and the conventional finite element method (FEM), but the method of this paper is more efficient than FEM. Numerical results also show that system with acoustic metamaterial decoupling layer exhibits significant noise reduction performance at the local resonance frequency of the acoustic metamaterial, and such performance can be ascribed to the vibration suppression of the base plate. It is demonstrated that the effective density of acoustic metamaterial decoupling layer has a great influence on the mechanical impedance of the system. Furthermore, the resonance frequency of locally resonant structure can be effectively predicted by a simple model, and it can be significantly affected by the material properties of the locally resonant structure. (paper)

Hearing in the Juvenile Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas: A Comparison of Underwater and Aerial Hearing Using Auditory Evoked Potentials.

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Wendy E D Piniak

Full Text Available Sea turtles spend much of their life in aquatic environments, but critical portions of their life cycle, such as nesting and hatching, occur in terrestrial environments, suggesting that it may be important for them to detect sounds in both air and water. In this study we compared underwater and aerial hearing sensitivities in five juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas by measuring auditory evoked potential responses to tone pip stimuli. Green sea turtles detected acoustic stimuli in both media, responding to underwater stimuli between 50 and 1600 Hz and aerial stimuli between 50 and 800 Hz, with maximum sensitivity between 200 and 400 Hz underwater and 300 and 400 Hz in air. When underwater and aerial hearing sensitivities were compared in terms of pressure, green sea turtle aerial sound pressure thresholds were lower than underwater thresholds, however they detected a wider range of frequencies underwater. When thresholds were compared in terms of sound intensity, green sea turtle sound intensity level thresholds were 2-39 dB lower underwater particularly at frequencies below 400 Hz. Acoustic stimuli may provide important environmental cues for sea turtles. Further research is needed to determine how sea turtles behaviorally and physiologically respond to sounds in their environment.

Optimal Node Placement in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

KAUST Repository

Felamban, M.

2013-03-25

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are expected to play a vital role in the exploration and monitoring of underwater areas which are not easily reachable by humans. However, underwater communication via acoustic waves is subject to several performance limitations that are very different from those used for terresstrial networks. In this paper, we investigate node placement for building an initial underwater WSN infrastructure. We formulate this problem as a nonlinear mathematical program with the objective of minimizing the total transmission loss under a given number of sensor nodes and targeted coverage volume. The obtained solution is the location of each node represented via a truncated octahedron to fill out the 3D space. Experiments are conducted to verify the proposed formulation, which is solved using Matlab optimization tool. Simulation is also conducted using an ns-3 simulator, and the simulation results are consistent with the obtained results from mathematical model with less than 10% error.

Influence of range-gated intensifiers on underwater imaging system SNR

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xia; Hu, Ling; Zhi, Qiang; Chen, Zhen-yue; Jin, Wei-qi

2013-08-01

Range-gated technology has been a hot research field in recent years due to its high effective back scattering eliminating. As a result, it can enhance the contrast between a target and its background and extent the working distance of the imaging system. The underwater imaging system is required to have the ability to image in low light level conditions, as well as the ability to eliminate the back scattering effect, which means that the receiver has to be high-speed external trigger function, high resolution, high sensitivity, low noise, higher gain dynamic range. When it comes to an intensifier, the noise characteristics directly restrict the observation effect and range of the imaging system. The background noise may decrease the image contrast and sharpness, even covering the signal making it impossible to recognize the target. So it is quite important to investigate the noise characteristics of intensifiers. SNR is an important parameter reflecting the noise features of a system. Through the use of underwater laser range-gated imaging prediction model, and according to the linear SNR system theory, the gated imaging noise performance of the present market adopted super second generation and generation Ⅲ intensifiers were theoretically analyzed. Based on the active laser underwater range-gated imaging model, the effect to the system by gated intensifiers and the relationship between the system SNR and MTF were studied. Through theoretical and simulation analysis to the image intensifier background noise and SNR, the different influence on system SNR by super second generation and generation Ⅲ ICCD was obtained. Range-gated system SNR formula was put forward, and compared the different effect influence on the system by using two kind of ICCDs was compared. According to the matlab simulation, a detailed analysis was carried out theoretically. All the work in this paper lays a theoretical foundation to further eliminating back scattering effect, improving

Taiwan's underwater cultural heritage documentation management

Science.gov (United States)

Tung, Y.-Y.

2015-09-01

Taiwan is an important trading and maritime channels for many countries since ancient time. Numerous relics lie underwater due to weather, wars, and other factors. In the year of 2006, Bureau of Cultural Heritage (BOCH) entrusted the Underwater Archaeological Team of Academia Sinica to execute the underwater archaeological investigation projects. Currently, we verified 78 underwater targets, with 78 site of those had been recognized as shipwrecks sites. Up to date, there is a collection of 638 underwater objects from different underwater archaeological sites. Those artefacts are distributed to different institutions and museums. As very diverse management methods/systems are applied for every individual institution, underwater cultural heritage data such as survey, excavation report, research, etc. are poorly organized and disseminated for use. For better communication regarding to Taiwan's underwater cultural heritage in every level, a universal format of documentation should be established. By comparing the existing checklist used in Taiwan with guidelines that are followed in other countries, a more intact and appropriate underwater cultural heritage condition documentation system can be established and adapted in Taiwan.

Compression of a Deep Competitive Network Based on Mutual Information for Underwater Acoustic Targets Recognition

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Sheng Shen

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The accuracy of underwater acoustic targets recognition via limited ship radiated noise can be improved by a deep neural network trained with a large number of unlabeled samples. However, redundant features learned by deep neural network have negative effects on recognition accuracy and efficiency. A compressed deep competitive network is proposed to learn and extract features from ship radiated noise. The core idea of the algorithm includes: (1 Competitive learning: By integrating competitive learning into the restricted Boltzmann machine learning algorithm, the hidden units could share the weights in each predefined group; (2 Network pruning: The pruning based on mutual information is deployed to remove the redundant parameters and further compress the network. Experiments based on real ship radiated noise show that the network can increase recognition accuracy with fewer informative features. The compressed deep competitive network can achieve a classification accuracy of 89.1 % , which is 5.3 % higher than deep competitive network and 13.1 % higher than the state-of-the-art signal processing feature extraction methods.

Shallow Water Acoustics Studies

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-19

LE O CEAN RAPHIC I TITUTI Appli d Oc:ean Physics and E11gi1i,ering Depar1111,11t vember 9, 2017 Dr. Robert Headrick ffice of Naval Resear h, ode...UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department...2015). [3] J.F. Lynch and A.E. Newhall, "Shallow water acoustics", book chapter in "Practical Underwater Acoustics," L. Bjorno, T. Neighbors, and D

Coordinated Formation Control of Multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Pipeline Inspection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianbo Xiang

2010-02-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the control problem of inspecting underwater pipeline on the seabed, with coordinated multiple autonomous underwater vehicles in a formation. Based on the leader-follower strategy, the dedicated nonlinear path following controller is rigorously built on Lyapunov-based design, driving a fleet of vehicles onto assigned parallel paths elevated and offset from the underwater pipeline, while keeping a triangle formation to capture complete 3D images for inspection. Due to the spatial-temporal decoupling characteristics of individual path following controller, the velocities of the followers can be adapted in the coordinated control level, only relying on the information of generalized along-path length from the leader, in order to build the desired formation. Thus, the communication variable broadcast from the leader is kept to a minimum, which is feasible under the severely constraints of acoustic communication bandwidth. Simulation results illustrate the efficiency of coordinated formation controller proposed for underwater pipeline inspection.

Asymmetric Propagation Delay-Aware TDMA MAC Protocol for Mobile Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

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A-Ra Cho

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The propagation delay in mobile underwater acoustic sensor network (MUASN is asymmetric because of its low sound propagation speed, and this asymmetry grows with the increase in packet travel time, which damages the collision avoidance mechanism of the spatial reuse medium access control (MAC protocols for MUASN. We propose an asymmetric propagation delay-aware time division multiple access (APD-TDMA for a MUASN in which periodic data packet transmission is required for a sink node (SN. Collisions at the SN are avoided by deferring data packet transmission after reception of a beacon packet from the SN, and data packets are arrived at the SN in a packet-train manner. The time-offset, which is the time for a node to wait before the transmission of a data packet after reception of a beacon packet, is determined by estimating the propagation delay over two consecutive cycles such that the idle interval at the SN is minimized, and this time-offset is announced by the beacon packet. Simulation results demonstrate that the APD-TDMA improves the channel access delay and the channel utilization by approximately 20% and 30%, respectively, compared with those of the block time bounded TDMA under the given network conditions.

Acoustic Communications and Navigation for Mobile Under-Ice Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-04

contact below the ice. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Arctic Ocean , Undersea Workstations & Vehicles, Signal Processing, Navigation , Underwater Acoustics 16...Partan, Peter Koski, and Sandipa Singh, "Long Range Acoustic Communications and Navigation in the Arctic", Proc. IEEE/MTS Oceans Conf., Washington, DC...Oct. 2015. Freitag, L., P. Koski, A. Morozov, S. Singh, J. Partan, "Acoustic Communications and Navigation Under Arctic Ice", OCEANS , 2012

DE-Sync: A Doppler-Enhanced Time Synchronization for Mobile Underwater Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Feng; Wang, Qi; Nie, DongHu; Qiao, Gang

2018-05-25

Time synchronization is the foundation of cooperative work among nodes of underwater sensor networks; it takes a critical role in the research and application of underwater sensor networks. Although numerous time synchronization protocols have been proposed for terrestrial wireless sensor networks, they cannot be directly applied to underwater sensor networks. This is because most of them typically assume that the propagation delay among sensor nodes is negligible, which is not the case in underwater sensor networks. Time synchronization is mainly affected by a long propagation delay among sensor nodes due to the low propagation speed of acoustic signals. Furthermore, sensor nodes in underwater tend to experience some degree of mobility due to wind or ocean current, or some other nodes are on self-propelled vehicles, such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). In this paper, we propose a Doppler-enhanced time synchronization scheme for mobile underwater sensor networks, called DE-Sync. Our new scheme considers the effect of the clock skew during the process of estimating the Doppler scale factor and directly substitutes the Doppler scale factor into linear regression to achieve the estimation of the clock skew and offset. Simulation results show that DE-Sync outperforms existing time synchronization protocols in both accuracy and energy efficiency.

Transducers and arrays for underwater sound

CERN Document Server

Butler, John L

2016-01-01

This improved and updated second edition covers the theory, development, and design of electro-acoustic transducers for underwater applications. This highly regarded text discusses the basics of piezoelectric and magnetostrictive transducers that are currently being used as well as promising new designs. It presents the basic acoustics as well as the specific acoustics data needed in transducer design and evaluation. A broad range of designs of projectors and hydrophones are described in detail along with methods of modeling, evaluation, and measurement. Analysis of projector and hydrophone transducer arrays, including the effects of mutual radiation impedance and numerical models for elements and arrays, are also covered. The book includes new advances in transducer design and transducer materials and has been completely reorganized to be suitable for use as a textbook, as well as a reference or handbook. The new edition contains updates to the first edition, end-of-chapter exercises, and solutions to select...

Underwater Acoustic Beacon Location System

Science.gov (United States)

2016-12-23

frequency band is presented to the operator as a function of time and beam angle in a three dimensional “ waterfall ” display 210. [0046] As shown in FIG...and Down (zn) relative to the World Geodetic System (WGS 84) ellipsoid model [NIMA Technical Report TR8350.2, Chapter 3 “Department of Defense

Multi-carrier Communications over Time-varying Acoustic Channels

Science.gov (United States)

Aval, Yashar M.

Acoustic communication is an enabling technology for many autonomous undersea systems, such as those used for ocean monitoring, offshore oil and gas industry, aquaculture, or port security. There are three main challenges in achieving reliable high-rate underwater communication: the bandwidth of acoustic channels is extremely limited, the propagation delays are long, and the Doppler distortions are more pronounced than those found in wireless radio channels. In this dissertation we focus on assessing the fundamental limitations of acoustic communication, and designing efficient signal processing methods that cam overcome these limitations. We address the fundamental question of acoustic channel capacity (achievable rate) for single-input-multi-output (SIMO) acoustic channels using a per-path Rician fading model, and focusing on two scenarios: narrowband channels where the channel statistics can be approximated as frequency- independent, and wideband channels where the nominal path loss is frequency-dependent. In each scenario, we compare several candidate power allocation techniques, and show that assigning uniform power across all frequencies for the first scenario, and assigning uniform power across a selected frequency-band for the second scenario, are the best practical choices in most cases, because the long propagation delay renders the feedback information outdated for power allocation based on the estimated channel response. We quantify our results using the channel information extracted form the 2010 Mobile Acoustic Communications Experiment (MACE'10). Next, we focus on achieving reliable high-rate communication over underwater acoustic channels. Specifically, we investigate orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) as the state-of-the-art technique for dealing with frequency-selective multipath channels, and propose a class of methods that compensate for the time-variation of the underwater acoustic channel. These methods are based on multiple

Aspect-dependent radiated noise analysis of an underway autonomous underwater vehicle.

Science.gov (United States)

Gebbie, John; Siderius, Martin; Allen, John S

2012-11-01

This paper presents an analysis of the acoustic emissions emitted by an underway REMUS-100 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that were obtained near Honolulu Harbor, HI using a fixed, bottom-mounted horizontal line array (HLA). Spectral analysis, beamforming, and cross-correlation facilitate identification of independent sources of noise originating from the AUV. Fusion of navigational records from the AUV with acoustic data from the HLA allows for an aspect-dependent presentation of calculated source levels of the strongest propulsion tone.

AFSC/ABL: Autonomous underwater vehicle for tracking acoustically-tagged fish 2010

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are increasingly being used to collect physical, chemical, and biological information in the marine environment. Recent efforts...

ECS: Efficient Communication Scheduling for Underwater Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Hong

2011-03-01

Full Text Available TDMA protocols have attracted a lot of attention for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UWSNs, because of the unique characteristics of acoustic signal propagation such as great energy consumption in transmission, long propagation delay and long communication range. Previous TDMA protocols all allocated transmission time to nodes based on discrete time slots. This paper proposes an efficient continuous time scheduling TDMA protocol (ECS for UWSNs, including the continuous time based and sender oriented conflict analysis model, the transmission moment allocation algorithm and the distributed topology maintenance algorithm. Simulation results confirm that ECS improves network throughput by 20% on average, compared to existing MAC protocols.

Quantum imaging for underwater arctic navigation

Science.gov (United States)

Lanzagorta, Marco

2017-05-01

The precise navigation of underwater vehicles is a difficult task due to the challenges imposed by the variable oceanic environment. It is particularly difficult if the underwater vehicle is trying to navigate under the Arctic ice shelf. Indeed, in this scenario traditional navigation devices such as GPS, compasses and gyrocompasses are unavailable or unreliable. In addition, the shape and thickness of the ice shelf is variable throughout the year. Current Arctic underwater navigation systems include sonar arrays to detect the proximity to the ice. However, these systems are undesirable in a wartime environment, as the sound gives away the position of the underwater vehicle. In this paper we briefly describe the theoretical design of a quantum imaging system that could allow the safe and stealthy navigation of underwater Arctic vehicles.

Long-term measurements of acoustic background noise in very deep sea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riccobene, G.

2009-01-01

The NEMO (NEutrino Mediterranean Observatory) Collaboration installed, 25 km E offshore the port of Catania (Sicily) at 2000 m depth, an underwater laboratory to perform long-term tests of prototypes and new technologies for an underwater high energy neutrino km 3 -scale detector in the Mediterranean Sea. In this framework the Collaboration deployed and successfully operated for about two years, starting from January 2005, an experimental apparatus for on-line monitoring of deep-sea noise. The station was equipped with four hydrophones and it is operational in the range 30 Hz-43 kHz. This interval of frequencies matches the range suitable for the proposed acoustic detection technique of high energy neutrinos. Hydrophone signals were digitized underwater at 96 kHz sampling frequency and 24 bits resolution. The stored data library, consisting of more than 2000 h of recordings, is a unique tool to model underwater acoustic noise at large depth, to characterize its variations as a function of environmental parameters, biological sources and human activities (ship traffic, etc.), and to determine the presence of cetaceans in the area.

Annotated Bibliography of Underwater Acoustic Research, 1942-1945.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-11-02

easily be produced in underwater-telephony adapter was quantities by existing facilities at sea-tested on USS LIONFISH . The New the Submarine Base...including 7500 lacquering, waxing, making and yd, with the LIONFISH operating fitting pointers, and maintenance, underway at periscope deptn and the Two...R61 1-452 D24/R62i -462 * USS PERCH (SS-313) USS JORDAN (DE204) D24/R736-564 P42 /R75 9-584 D16/R1388-i 152 D24/R780-603 054 /R992-783 USS LIONFISH (SS

Assessing the Underwater Acoustics of the World's Largest Vibration Hammer (OCTA-KONG) and Its Potential Effects on the Indo-Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin (Sousa chinensis)

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhitao; Wu, Yuping; Duan, Guoqin; Cao, Hanjiang; Liu, Jianchang; Wang, Kexiong; Wang, Ding

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic noise in aquatic environments is a worldwide concern due to its potential adverse effects on the environment and aquatic life. The Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is currently under construction in the Pearl River Estuary, a hot spot for the Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in China. The OCTA-KONG, the world's largest vibration hammer, is being used during this construction project to drive or extract steel shell piles 22 m in diameter. This activity poses a substantial threat to marine mammals, and an environmental assessment is critically needed. The underwater acoustic properties of the OCTA-KONG were analyzed, and the potential impacts of the underwater acoustic energy on Sousa, including auditory masking and physiological impacts, were assessed. The fundamental frequency of the OCTA-KONG vibration ranged from 15 Hz to 16 Hz, and the noise increments were below 20 kHz, with a dominant frequency and energy below 10 kHz. The resulting sounds are most likely detectable by Sousa over distances of up to 3.5 km from the source. Although Sousa clicks do not appear to be adversely affected, Sousa whistles are susceptible to auditory masking, which may negatively impact this species' social life. Therefore, a safety zone with a radius of 500 m is proposed. Although the zero-to-peak source level (SL) of the OCTA-KONG was lower than the physiological damage level, the maximum root-mean-square SL exceeded the cetacean safety exposure level on several occasions. Moreover, the majority of the unweighted cumulative source sound exposure levels (SSELs) and the cetacean auditory weighted cumulative SSELs exceeded the acoustic threshold levels for the onset of temporary threshold shift, a type of potentially recoverable auditory damage resulting from prolonged sound exposure. These findings may aid in the identification and design of appropriate mitigation methods, such as the use of air bubble curtains, “soft start” and “power down�

Assessing the underwater acoustics of the world's largest vibration hammer (OCTA-KONG and its potential effects on the Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin (Sousa chinensis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhitao Wang

Full Text Available Anthropogenic noise in aquatic environments is a worldwide concern due to its potential adverse effects on the environment and aquatic life. The Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is currently under construction in the Pearl River Estuary, a hot spot for the Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin (Sousa chinensis in China. The OCTA-KONG, the world's largest vibration hammer, is being used during this construction project to drive or extract steel shell piles 22 m in diameter. This activity poses a substantial threat to marine mammals, and an environmental assessment is critically needed. The underwater acoustic properties of the OCTA-KONG were analyzed, and the potential impacts of the underwater acoustic energy on Sousa, including auditory masking and physiological impacts, were assessed. The fundamental frequency of the OCTA-KONG vibration ranged from 15 Hz to 16 Hz, and the noise increments were below 20 kHz, with a dominant frequency and energy below 10 kHz. The resulting sounds are most likely detectable by Sousa over distances of up to 3.5 km from the source. Although Sousa clicks do not appear to be adversely affected, Sousa whistles are susceptible to auditory masking, which may negatively impact this species' social life. Therefore, a safety zone with a radius of 500 m is proposed. Although the zero-to-peak source level (SL of the OCTA-KONG was lower than the physiological damage level, the maximum root-mean-square SL exceeded the cetacean safety exposure level on several occasions. Moreover, the majority of the unweighted cumulative source sound exposure levels (SSELs and the cetacean auditory weighted cumulative SSELs exceeded the acoustic threshold levels for the onset of temporary threshold shift, a type of potentially recoverable auditory damage resulting from prolonged sound exposure. These findings may aid in the identification and design of appropriate mitigation methods, such as the use of air bubble curtains, "soft start" and "power down

Underwater Wireless Optical Communications Systems: from System-Level Demonstrations to Channel Modeling

KAUST Repository

Oubei, Hassan M.

2018-01-01

Approximately, two-thirds of earth's surface is covered by water. There is a growing interest from the military and commercial communities in having, an efficient, secure and high bandwidth underwater wireless communication (UWC) system for tactical

Efficient Underwater RSS Value to Distance Inversion Using the Lambert Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majid Hosseini

2014-01-01

Full Text Available There are many applications for using wireless sensor networks (WSN in ocean science; however, identifying the exact location of a sensor by itself (localization is still a challenging problem, where global positioning system (GPS devices are not applicable underwater. Precise distance measurement between two sensors is a tool of localization and received signal strength (RSS, reflecting transmission loss (TL phenomena, is widely used in terrestrial WSNs for that matter. Underwater acoustic sensor networks have not been used (UASN, due to the complexity of the TL function. In this paper, we addressed these problems by expressing underwater TL via the Lambert W function, for accurate distance inversion by the Halley method, and compared this to Newton-Raphson inversion. Mathematical proof, MATLAB simulation, and real device implementation demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed equation in distance calculation, with fewer iterations, computation stability for short and long distances, and remarkably short processing time. Then, the sensitivities of Lambert W function and Newton-Raphson inversion to alteration in TL were examined. The simulation results showed that Lambert W function is more stable to errors than Newton-Raphson inversion. Finally, with a likelihood method, it was shown that RSS is a practical tool for distance measurement in UASN.

Coupled Research in Ocean Acoustics and Signal Processing for the Next Generation of Underwater Acoustic Communication Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-05

the analysis of data collected during the VHF acoustics test con - ducted in a wave tank at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in October 2015...a first look at the statistics, the Scintillation Index (traditional narrowband def - inition) was calculated as a function of arrival delay and wind

Research on the Combination of Underwater Acoustic Countermeasure Equipments Against Torpedo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng Jie

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Today the use of acoustic countermeasure equipment has become the main means in submarine defense torpedo operation. Combination of acoustic countermeasure equipments are used during the operation so that we can amplify the countermeasure effect. Based on the subject of the acoustic countermeasure equipments’ combined use, this paper analyses the interference between these soft kill countermeasure equipments including gas curtain, acoustic decoy and acoustic interferometer, summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of the different combined use of acoustic countermeasure equipments.

Development of measuring and control systems for underwater cutting of radioactive components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drews, P.; Fuchs, K.

1990-01-01

Shutdown and dismantling of nuclear power plants requires special techniques to decommission the radioactive components involved. For reasons of safety, decommissioning of components under water can be advantageous because of the radioactive shielding effect of water. In this project, research activities and developmental works focused on the realization of different sensor systems and their adaptation to cutting tasks. A new image-processing system has been developed in addition to the use of a modified underwater TV camera for optical cutting process control (plasma and abrasive wheel cutting). For control of process parameters, different inductive, ultrasonic and optical sensors have been modified and tested. The investigations performed are aimed at assuring high-quality underwater cutting with the help of sensor systems specially adapted to cutting tasks, with special signal procession and evaluation through microcomputer control. It is important that special attention be paid to the reduction of interferences in image pick-up and procession. The measuring system has been designed and realized according to the consideration of the demands for underwater cutting processes. The reliability of the system was tested in conjunction with a four-axes handling system

Stability analysis of hybrid-driven underwater glider

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Wen-dong; Wang, Shu-xin; Wang, Yan-hui; Song, Yang; Zhu, Ya-qiang

2017-10-01

Hybrid-driven underwater glider is a new type of unmanned underwater vehicle, which combines the advantages of autonomous underwater vehicles and traditional underwater gliders. The autonomous underwater vehicles have good maneuverability and can travel with a high speed, while the traditional underwater gliders are highlighted by low power consumption, long voyage, long endurance and good stealth characteristics. The hybrid-driven underwater gliders can realize variable motion profiles by their own buoyancy-driven and propeller propulsion systems. Stability of the mechanical system determines the performance of the system. In this paper, the Petrel-II hybrid-driven underwater glider developed by Tianjin University is selected as the research object and the stability of hybrid-driven underwater glider unitedly controlled by buoyancy and propeller has been targeted and evidenced. The dimensionless equations of the hybrid-driven underwater glider are obtained when the propeller is working. Then, the steady speed and steady glide path angle under steady-state motion have also been achieved. The steady-state operating conditions can be calculated when the hybrid-driven underwater glider reaches the desired steady-state motion. And the steadystate operating conditions are relatively conservative at the lower bound of the velocity range compared with the range of the velocity derived from the method of the composite Lyapunov function. By calculating the hydrodynamic coefficients of the Petrel-II hybrid-driven underwater glider, the simulation analysis has been conducted. In addition, the results of the field trials conducted in the South China Sea and the Danjiangkou Reservoir of China have been presented to illustrate the validity of the analysis and simulation, and to show the feasibility of the method of the composite Lyapunov function which verifies the stability of the Petrel-II hybrid-driven underwater glider.

Application of acoustic, magnetic and electromagnetic systems in marine archaeology

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

SubbaRaju, L.V.

The importance of integrated geoscientific studies is reiterated for underwater archaeological exploration. Geophysical systems applied for the detection of artefacts, ancient places and underwater sites/objects are explained and detailed...

MIMO Underwater Acoustic Communications in Ports and Shallow Waters at Very High Frequency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gaultier Real

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Hermes is a Single-Input Single-Output (SISO underwater acoustic modem that achieves very high-bit rate digital communications in ports and shallow waters. Here, the authors study the capability of Hermes to support Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO technology. A least-square channel estimation algorithm is used to evaluate multiple MIMO channel impulse responses at the receiver end. A deconvolution routine is used to separate the messages coming from different sources. This paper covers the performance of both the channel estimation and the MIMO deconvolution processes using either simulated data or field data. The MIMO equalization performance is measured by comparing three relative root mean-squared errors (RMSE, obtained by calculations between the source signal (a pseudo-noise sequence and the corresponding received MIMO signal at various stages of the deconvolution process; prior to any interference removal, at the output of the Linear Equalization (LE process and at the output of an interference cancellation process with complete a priori knowledge of the transmitted signal. Using the simulated data, the RMSE using LE is −20.5 dB (where 0 dB corresponds to 100% of relative error while the lower bound value is −33.4 dB. Using experimental data, the LE performance is −3.3 dB and the lower bound RMSE value is −27 dB.

Forecast of Remote Underwater Sensing Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-07-01

Ndgrt o oth NIA ye ’ Suite 709NrtFaothMAO5i Arligton VA 2202Attn: Dave Ho0soci, Chief Enginee~r Attn : Jay W. -arford, Manlager, (617) 563-59)17 (703...0,1305 Attn: Dr. A. Zielinski , Asst. Professor Attn: C. R. B. Lister Faculty of Engineering and (20t) 325-5497 Applied Science (709) 753-1200 Lockheed...157. Zielinski , A.; Barbour, L.; "Swept Carrier Acoustic Underwater Communica- tions," IEEE/MTS Oceans 󈨒, Washington, DC, Sept. 6-8, 1978. 158

Testing of an acoustic smolt deflection system, Blantyre hydroelectric power scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of an underwater acoustic barrier as a means of preventing the entry of salmon (Salmo salar) and sea trout (Salmo trutta) smolts and other fish into the water intake of a hydro-electric power (HEP) station. A secondary objective was to measure the injury rate of fish passed through the turbine, so that the risk to any fish that penetrated the acoustic barrier could also be determined. The test site, which was a 575kW Kaplan plant located at Blantyre on the R. Clyde, Lanarkshire, was selected as being representative of run-of-river sites currently being developed under the Government's NFFO (Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation) and SRO (Scottish Renewables Order) schemes. A further objective was to disseminate information arising from the project to the scientific and HEP community. (author)

Development of measuring and control systems for underwater cutting of radioactive components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drews, P.; Fuchs, K.

1990-01-01

The underwater dismantling of nuclear power plants has to be remotely controlled with simultaneous optical control by underwater cameras. It is this optical control in particular that leads to problems as, for example, abrasive wheel cutting is subjected to a wide range of interferences so that a minimum of contrast and blurred contours of camera images must be accounted for. This paper describes a new image processing system that has been developed in addition to the use of a modified underwater TV camera for optical cutting process control (plasma and abrasive wheel cutting). Workpiece recognition is performed through the comparison of actually measured objects with pre-trained reference patterns allowing the determination of object location and orientation, the data of which are then supplied to the handling controller. A completely satisfactory prototype system has been built, which is capable of performing image analysis (workpiece recognition, workpiece position, etc.) as well as the control of a handling system with an inductive sensor (distance detection, edge recognition and distance control). With an additional camera the operator has the means of visual process observation. The overall functioning of the system has been tested and demonstrated with a four-axes handling system. (author)

Baited remote underwater video system (BRUVs) survey of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This is the first baited remote underwater video system (BRUVs) survey of the relative abundance, diversity and seasonal distribution of chondrichthyans in False Bay. Nineteen species from 11 families were recorded across 185 sites at between 4 and 49 m depth. Diversity was greatest in summer, on reefs and in shallow ...

System and Method for Automated Rendezvous, Docking and Capture of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, William C. (Inventor); Clark, Evan (Inventor); Richmond, Kristof (Inventor); Paulus, Jeremy (Inventor); Kapit, Jason (Inventor); Scully, Mark (Inventor); Kimball, Peter (Inventor)

2018-01-01

A system for automated rendezvous, docking, and capture of autonomous underwater vehicles at the conclusion of a mission comprising of comprised of a docking rod having lighted, pulsating (in both frequency and light intensity) series of LED light strips thereon, with the LEDs at a known spacing, and the autonomous underwater vehicle specially designed to detect and capture the docking rod and then be lifted structurally by a spherical end strop about which the vehicle can be pivoted and hoisted up (e.g., onto a ship). The method of recovery allows for very routine and reliable automated recovery of an unmanned underwater asset.

The Research of Optical Turbulence Model in Underwater Imaging System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liying Sun

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In order to research the effect of turbulence on underwater imaging system and image restoration, the underwater turbulence model is simulated by computer fluid dynamics. This model is obtained in different underwater turbulence intensity, which contains the pressure data that influences refractive index distribution. When the pressure value is conversed to refractive index, the refractive index distribution can be received with the refraction formula. In the condition of same turbulent intensity, the distribution of refractive index presents gradient in the whole region, with disorder and mutations in the local region. With the turbulence intensity increase, the holistic variation of the refractive index in the image is larger, and the refractive index change more tempestuously in the local region. All the above are illustrated by the simulation results with he ray tracing method and turbulent refractive index model. According to different turbulence intensity analysis, it is proved that turbulence causes image distortion and increases noise.

Validation of Underwater Sensor Package Using Feature Based SLAM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Cain

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Robotic vehicles working in new, unexplored environments must be able to locate themselves in the environment while constructing a picture of the objects in the environment that could act as obstacles that would prevent the vehicles from completing their desired tasks. In enclosed environments, underwater range sensors based off of acoustics suffer performance issues due to reflections. Additionally, their relatively high cost make them less than ideal for usage on low cost vehicles designed to be used underwater. In this paper we propose a sensor package composed of a downward facing camera, which is used to perform feature tracking based visual odometry, and a custom vision-based two dimensional rangefinder that can be used on low cost underwater unmanned vehicles. In order to examine the performance of this sensor package in a SLAM framework, experimental tests are performed using an unmanned ground vehicle and two feature based SLAM algorithms, the extended Kalman filter based approach and the Rao-Blackwellized, particle filter based approach, to validate the sensor package.

Validation of Underwater Sensor Package Using Feature Based SLAM

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Christopher; Leonessa, Alexander

2016-01-01

Robotic vehicles working in new, unexplored environments must be able to locate themselves in the environment while constructing a picture of the objects in the environment that could act as obstacles that would prevent the vehicles from completing their desired tasks. In enclosed environments, underwater range sensors based off of acoustics suffer performance issues due to reflections. Additionally, their relatively high cost make them less than ideal for usage on low cost vehicles designed to be used underwater. In this paper we propose a sensor package composed of a downward facing camera, which is used to perform feature tracking based visual odometry, and a custom vision-based two dimensional rangefinder that can be used on low cost underwater unmanned vehicles. In order to examine the performance of this sensor package in a SLAM framework, experimental tests are performed using an unmanned ground vehicle and two feature based SLAM algorithms, the extended Kalman filter based approach and the Rao-Blackwellized, particle filter based approach, to validate the sensor package. PMID:26999142

Guided acoustic wave inspection system

Science.gov (United States)

Chinn, Diane J.

2004-10-05

A system for inspecting a conduit for undesirable characteristics. A transducer system induces guided acoustic waves onto said conduit. The transducer system detects the undesirable characteristics of the conduit by receiving guided acoustic waves that contain information about the undesirable characteristics. The conduit has at least two sides and the transducer system utilizes flexural modes of propagation to provide inspection using access from only the one side of the conduit. Cracking is detected with pulse-echo testing using one transducer to both send and receive the guided acoustic waves. Thinning is detected in through-transmission testing where one transducer sends and another transducer receives the guided acoustic waves.

SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF GREEDY ROUTING PROTOCOL IN VIEW OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND NETWORK LIFETIME IN THREE DIMENSIONAL UNDERWATER WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SHEENA KOHLI

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Underwater Wireless Sensor Network (UWSN comprises of a number of miniature sized sensing devices deployed in the sea or ocean, connected by dint of acoustic links to each other. The sensors trap the ambient conditions and transmit the data from one end to another. For transmission of data in any medium, routing protocols play a crucial role. Moreover, being battery limited, an unavoidable parameter to be considered in operation and analysis of protocols is the network energy and the network lifetime. The paper discusses the greedy routing protocol for underwater wireless sensor networks. The simulation of this routing protocol also takes into consideration the characteristics of acoustic communication like attenuation, transmission loss, signal to noise ratio, noise, propagation delay. The results from these observations may be used to construct an accurate underwater communication model.

NW-MILO Acoustic Data Collection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matzner, Shari; Myers, Joshua R.; Maxwell, Adam R.; Jones, Mark E.

2010-02-17

There is an enduring requirement to improve our ability to detect potential threats and discriminate these from the legitimate commercial and recreational activity ongoing in the nearshore/littoral portion of the maritime domain. The Northwest Maritime Information and Littoral Operations (NW-MILO) Program at PNNL’s Coastal Security Institute in Sequim, Washington is establishing a methodology to detect and classify these threats - in part through developing a better understanding of acoustic signatures in a near-shore environment. The purpose of the acoustic data collection described here is to investigate the acoustic signatures of small vessels. The data is being recorded continuously, 24 hours a day, along with radar track data and imagery. The recording began in August 2008, and to date the data contains tens of thousands of signals from small vessels recorded in a variety of environmental conditions. The quantity and variety of this data collection, with the supporting imagery and radar track data, makes it particularly useful for the development of robust acoustic signature models and advanced algorithms for signal classification and information extraction. The underwater acoustic sensing system is part of a multi-modal sensing system that is operating near the mouth of Sequim Bay. Sequim Bay opens onto the Straight of Juan de Fuca, which contains part of the border between the U.S. and Canada. Table 1 lists the specific components used for the NW-MILO system. The acoustic sensor is a hydrophone permanently deployed at a mean depth of about 3 meters. In addition to a hydrophone, the other sensors in the system are a marine radar, an electro-optical (EO) camera and an infra-red (IR) camera. The radar is integrated with a vessel tracking system (VTS) that provides position, speed and heading information. The data from all the sensors is recorded and saved to a central server. The data has been validated in terms of its usability for characterizing the

An algebraic perspective to single-transponder underwater navigation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jouffroy, Jerome; Reger, Johann

This paper studies the position estimation of an underwater vehicle using a single acoustic transponder. The chosen estimation approach is based on nonlinear differential algebraic methods which allow to express very simply conditions for observability. These are then used in combination with an ...... with an integrator-based time-derivative estimation technique to design an algebraic estimator, which, contrary to asymptotic observers, does not require sometimes tedious convergence verification. Simple simulation results are presented to illustrate the approach....

Cymbal and BB underwater transducers and arrays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newnham, R.E.; Zhang, J.; Alkoy, S.; Meyer, R.; Hughes, W.J.; Hladky-Hennion, A.C.; Cochran, J.; Markley, D. [Materials Research Laboratory, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

2002-09-01

The cymbal is a miniaturized class V flextensional transducer that was developed for use as a shallow water sound projector and receiver. Single elements are characterized by high Q, low efficiency, and medium power output capability. Its low cost and thin profile allow the transducer to be assembled into large flexible arrays. Efforts were made to model both single elements and arrays using the ATILA code and the integral equation formulation (EQI).Millimeter size microprobe hydrophones (BBs) have been designed and fabricated from miniature piezoelectric hollow ceramic spheres for underwater applications such as mapping acoustic fields of projectors, and flow noise sensors for complex underwater structures. Green spheres are prepared from soft lead zirconate titanate powders using a coaxial nozzle slurry process. A compact hydrophone with a radially-poled sphere is investigated using inside and outside electrodes. Characterization of these hydrophones is done through measurement of hydrostatic piezoelectric charge coefficients, free field voltage sensitivities and directivity beam patterns. (orig.)

Underwater hearing sensivity of a male and female Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kastelein, R.A.; Schie, van R.; Verboom, W.C.; Haan, de D.

2005-01-01

The unmasked underwater hearing sensitivities of an 8-year-old male and a 7-year-old female Steller sea lion were measured in a pool, by using behavioral psychophysics. The animals were trained with positive reinforcement to respond when they detected an acoustic signal and not to respond when they

Acoustic building infiltration measurement system

Science.gov (United States)

Muehleisen, Ralph T.; Raman, Ganesh

2018-04-10

Systems and methods of detecting and identifying a leak from a container or building. Acoustic pressure and velocity are measured. Acoustic properties are acquired from the measured values. The acoustic properties are converted to infiltration/leakage information. Nearfield Acoustic Holography (NAH) may be one method to detect the leakages from a container by locating the noise sources.

Underwater hydraulic shock shovel control system

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, He-Ping; Luo, A.-Ni; Xiao, Hai-Yan

2008-06-01

The control system determines the effectiveness of an underwater hydraulic shock shovel. This paper begins by analyzing the working principles of these shovels and explains the importance of their control systems. A new type of control system’s mathematical model was built and analyzed according to those principles. Since the initial control system’s response time could not fulfill the design requirements, a PID controller was added to the control system. System response time was still slower than required, so a neural network was added to nonlinearly regulate the proportional element, integral element and derivative element coefficients of the PID controller. After these improvements to the control system, system parameters fulfilled the design requirements. The working performance of electrically-controlled parts such as the rapidly moving high speed switch valve is largely determined by the control system. Normal control methods generally can’t satisfy a shovel’s requirements, so advanced and normal control methods were combined to improve the control system, bringing good results.

Zebra mussel control using acoustic energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiller, G.W.; Gaucher, T.A.; Menezes, J.K.; Dolat, S.W.

1992-01-01

A practical and economical device or method that reduces zebra mussel colonization without detrimental side effects is highly desirable. An ideal method is one that could be installed near, on, or in existing raw water intakes and conduits. It must have a known effect that is limited to a defined area, should have maximum effects on a targeted species, and preferably have a low life cycle cost than the current alternative methods of control and maintenance. Underwater sound could be such a desirable solution, if found to be an effective control measure for zebra mussels. Although sound most often applies specifically to acoustic energy that is audible to humans, 20 Hertz (Hz) to 20 kiloHertz (kHz), in this report we will use the terms sound and acoustic to include acoustic energy between 100 Hz and 100 MegaHertz (MHz). This research on zebra mussel biofouling is designed to effect the early developmental stages in the life cycle of Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas). Vulnerable stages in the development of D. polymorpha that might yield to site-specific acoustic deterrence measures include the free-swimming larval veliger stage, the postveliger pre-attachment demersal stage, and the immediate post-attachment stage. The proposed applications include surface treatment to prevent, reduce or eliminate colonization on underwater structures, and the stream treatment to reduce or eliminate (destroy) mussel larvae entrained in a moving volume of water

UTOFIA: an underwater time-of-flight image acquisition system

Science.gov (United States)

Driewer, Adrian; Abrosimov, Igor; Alexander, Jonathan; Benger, Marc; O'Farrell, Marion; Haugholt, Karl Henrik; Softley, Chris; Thielemann, Jens T.; Thorstensen, Jostein; Yates, Chris

2017-10-01

In this article the development of a newly designed Time-of-Flight (ToF) image sensor for underwater applications is described. The sensor is developed as part of the project UTOFIA (underwater time-of-flight image acquisition) funded by the EU within the Horizon 2020 framework. This project aims to develop a camera based on range gating that extends the visible range compared to conventional cameras by a factor of 2 to 3 and delivers real-time range information by means of a 3D video stream. The principle of underwater range gating as well as the concept of the image sensor are presented. Based on measurements on a test image sensor a pixel structure that suits best to the requirements has been selected. Within an extensive characterization underwater the capability of distance measurements in turbid environments is demonstrated.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of underwater conical shock wave focusing

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hoffer, Petr; Lukeš, Petr; Akiyama, H.; Hosseini, H.

2017-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 4 (2017), s. 685-690 ISSN 0938-1287 Grant - others:Rada Programu interní podpory projektů mezinárodní spolupráce AV ČR(CZ) M100431203 Program:M Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : Underwater shock wave focusing * multichannel * electrohydraulic discharge * conical shock wave reflection * medical application Subject RIV: BI - Acoustics OBOR OECD: Applied mechanics Impact factor: 1.107, year: 2016 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00193-016-0703-7

Determining seabed backscatter parameters using Multibeam-Hydrosweep System

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Chakraborty, B.; Hagen, R.; Schenke, H.W.

stream_size 6 stream_content_type text/plain stream_name 3_Euro_Conf_Underwater_Acoustics_1996_99.pdf.txt stream_source_info 3_Euro_Conf_Underwater_Acoustics_1996_99.pdf.txt Content-Encoding ISO-8859-1 Content-Type text...

Acoustic inversion with self noise of an autonomous underwater vehicle to measure sound speed in marine sediments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Leijen, A.V.; Rothkranz, L.J.M.; Groen, F.C.A.

2009-01-01

This work reports on an experiment from the Maritime Rapid Environmental Assessment sea trials in 2007, where autonomous underwater vehicles were deployed for environmental assessment. Even though these underwater vehicles are very quiet platforms, this work investigates the potential of vehicle

Underwater Sound Propagation from Marine Pile Driving.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyff, James A

2016-01-01

Pile driving occurs in a variety of nearshore environments that typically have very shallow-water depths. The propagation of pile-driving sound in water is complex, where sound is directly radiated from the pile as well as through the ground substrate. Piles driven in the ground near water bodies can produce considerable underwater sound energy. This paper presents examples of sound propagation through shallow-water environments. Some of these examples illustrate the substantial variation in sound amplitude over time that can be critical to understand when computing an acoustic-based safety zone for aquatic species.

Underwater Ranging

OpenAIRE

S. P. Gaba

1984-01-01

The paper deals with underwater laser ranging system, its principle of operation and maximum depth capability. The sources of external noise and methods to improve signal-to-noise ratio are also discussed.

Human Factors Issues When Operating Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

etiquette (Parasuraman & Miller, 2004). Through natural and intuitive communication, Johnson et al., (2007) hope that this interface will instill greater...and etiquette in high criticality automated systems. Communications of the ACM, 47(4), 51-55. Parasuraman, R., & Riley, V. (1997). Humans and... protocols for underwater wireless communications. IEEE Communications Magazine, pp. 97-102. Quazi, A. H., & Konrad, W. L. (1982, March 1982). Underwater

Impacts of Underwater Noise on Marine Vertebrates: Project Introduction and First Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Liebschner, Alexander; Seibel, Henrike; Teilmann, Jonas; Wittekind, Dietrich; Parmentier, Eric; Dähne, Michael; Dietz, Rune; Driver, Jörg; van Elk, Cornelis; Everaarts, Eligius; Findeisen, Henning; Kristensen, Jacob; Lehnert, Kristina; Lucke, Klaus; Merck, Thomas; Müller, Sabine; Pawliczka, Iwona; Ronnenberg, Katrin; Rosenberger, Tanja; Ruser, Andreas; Tougaard, Jakob; Schuster, Max; Sundermeyer, Janne; Sveegaard, Signe; Siebert, Ursula

2016-01-01

The project conducts application-oriented research on impacts of underwater noise on marine vertebrates in the North and Baltic Seas. In distinct subprojects, the hearing sensitivity of harbor porpoises and gray seals as well as the acoustic tolerance limit of harbor porpoises to impulsive noise from pile driving and stress reactions caused by anthropogenic noise is investigated. Animals are equipped with DTAGs capable of recording the actual surrounding noise field of free-swimming harbor porpoises and seals. Acoustic noise mapping including porpoise detectors in the Natura 2000 sites of the North and Baltic Seas will help to fully understand current noise impacts.

Integrated Optimization of Long-Range Underwater Signal Detection, Feature Extraction, and Classification for Nuclear Treaty Monitoring

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tuma, M.; Rorbech, V.; Prior, M.; Igel, C.

2016-01-01

We designed and jointly optimized an integrated signal processing chain for detection and classification of long-range passive-acoustic underwater signals recorded by the global geophysical monitoring network of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Starting at the level of raw

Acoustic imaging system

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Richard W.

1979-01-01

An acoustic imaging system for displaying an object viewed by a moving array of transducers as the array is pivoted about a fixed point within a given plane. A plurality of transducers are fixedly positioned and equally spaced within a laterally extending array and operatively directed to transmit and receive acoustic signals along substantially parallel transmission paths. The transducers are sequentially activated along the array to transmit and receive acoustic signals according to a preestablished sequence. Means are provided for generating output voltages for each reception of an acoustic signal, corresponding to the coordinate position of the object viewed as the array is pivoted. Receptions from each of the transducers are presented on the same display at coordinates corresponding to the actual position of the object viewed to form a plane view of the object scanned.

Underwater wireless optical communications: From system-level demonstrations to channel modelling

KAUST Repository

Oubei, Hassan M.

2018-01-09

In this paper, we discuss about recent experimental advances in underwater wireless optical communications (UWOC) over various underwater channel water types using different modulation schemes as well as modelling and describing the statistical properties of turbulence-induced fading in underwater wireless optical channels using laser beam intensity fluctuations measurements.

Underwater hearing sensitivity of a male and a female Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kastelein, R.A.; Schie, R. van; Verboom, W.C.; Haan, D. de

2005-01-01

The unmasked underwater hearing sensitivities of an 8-year-old male and a 7-year-old female Steller sea lion were measured in a pool, by using behavioral psychophysics. The animals were trained with positive reinforcement to respond when they detected an acoustic signal and not to respond when they

Compact, Isolating Elastomeric Suspension for Vehicle Acoustic Vector Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

2007-09-30

well as underwater acoustics. His Master’s thesis, funded by NUSC, was a study of near-body acoustic signal behavior entitled “Some Characteristics of ...in non-polymer based composites, including cermets . He has formulated a very wide range of materials for an equally wide range of applications, and...with a moving vehicle of an instrument responsive to particle accelerations in the surrounding medium. The overall goal of this project is to develop

The Modular Optical Underwater Survey System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruhul Amin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center deploys the Modular Optical Underwater Survey System (MOUSS to estimate the species-specific, size-structured abundance of commercially-important fish species in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. The MOUSS is an autonomous stereo-video camera system designed for the in situ visual sampling of fish assemblages. This system is rated to 500 m and its low-light, stereo-video cameras enable identification, counting, and sizing of individuals at a range of 0.5–10 m. The modular nature of MOUSS allows for the efficient and cost-effective use of various imaging sensors, power systems, and deployment platforms. The MOUSS is in use for surveys in Hawaii, the Gulf of Mexico, and Southern California. In Hawaiian waters, the system can effectively identify individuals to a depth of 250 m using only ambient light. In this paper, we describe the MOUSS’s application in fisheries research, including the design, calibration, analysis techniques, and deployment mechanism.

L2-LBMT: A Layered Load Balance Routing Protocol for underwater multimedia data transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Ze; Tang, Ruichun; Tao, Ye; Sun, Xin; Xu, Xiaowei

2017-12-01

Providing highly efficient underwater transmission of mass multimedia data is challenging due to the particularities of the underwater environment. Although there are many schemes proposed to optimize the underwater acoustic network communication protocols, from physical layer, data link layer, network layer to transport layer, the existing routing protocols for underwater wireless sensor network (UWSN) still cannot well deal with the problems in transmitting multimedia data because of the difficulties involved in high energy consumption, low transmission reliability or high transmission delay. It prevents us from applying underwater multimedia data to real-time monitoring of marine environment in practical application, especially in emergency search, rescue operation and military field. Therefore, the inefficient transmission of marine multimedia data has become a serious problem that needs to be solved urgently. In this paper, A Layered Load Balance Routing Protocol (L2-LBMT) is proposed for underwater multimedia data transmission. In L2-LBMT, we use layered and load-balance Ad Hoc Network to transmit data, and adopt segmented data reliable transfer (SDRT) protocol to improve the data transport reliability. And a 3-node variant of tornado (3-VT) code is also combined with the Ad Hoc Network to transmit little emergency data more quickly. The simulation results show that the proposed protocol can balance energy consumption of each node, effectively prolong the network lifetime and reduce transmission delay of marine multimedia data.

First description of underwater acoustic diversity in three temperate ponds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camille Desjonquères

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The past decade has produced an increased ecological interest in sonic environments, or soundscapes. However, despite this rise in interest and technological improvements that allow for long-term acoustic surveys in various environments, some habitats’ soundscapes remain to be explored. Ponds, and more generally freshwater habitats, are one of these acoustically unexplored environments. Here we undertook the first long term acoustic monitoring of three temperate ponds in France. By aural and visual inspection of a selection of recordings, we identified 48 different sound types, and according to the rarefaction curves we calculated, more sound types are likely present in one of the three ponds. The richness of sound types varied significantly across ponds. Surprisingly, there was no pond-to-pond daily consistency of sound type richness variation; each pond had its own daily patterns of activity. We also explored the possibility of using six acoustic diversity indices to conduct rapid biodiversity assessments in temperate ponds. We found that all indices were sensitive to the background noise as estimated through correlations with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR. However, we determined that the AR index could be a good candidate to measure acoustic diversities using partial correlations with the SNR as a control variable. Yet, research is still required to automatically compute the SNR in order to apply this index on a large data set of recordings. The results showed that these three temperate ponds host a high level of acoustic diversity in which the soundscapes were variable not only between but also within the ponds. The sources producing this diversity of sounds and the drivers of difference in daily song type richness variation both require further investigation. Such research would yield insights into the biodiversity and ecology of temperate ponds.

Diversity-based acoustic communication with a glider in deep water.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, H C; Howe, Bruce M; Brown, Michael G; Andrew, Rex K

2014-03-01

The primary use of underwater gliders is to collect oceanographic data within the water column and periodically relay the data at the surface via a satellite connection. In summer 2006, a Seaglider equipped with an acoustic recording system received transmissions from a broadband acoustic source centered at 75 Hz deployed on the bottom off Kauai, Hawaii, while moving away from the source at ranges up to ∼200 km in deep water and diving up to 1000-m depth. The transmitted signal was an m-sequence that can be treated as a binary-phase shift-keying communication signal. In this letter multiple receptions are exploited (i.e., diversity combining) to demonstrate the feasibility of using the glider as a mobile communication gateway.

Modelling, Design and Robust Control of a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Govinda García-Valdovinos

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs play an important role in a number of shallow and deep-water missions for marine science, oil and gas extraction, exploration and salvage. In these applications, the motions of the ROV are guided either by a human pilot on a surface support vessel through an umbilical cord providing power and telemetry, or by an automatic pilot. In the case of automatic control, ROV state feedback is provided by acoustic and inertial sensors and this state information, along with a controller strategy, is used to perform several tasks such as station-keeping and auto-immersion/heading, among others. In this paper, the modelling, design and control of the Kaxan ROV is presented: i The complete six degrees of freedom, non linear hydrodynamic model with its parameters, ii the Kaxan hardware/software architecture, iii numerical simulations in Matlab/Simulink platform of a model-free second order sliding mode control along with ocean currents as disturbances and thruster dynamics, iv a virtual environment to visualize the motion of the Kaxan ROV and v experimental results of a one degree of freedom underwater system.

Event Localization in Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks using Monitoring Courses

KAUST Repository

Debont, Matthew

2011-11-01

In this thesis we consider different methods to localize events in a multi-hop wireless sensor network operating underwater using acoustic modems. The network consists of surface gateway nodes and relay nodes. Localization of surface gateways can be achieved through GPS, but we cannot rely on this technology for localizing underwater nodes. Surface Gateway nodes can distribute their locations through the network using the incoming signals by the acoustic modems from the relay nodes. Relay nodes are deployed to remain static but due to water currents, floating, and the untethered nature of the nodes, they often suffer from frequent drifting which can result in a deployed network suffering link failures. In this work, we developed a novel concept of an underwater alarming system, which adapts a cyclic graph model. In the event of link failure, a series of alarm packets are broadcasted in the network. These alarms are then captured through a novel concept of underwater Monitoring Courses (M-Courses), which can also be used to assure network connectivity and identify node faults. M-Courses also allow the network to localize events and identify network issues at a local level before forwarding any results upwards to a Surface Gateway nodes. This reduces the amount of communication overhead needed and allowing for distributed management of nodes in a network which may be constantly moving. We show that the proposed algorithms can reduce the number of send operations needed for an event to be localized in a network. We have found that M-Course routing reduces the number of sends required to report an event to a Surface Gateway by up to 80% in some cases when compared to a naive routing implementation. But this is achieved by increasing the time for an event to reach a Surface Gateway. These effects are both due to the buffering effect of M-Course routing, which allows us to efficiently deal with multiple events in an local area and we find that the performance of M

3D DOCUMENTATION OF ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS IN THE UNDERWATER PARK OF BAIAE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Bruno

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents some experimentations, which have been conducted in the submerged archeological Park of Baiae, aimed to identify the problems related to the underwater 3D documentation process. The first test has been addressed to verify if a dense stereo mapping technique, usually employed in terrestrial and aerial applications, might be employed in critical underwater conditions by assessing the influence of different factors on the results. In the second test, the accuracy of the 3D model obtained through this technique has been evaluated. The third test deals with the geo-localization of the 3D models, conducted by merging the optical and acoustic data, through a multi-resolution bathymetric map of the site as a reference.

The deep sea Acoustic Detection system AMADEUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naumann, Christopher Lindsay

2008-01-01

As a part of the ANTARES neutrino telescope, the AMADEUS (ANTARES Modules for Acoustic Detection Under the Sea) system is an array of acoustical sensors designed to investigate the possibilities of acoustic detection of ultra-high energy neutrinos in the deep sea. The complete system will comprise a total of 36 acoustic sensors in six clusters on two of the ANTARES detector lines. With an inter-sensor spacing of about one metre inside the clusters and between 15 and 340 metres between the different clusters, it will cover a wide range of distances as will as provide a considerable lever arm for point source triangulation. Three of these clusters have already been deployed in 2007 and have been in operation since, currently yielding around 2GB of acoustic data per day. The remaining three clusters are scheduled to be deployed in May 2008 together with the final ANTARES detector line. Apart from proving the feasibility of operating an acoustic detection system in the deep sea, the main aim of this project is an in-depth survey of both the acoustic properties of the sea water and the acoustic background present at the detector site. It will also serve as a platform for the development and refinement of triggering, filtering and reconstruction algorithms for acoustic particle detection. In this presentation, a description of the acoustic sensor and read-out system is given, together with examples for the reconstruction and evaluation of the acoustic data.

Acoustic analysis of a piping system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misra, A.S.; Vijay, D.K.

1996-01-01

Acoustic pulsations in the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, a 881 MW CANDU, primary heat transport piping system caused fuel bundle failures under short term operations. The problem was successfully analyzed using the steady-state acoustic analysis capability of the ABAQUS program. This paper describes in general, modelling of low amplitude acoustic pulsations in a liquid filled piping system using ABAQUS. The paper gives techniques for estimating the acoustic medium properties--bulk modulus, fluid density and acoustic damping--and modelling fluid-structure interactions at orifices and elbows. The formulations and techniques developed are benchmarked against the experiments given in 3 cited references. The benchmark analysis shows that the ABAQUS results are in excellent agreement with the experiments

Upwelling regime off the Cabo Frio region in Brazil and impact on acoustic propagation.

Science.gov (United States)

Calado, Leandro; Camargo Rodríguez, Orlando; Codato, Gabriel; Contrera Xavier, Fabio

2018-03-01

This work introduces a description of the complex upwelling regime off the Cabo Frio region in Brazil and shows that ocean modeling, based on the feature-oriented regional modeling system (FORMS) technique, can produce reliable predictions of sound speed fields for the corresponding shallow water environment. This work also shows, through the development of simulations, that the upwelling regime can be responsible for the creation of shadow coastal zones, in which the detection probability is too low for an acoustic source to be detected. The development of the FORMS technique and its validation with real data, for the particular region of coastal upwelling off Cabo Frio, reveals the possibility of a sustainable and reliable forecast system for the corresponding (variable in space and time) underwater acoustic environment.

A Connection Model between the Positioning Mechanism and Ultrasonic Measurement System via a Web Browser to Assess Acoustic Target Strength

Science.gov (United States)

Ishii, Ken; Imaizumi, Tomohito; Abe, Koki; Takao, Yoshimi; Tamura, Shuko

This paper details a network-controlled measurement system for use in fisheries engineering. The target strength (TS) of fish is important in order to convert acoustic integration values obtained during acoustic surveys into estimates of fish abundance. The target strength pattern is measured with the combination of the rotation system for the aspect of the sample and the echo data acquisition system using the underwater supersonic wave. The user interface of the network architecture is designed for collaborative use with researchers in other organizations. The flexible network architecture is based on the web direct-access model for the rotation mechanism. The user interface is available for monitoring and controlling via a web browser that is installed in any terminal PC (personal computer). Previously the combination of two applications was performed not by a web browser but by the exclusive interface program. So a connection model is proposed between two applications by indirect communication via the DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model) server and added in the web direct-access model. A prompt report system in the TS measurement system and a positioning and measurement system using an electric flatcar via a web browser are developed. By a secure network architecture, DCOM communications via both Intranet and LAN are successfully certificated.

Underwater lidar system: design challenges and application in pollution detection

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Pradip; Sankolli, Swati; Chakraborty, A.

2016-05-01

The present remote sensing techniques have imposed limitations in the applications of LIDAR Technology. The fundamental sampling inadequacy of the remote sensing data obtained from satellites is that they cannot resolve in the third spatial dimension, the vertical. This limits our possibilities of measuring any vertical variability in the water column. Also the interaction between the physical and biological process in the oceans and their effects at subsequent depths cannot be modeled with present techniques. The idea behind this paper is to introduce underwater LIDAR measurement system by using a LIDAR mounted on an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). The paper introduces working principles and design parameters for the LIDAR mounted AUV (AUV-LIDAR). Among several applications the papers discusses the possible use and advantages of AUV-LIDAR in water pollution detection through profiling of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) in water bodies.

3D Laser Scanner for Underwater Manipulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Palomer, Albert; Ridao, Pere; Youakim, Dina; Ribas, David; Forest, Josep; Petillot, Yvan

2018-04-04

Nowadays, research in autonomous underwater manipulation has demonstrated simple applications like picking an object from the sea floor, turning a valve or plugging and unplugging a connector. These are fairly simple tasks compared with those already demonstrated by the mobile robotics community, which include, among others, safe arm motion within areas populated with a priori unknown obstacles or the recognition and location of objects based on their 3D model to grasp them. Kinect-like 3D sensors have contributed significantly to the advance of mobile manipulation providing 3D sensing capabilities in real-time at low cost. Unfortunately, the underwater robotics community is lacking a 3D sensor with similar capabilities to provide rich 3D information of the work space. In this paper, we present a new underwater 3D laser scanner and demonstrate its capabilities for underwater manipulation. In order to use this sensor in conjunction with manipulators, a calibration method to find the relative position between the manipulator and the 3D laser scanner is presented. Then, two different advanced underwater manipulation tasks beyond the state of the art are demonstrated using two different manipulation systems. First, an eight Degrees of Freedom (DoF) fixed-base manipulator system is used to demonstrate arm motion within a work space populated with a priori unknown fixed obstacles. Next, an eight DoF free floating Underwater Vehicle-Manipulator System (UVMS) is used to autonomously grasp an object from the bottom of a water tank.

ISAT: The mega-fauna acoustic tracking system

KAUST Repository

De la Torre, Pedro; Smith, Egan Lloyd; Sancheti, Ajay; Salama, Khaled N.; Berumen, Michael L.

2013-01-01

The acoustic tracking module of the Integrated Satellite and Acoustic Telemetry (iSAT) system is discussed in detail. iSAT is capable of detecting the relative direction of an acoustic source by measuring the order of arrival (OOA) of the acoustic

Open-Lake Experimental Investigation of Azimuth Angle Estimation Using a Single Acoustic Vector Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anbang Zhao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Five well-known azimuth angle estimation methods using a single acoustic vector sensor (AVS are investigated in open-lake experiments. A single AVS can measure both the acoustic pressure and acoustic particle velocity at a signal point in space and output multichannel signals. The azimuth angle of one source can be estimated by using a single AVS in a passive sonar system. Open-lake experiments are carried out to evaluate how these different techniques perform in estimating azimuth angle of a source. The AVS that was applied in these open-lake experiments is a two-dimensional accelerometer structure sensor. It consists of two identical uniaxial velocity sensors in orthogonal orientations, plus a pressure sensor—all in spatial collocation. These experimental results indicate that all these methods can effectively realize the azimuth angle estimation using only one AVS. The results presented in this paper reveal that AVS can be applied in a wider range of application in distributed underwater acoustic systems for passive detection, localization, classification, and so on.

Acoustic Test Results of Melamine Foam with Application to Payload Fairing Acoustic Attenuation Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, William O.; McNelis, Anne M.

2014-01-01

A spacecraft at launch is subjected to a harsh acoustic and vibration environment resulting from the passage of acoustic energy, created during the liftoff of a launch vehicle, through the vehicle's payload fairing. In order to ensure the mission success of the spacecraft it is often necessary to reduce the resulting internal acoustic sound pressure levels through the usage of acoustic attenuation systems. Melamine foam, lining the interior walls of the payload fairing, is often utilized as the main component of such a system. In order to better understand the acoustic properties of melamine foam, with the goal of developing improved acoustic attenuation systems, NASA has recently performed panel level testing on numerous configurations of melamine foam acoustic treatments at the Riverbank Acoustical Laboratory. Parameters assessed included the foam's thickness and density, as well as the effects of a top outer cover sheet material and mass barriers embedded within the foam. This testing followed the ASTM C423 standard for absorption and the ASTM E90 standard for transmission loss. The acoustic test data obtained and subsequent conclusions are the subjects of this paper.

Practical spreading laws: The snakes and ladders of shallow water acoustics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ainslie, M.A.; Dahl, P.H.; Jong, C.A.F. de; Laws, R.M.

2014-01-01

Geometrical spreading laws are widely used in underwater acoustics because they provide - if chosen carefully - an accuracy that is sufficient for many applications (source characterisation, impact assessment, sound mapping, regulation) for negligible computation time. The simplest and most widely

Underwater Animal Monitoring Magnetic Sensor System

KAUST Repository

Kaidarova, Altynay

2017-10-01

Obtaining new insights into the behavior of free-living marine organisms is fundamental for conservation efforts and anticipating the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems. Despite the recent advances in biotelemetry, collecting physiological and behavioral parameters of underwater free-living animals remains technically challenging. In this thesis, we develop the first magnetic underwater animal monitoring system that utilizes Tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors, the most sensitive solid-state sensors today, coupled with flexible magnetic composites. The TMR sensors are composed of CoFeB free layers and MgO tunnel barriers, patterned using standard optical lithography and ion milling procedures. The short and long-term stability of the TMR sensors has been studied using statistical and Allan deviation analysis. Instrumentation noise has been reduced using optimized electrical interconnection schemes. We also develop flexible NdFeB-PDMS composite magnets optimized for applications in corrosive marine environments, and which can be attached to marine animals. The magnetic and mechanical properties are studied for different NdFeB powder concentrations and the performance of the magnetic composites for different exposure times to sea water is systematically investigated. Without protective layer, the composite magnets loose more than 50% of their magnetization after 51 days in seawater. The durability of the composite magnets can be considerably improved by using polymer coatings which are protecting the composite magnet, whereby Parylene C is found to be the most effective solution, providing simultaneously corrosion resistance, flexibility, and enhanced biocompatibility. A Parylene C film of 2μm thickness provides the sufficient protection of the magnetic composite in corrosive aqueous environments for more than 70 days. For the high level performance of the system, the theoretically optimal position of the composite magnets with respect to the sensing

A Relative-Localization Algorithm Using Incomplete Pairwise Distance Measurements for Underwater Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kae Y. Foo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The task of localizing underwater assets involves the relative localization of each unit using only pairwise distance measurements, usually obtained from time-of-arrival or time-delay-of-arrival measurements. In the fluctuating underwater environment, a complete set of pair-wise distance measurements can often be difficult to acquire, thus hindering a straightforward closed-form solution in deriving the assets' relative coordinates. An iterative multidimensional scaling approach is presented based upon a weighted-majorization algorithm that tolerates missing or inaccurate distance measurements. Substantial modifications are proposed to optimize the algorithm, while the effects of refractive propagation paths are considered. A parametric study of the algorithm based upon simulation results is shown. An acoustic field-trial was then carried out, presenting field measurements to highlight the practical implementation of this algorithm.

Operational experience in underwater photogrammetry

Science.gov (United States)

Leatherdale, John D.; John Turner, D.

Underwater photogrammetry has become established as a cost-effective technique for inspection and maintenance of platforms and pipelines for the offshore oil industry. A commercial service based in Scotland operates in the North Sea, USA, Brazil, West Africa and Australia. 70 mm cameras and flash units are built for the purpose and analytical plotters and computer graphics systems are used for photogrammetric measurement and analysis of damage, corrosion, weld failures and redesign of underwater structures. Users are seeking simple, low-cost systems for photogrammetric analysis which their engineers can use themselves.

Acoustic emission leak monitoring system LMS-96

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liska, J.; Cvrcek, M.; Mueller, L.

1997-01-01

On-line acoustic emission leak monitoring under industrial conditions of nuclear power plants is a problem with specific features setting specific demands on the leak monitoring system. The paper briefly reviews those problems (attenuation pattern of a real structure, acoustic background, alarm system, etc.) and the solution of some of them is discussed. Information is presented on the Acoustic Emission Leak Monitoring System LMS-96 by SKODA NUCLEAR MACHINERY and the system's function is briefly described. (author)

Simulated performance of an acoustic modem using phase-modulated signals in a time-varying, shallow-water environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjerrum-Niese, Christian; Jensen, Leif Bjørnø

1996-01-01

and dynamic multipath channel. Multipath arrivals at the receiver cause phase distortion and fading of the signal envelope. Yet, for extreme ratios of range to depth, the delays of multipath arrivals decrease, and the channel impulse response coherently contributes energy to the signal at short delays......Underwater acoustic modems using coherent modulation, such as phase-shift keying, have proven to efficiently exploit the bandlimited underwater acoustical communication channel. However, the performance of an acoustic modem, given as maximum range and data and error rate, is limited in the complex...... relative to the first arrival, while longer delays give rise to intersymbol interference. Following this, the signal-to-multipath ratio (SMR) is introduced. It is claimed that the SMR determines the performance rather than the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Using a ray model including temporal variations...

3D Laser Scanner for Underwater Manipulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Albert Palomer

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, research in autonomous underwater manipulation has demonstrated simple applications like picking an object from the sea floor, turning a valve or plugging and unplugging a connector. These are fairly simple tasks compared with those already demonstrated by the mobile robotics community, which include, among others, safe arm motion within areas populated with a priori unknown obstacles or the recognition and location of objects based on their 3D model to grasp them. Kinect-like 3D sensors have contributed significantly to the advance of mobile manipulation providing 3D sensing capabilities in real-time at low cost. Unfortunately, the underwater robotics community is lacking a 3D sensor with similar capabilities to provide rich 3D information of the work space. In this paper, we present a new underwater 3D laser scanner and demonstrate its capabilities for underwater manipulation. In order to use this sensor in conjunction with manipulators, a calibration method to find the relative position between the manipulator and the 3D laser scanner is presented. Then, two different advanced underwater manipulation tasks beyond the state of the art are demonstrated using two different manipulation systems. First, an eight Degrees of Freedom (DoF fixed-base manipulator system is used to demonstrate arm motion within a work space populated with a priori unknown fixed obstacles. Next, an eight DoF free floating Underwater Vehicle-Manipulator System (UVMS is used to autonomously grasp an object from the bottom of a water tank.

Hoeren unter Wasser: Absolute Reizschwellen und Richtungswahrnehnumg (Underwater Hearing: Absolute Thresholds and Sound Localization),

Science.gov (United States)

The article deals first with the theoretical foundations of underwater hearing, and the effects of the acoustical characteristics of water on hearing...lead to the conclusion that, in water , man can locate the direction of sound at low and at very high tonal frequencies of the audio range, but this ability is probably vanishing in the middle range of frequencies. (Author)

Robotics Vision-based Heuristic Reasoning for Underwater Target Tracking and Navigation

OpenAIRE

Kia, Chua; Arshad, Mohd Rizal

2006-01-01

This paper presents a robotics vision-based heuristic reasoning system for underwater target tracking and navigation. This system is introduced to improve the level of automation of underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs) operations. A prototype which combines computer vision with an underwater robotics system is successfully designed and developed to perform target tracking and intelligent navigation. This study focuses on developing image processing algorithms and fuzzy inference system ...

Robust automatic control system of vessel descent-rise device for plant with distributed parameters “cable – towed underwater vehicle”

Science.gov (United States)

Chupina, K. V.; Kataev, E. V.; Khannanov, A. M.; Korshunov, V. N.; Sennikov, I. A.

2018-05-01

The paper is devoted to a problem of synthesis of the robust control system for a distributed parameters plant. The vessel descent-rise device has a heave compensation function for stabilization of the towed underwater vehicle on a set depth. A sea state code, parameters of the underwater vehicle and cable vary during underwater operations, the vessel heave is a stochastic process. It means that the plant and external disturbances have uncertainty. That is why it is necessary to use the robust theory for synthesis of an automatic control system, but without use of traditional methods of optimization, because this cable has distributed parameters. The offered technique has allowed one to design an effective control system for stabilization of immersion depth of the towed underwater vehicle for various degrees of sea roughness and to provide its robustness to deviations of parameters of the vehicle and cable’s length.

Properties of sound attenuation around a two-dimensional underwater vehicle with a large cavitation number

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Peng-Cheng; Pan Guang

2015-01-01

Due to the high speed of underwater vehicles, cavitation is generated inevitably along with the sound attenuation when the sound signal traverses through the cavity region around the underwater vehicle. The linear wave propagation is studied to obtain the influence of bubbly liquid on the acoustic wave propagation in the cavity region. The sound attenuation coefficient and the sound speed formula of the bubbly liquid are presented. Based on the sound attenuation coefficients with various vapor volume fractions, the attenuation of sound intensity is calculated under large cavitation number conditions. The result shows that the sound intensity attenuation is fairly small in a certain condition. Consequently, the intensity attenuation can be neglected in engineering. (paper)

Evaluation of Underwater Adhesives and Friction Coatings for In Situ Attachment of Fiber Optic Sensor System for Subsea Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Henry H.; Le, Suy Q.; Orndoff, Evelyne S.; Smith, Frederick D.; Tapia, Alma S.; Brower, David V.

2012-01-01

Integrity and performance monitoring of subsea pipelines and structures provides critical information for managing offshore oil and gas production operation and preventing environmentally damaging and costly catastrophic failure. Currently pipeline monitoring devices require ground assembly and installation prior to the underwater deployment of the pipeline. A monitoring device that could be installed in situ on the operating underwater structures could enhance the productivity and improve the safety of current offshore operation. Through a Space Act Agreement (SAA) between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Astro Technology, Inc. (ATI), JSC provides technical expertise and testing facilities to support the development of fiber optic sensor technologies by ATI. This paper details the first collaboration effort between NASA JSC and ATI in evaluating underwater applicable adhesives and friction coatings for attaching fiber optic sensor system to subsea pipeline. A market survey was conducted to examine different commercial ]off ]the ]shelf (COTS) underwater adhesive systems and to select adhesive candidates for testing and evaluation. Four COTS epoxy based underwater adhesives were selected and evaluated. The adhesives were applied and cured in simulated seawater conditions and then evaluated for application characteristics and adhesive strength. The adhesive that demonstrated the best underwater application characteristics and highest adhesive strength were identified for further evaluation in developing an attachment system that could be deployed in the harsh subsea environment. Various friction coatings were also tested in this study to measure their shear strengths for a mechanical clamping design concept for attaching fiber optic sensor system. A COTS carbide alloy coating was found to increase the shear strength of metal to metal clamping interface by up to 46 percent. This study provides valuable data for

The influence of underwater turbulence on optical phase measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Redding, Brandon; Davis, Allen; Kirkendall, Clay; Dandridge, Anthony

2016-05-01

Emerging underwater optical imaging and sensing applications rely on phase-sensitive detection to provide added functionality and improved sensitivity. However, underwater turbulence introduces spatio-temporal variations in the refractive index of water which can degrade the performance of these systems. Although the influence of turbulence on traditional, non-interferometric imaging has been investigated, its influence on the optical phase remains poorly understood. Nonetheless, a thorough understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of the optical phase of light passing through underwater turbulence are crucial to the design of phase-sensitive imaging and sensing systems. To address this concern, we combined underwater imaging with high speed holography to provide a calibrated characterization of the effects of turbulence on the optical phase. By measuring the modulation transfer function of an underwater imaging system, we were able to calibrate varying levels of optical turbulence intensity using the Simple Underwater Imaging Model (SUIM). We then used high speed holography to measure the temporal dynamics of the optical phase of light passing through varying levels of turbulence. Using this method, we measured the variance in the amplitude and phase of the beam, the temporal correlation of the optical phase, and recorded the turbulence induced phase noise as a function of frequency. By bench marking the effects of varying levels of turbulence on the optical phase, this work provides a basis to evaluate the real-world potential of emerging underwater interferometric sensing modalities.

Intelligent Navigation for a Solar Powered Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco García-Córdova

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, an intelligent navigation system for an unmanned underwater vehicle powered by renewable energy and designed for shadow water inspection in missions of a long duration is proposed. The system is composed of an underwater vehicle, which tows a surface vehicle. The surface vehicle is a small boat with photovoltaic panels, a methanol fuel cell and communication equipment, which provides energy and communication to the underwater vehicle. The underwater vehicle has sensors to monitor the underwater environment such as sidescan sonar and a video camera in a flexible configuration and sensors to measure the physical and chemical parameters of water quality on predefined paths for long distances. The underwater vehicle implements a biologically inspired neural architecture for autonomous intelligent navigation. Navigation is carried out by integrating a kinematic adaptive neuro-controller for trajectory tracking and an obstacle avoidance adaptive neuro- controller. The autonomous underwater vehicle is capable of operating during long periods of observation and monitoring. This autonomous vehicle is a good tool for observing large areas of sea, since it operates for long periods of time due to the contribution of renewable energy. It correlates all sensor data for time and geodetic position. This vehicle has been used for monitoring the Mar Menor lagoon.

The Intensity, Directionality, and Statistics of Underwater Noise From Melting Icebergs

Science.gov (United States)

Glowacki, Oskar; Deane, Grant B.; Moskalik, Mateusz

2018-05-01

Freshwater fluxes from melting icebergs and glaciers are important contributors to both sea level rise and anomalies of seawater salinity in polar regions. However, the hazards encountered close to icebergs and glaciers make it difficult to quantify their melt rates directly, motivating the development of cryoacoustics as a remote sensing technique. Recent studies have shown a qualitative link between ice melting and the accompanying underwater noise, but the properties of this signal remain poorly understood. Here we examine the intensity, directionality, and temporal statistics of the underwater noise radiated by melting icebergs in Hornsund Fjord, Svalbard, using a three-element acoustic array. We present the first estimate of noise energy per unit area associated with iceberg melt and demonstrate its qualitative dependence on exposure to surface current. Finally, we show that the analysis of noise directionality and statistics makes it possible to distinguish iceberg melt from the glacier terminus melt.

Remote sensing of deep hermatypic coral reefs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands using the Seabed autonomous underwater vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Roy A.; Singh, Hanumant

2006-09-01

Optical imaging of coral reefs and other benthic communities present below one attenuation depth, the limit of effective airborne and satellite remote sensing, requires the use of in situ platforms such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The Seabed AUV, which was designed for high-resolution underwater optical and acoustic imaging, was used to characterize several deep insular shelf reefs of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands using digital imagery. The digital photo transects obtained by the Seabed AUV provided quantitative data on living coral, sponge, gorgonian, and macroalgal cover as well as coral species richness and diversity. Rugosity, an index of structural complexity, was derived from the pencil-beam acoustic data. The AUV benthic assessments could provide the required information for selecting unique areas of high coral cover, biodiversity and structural complexity for habitat protection and ecosystem-based management. Data from Seabed sensors and related imaging technologies are being used to conduct multi-beam sonar surveys, 3-D image reconstruction from a single camera, photo mosaicking, image based navigation, and multi-sensor fusion of acoustic and optical data.

Investigation of the Propagation Characteristics of Underwater Shock Waves in Underwater Drilling Blasting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Liu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available During the first-stage project of the main channel of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port’s Shipu Harbor, underwater shock waves were monitored. By analyzing a typical measured pressure time history curve, the characteristics of underwater shock waves in an engineering context were obtained. We obtained a traditional exponential attenuation formula for underwater shock waves based on the measured data, simplified the model of underwater drilling blasting based on engineering practice, deduced a revised formula for underwater shock wave peak overpressure on the basis of dimensional analysis, established a linear fitting model, and obtained the undetermined coefficients of the revised formula using a linear regression analysis. In addition, the accuracies of the two formulas used to predict underwater shock wave peak overpressure and the significance order of influence and influence mechanism of factors included in the revised formula on the underwater shock wave peak overpressure were discussed.

Deep sea AUV navigation using multiple acoustic beacons

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Da-xiong; Song, Wei; Zhao, Hong-yu; Liu, Jian

2016-04-01

Navigation is a critical requirement for the operation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). To estimate the vehicle position, we present an algorithm using an extended Kalman filter (EKF) to integrate dead-reckoning position with acoustic ranges from multiple beacons pre-deployed in the operating environment. Owing to high latency, variable sound speed multipath transmissions and unreliability in acoustic measurements, outlier recognition techniques are proposed as well. The navigation algorithm has been tested by the recorded data of deep sea AUV during field operations in a variety of environments. Our results show the improved performance over prior techniques based on position computation.

Actuated Recoil Absorbing Mounting System for use with an Underwater Gun

Science.gov (United States)

1998-03-31

fire supercavitating bullets, requires that 20 the new projectile launchers be tested. The firing of projectile 21 launchers involving a high...of projectile launcher 12 includes an underwater gun 15 that fires supercavitating bullets underwater and has a high 16 discharge energy. However

Wearable Current-Based ECG Monitoring System with Non-Insulated Electrodes for Underwater Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Gradl

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The second most common cause of diving fatalities is cardiovascular diseases. Monitoring the cardiovascular system in actual underwater conditions is necessary to gain insights into cardiac activity during immersion and to trigger preventive measures. We developed a wearable, current-based electrocardiogram (ECG device in the eco-system of the FitnessSHIRT platform. It can be used for normal/dry ECG measuring purposes but is specifically designed to allow underwater signal acquisition without having to use insulated electrodes. Our design is based on a transimpedance amplifier circuit including active current feedback. We integrated additional cascaded filter components to counter noise characteristics specific to the immersed condition of such a system. The results of the evaluation show that our design is able to deliver high-quality ECG signals underwater with no interferences or loss of signal quality. To further evaluate the applicability of the system, we performed an applied study with it using 12 healthy subjects to examine whether differences in the heart rate variability exist between sitting and supine positions of the human body immersed in water and outside of it. We saw significant differences, for example, in the RMSSD and SDSD between sitting outside the water (36 ms and sitting immersed in water (76 ms and the pNN50 outside the water (6.4% and immersed in water (18.2%. The power spectral density for the sitting positions in the TP and HF increased significantly during water immersion while the LF/HF decreased significantly. No significant changes were found for the supine position.

Performance Analysis of Single Photon Avalanche Diode Underwater VLC System Using ARQ

KAUST Repository

Shafiqu, Taniya

2017-08-24

Single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) has recently been introduced as a powerful detector for long distance underwater visible light (UVLC) communication. In this paper, the performance of the SPAD detector in UVLC is analyzed considering the effect of the turbulence induced fading resulting from air bubbles in addition to the combined effect of attenuation and scattering. Automatic repeat request (ARQ) system is adopted to mitigate different underwater impairments and reduce the error probability at the receiver side. Approximate packet error rate (PER) expressions are derived using Laguerre Gauss polynomial for a finite number of transmission. Next, the average energy efficiency and throughput are analyzed to account for the increased energy consumption cost and the decreased effective transmission rate, which results from adopting the ARQ scheme. Finally, different numerical results are introduced to verify the derived PER expressions, demonstrate the ability of the proposed ARQ system in extending the transmission range, and show the trade-off between energy efficiency (EE) and throughput.

An underwater ranging system based on photoacoustic effect occurring on target surface

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Kai; Hu, Kai; Li, Xinghui; Wang, Lidai; Zhou, Qian; Wang, Xiaohao

2016-11-01

In this paper, an underwater ranging system based on photoacoustic effect occurring on target surface is proposed. In this proposal, laser pulse generated by blue-green laser is directly incident on target surface, where the photoacoustic effect occurs and a sound source is formed. And then the sound wave which is also called photoacoustic signal is received by the ultrasonic receiver after passing through water. According to the time delay between transmitting laser and receiving photoacoustic signal, and sound velocity in water, the distance between the target and the ultrasonic receiver can be calculated. Differing from underwater range finding by only laser, this approach can avoid backscattering of laser beam, so easier to implement. Experimental system according to this principle has been constructed to verify the feasibility of this technology. The experimental results showed that a ranging accuracy of 1 mm can be effectively achieved when the target is close to the ultrasonic receiver.

Design of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

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Tadahiro Hyakudome

2011-03-01

Full Text Available There are concerns about the impact that global warming will have on our environment, and which will inevitably result in expanding deserts and rising water levels. While a lot of underwater vehicles are utilized, AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle were considered and chosen, as the most suitable tool for conduction survey concerning these global environmental problems. AUVs can comprehensive survey because the vehicle does not have to be connected to the support vessel by tether cable. When such underwater vehicles are made, it is necessary to consider about the following things. 1 Seawater and Water Pressure Environment, 2 Sink, 3 There are no Gas or Battery Charge Stations, 4 Global Positioning System cannot use, 5 Radio waves cannot use. In the paper, outline of above and how deal about it are explained.

Silent Localization of Underwater Sensors Using Magnetometers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonas Callmer

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Sensor localization is a central problem for sensor networks. If the sensor positions are uncertain, the target tracking ability of the sensor network is reduced. Sensor localization in underwater environments is traditionally addressed using acoustic range measurements involving known anchor or surface nodes. We explore the usage of triaxial magnetometers and a friendly vessel with known magnetic dipole to silently localize the sensors. The ferromagnetic field created by the dipole is measured by the magnetometers and is used to localize the sensors. The trajectory of the vessel and the sensor positions are estimated simultaneously using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF. Simulations show that the sensors can be accurately positioned using magnetometers.

Underwater Acoustic Matched Field Imaging Based on Compressed Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huichen Yan

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Matched field processing (MFP is an effective method for underwater target imaging and localizing, but its performance is not guaranteed due to the nonuniqueness and instability problems caused by the underdetermined essence of MFP. By exploiting the sparsity of the targets in an imaging area, this paper proposes a compressive sensing MFP (CS-MFP model from wave propagation theory by using randomly deployed sensors. In addition, the model’s recovery performance is investigated by exploring the lower bounds of the coherence parameter of the CS dictionary. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the robustness of CS-MFP with respect to the displacement of the sensors. Subsequently, a coherence-excluding coherence optimized orthogonal matching pursuit (CCOOMP algorithm is proposed to overcome the high coherent dictionary problem in special cases. Finally, some numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed CS-MFP method.

Theoretical Model of Acoustic Wave Propagation in Shallow Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kozaczka Eugeniusz

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The work is devoted to the propagation of low frequency waves in a shallow sea. As a source of acoustic waves, underwater disturbances generated by ships were adopted. A specific feature of the propagation of acoustic waves in shallow water is the proximity of boundaries of the limiting media characterised by different impedance properties, which affects the acoustic field coming from a source situated in the water layer “deformed” by different phenomena. The acoustic field distribution in the real shallow sea is affected not only by multiple reflections, but also by stochastic changes in the free surface shape, and statistical changes in the seabed shape and impedance. The paper discusses fundamental problems of modal sound propagation in the water layer over different types of bottom sediments. The basic task in this case was to determine the acoustic pressure level as a function of distance and depth. The results of the conducted investigation can be useful in indirect determination of the type of bottom.

Survivability design for a hybrid underwater vehicle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Biao; Wu, Chao; Li, Xiang; Zhao, Qingkai; Ge, Tong [State Key Lab of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China)

2015-03-10

A novel hybrid underwater robotic vehicle (HROV) capable of working to the full ocean depth has been developed. The battery powered vehicle operates in two modes: operate as an untethered autonomous vehicle in autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) mode and operate under remote control connected to the surface vessel by a lightweight, fiber optic tether in remotely operated vehicle (ROV) mode. Considering the hazardous underwater environment at the limiting depth and the hybrid operating modes, survivability has been placed on an equal level with the other design attributes of the HROV since the beginning of the project. This paper reports the survivability design elements for the HROV including basic vehicle design of integrated navigation and integrated communication, emergency recovery strategy, distributed architecture, redundant bus, dual battery package, emergency jettison system and self-repairing control system.

Survivability design for a hybrid underwater vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Biao; Wu, Chao; Li, Xiang; Zhao, Qingkai; Ge, Tong

2015-01-01

A novel hybrid underwater robotic vehicle (HROV) capable of working to the full ocean depth has been developed. The battery powered vehicle operates in two modes: operate as an untethered autonomous vehicle in autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) mode and operate under remote control connected to the surface vessel by a lightweight, fiber optic tether in remotely operated vehicle (ROV) mode. Considering the hazardous underwater environment at the limiting depth and the hybrid operating modes, survivability has been placed on an equal level with the other design attributes of the HROV since the beginning of the project. This paper reports the survivability design elements for the HROV including basic vehicle design of integrated navigation and integrated communication, emergency recovery strategy, distributed architecture, redundant bus, dual battery package, emergency jettison system and self-repairing control system

Underwater detection by using ultrasonic sensor

Science.gov (United States)

Bakar, S. A. A.; Ong, N. R.; Aziz, M. H. A.; Alcain, J. B.; Haimi, W. M. W. N.; Sauli, Z.

2017-09-01

This paper described the low cost implementation of hardware and software in developing the system of ultrasonic which can visualize the feedback of sound in the form of measured distance through mobile phone and monitoring the frequency of detection by using real time graph of Java application. A single waterproof transducer of JSN-SR04T had been used to determine the distance of an object based on operation of the classic pulse echo detection method underwater. In this experiment, the system was tested by placing the housing which consisted of Arduino UNO, Bluetooth module of HC-06, ultrasonic sensor and LEDs at the top of the box and the transducer was immersed in the water. The system which had been tested for detection in vertical form was found to be capable of reporting through the use of colored LEDs as indicator to the relative proximity of object distance underwater form the sensor. As a conclusion, the system can detect the presence of an object underwater within the range of ultrasonic sensor and display the measured distance onto the mobile phone and the real time graph had been successfully generated.

The Blind Identification of Multi-Inputs and Multi-Outputs Shallow-Water Acoustic Channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, R Y; Zhou, J H; Wang, L

2006-01-01

Blind channel identification/estimation is very important for object detection, trace, localization in the ocean acoustics. Time domain blind identification algorithm requiring exact length of the channel being identification. Due to the characteristics of the shallow-water channel, the length of channel impulse response sequence is uncertain, Hence a frequency domain method for the blind MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) underwater identification based on higher order statistics (HOS) is used to estimate the original acoustic channel from received signals on hydrophones only, with the low signal to noise ratio (SNR). The simulation results in the acoustic environment proved this work is effective and efficient for blind identification of the shallow-water acoustic channel

ISAT: The mega-fauna acoustic tracking system

KAUST Repository

De la Torre, Pedro

2013-06-01

The acoustic tracking module of the Integrated Satellite and Acoustic Telemetry (iSAT) system is discussed in detail. iSAT is capable of detecting the relative direction of an acoustic source by measuring the order of arrival (OOA) of the acoustic signal to each hydrophone in a triangular array. The characteristics of the hydrophones, the projector, and the target acoustic signal used for iSAT are described. Initially it is designed to study the movements of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), but it could potentially be used to describe high resolution movements of other marine species. © 2013 IEEE.

Experimental Results for Direction of Arrival Estimation with a Single Acoustic Vector Sensor in Shallow Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alper Bereketli

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We study the performances of several computationally efficient and simple techniques for estimating direction of arrival (DOA of an underwater acoustic source using a single acoustic vector sensor (AVS in shallow water. Underwater AVS is a compact device, which consists of one hydrophone and three accelerometers in a packaged form, measuring scalar pressure and three-dimensional acceleration simultaneously at a single position. A very controlled experimental setup is prepared to test how well-known techniques, namely, arctan-based, intensity-based, time domain beamforming, and frequency domain beamforming methods, perform in estimating DOA of a source in different circumstances. Experimental results reveal that for almost all cases beamforming techniques perform best. Moreover, arctan-based method, which is the simplest of all, provides satisfactory results for practical purposes.

Feasibility of in situ beta ray measurements in underwater environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hye Min; Park, Ki Hyun; Kang, Sung Won; Joo, Koan Sik

2017-09-01

We describe an attempt at the development of an in situ detector for beta ray measurements in underwater environment. The prototype of the in situ detector is based on a CaF2: Eu scintillator using crystal light guide and Si photomultiplier. Tests were conducted using various reference sources for evaluating the linearity and stability of the detector in underwater environment. The system is simple and stable for long-term monitoring, and consumes low power. We show here an effective detection distance of 7 mm and a 2.273 MeV end-point energy spectrum of 90 Sr/ 90 Y when using the system underwater. The results demonstrate the feasibility of in situ beta ray measurements in underwater environment and can be applied for designing an in situ detector for radioactivity measurement in underwater environment. The in situ detector can also have other applications such as installation on the marine monitoring platform and quantitative analysis of radionuclides. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the Impacts and Benefits of Implementing Full-Duplex Communications Links in an Underwater Acoustic Network

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gibson, J; Larraza, A; Rice, J; Smith, K; Xie, G

2002-01-01

.... These networks may provide command and control for autonomous underwater vehicles, forward reporting by arrays of sensor grids, ad hoc communications links to covert forces, or positive control...

Acoustic detection of UHE neutrinos in the Mediterranean sea: status and perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simeone Francesco

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years the astro-particle community is involved in the realization of experimental apparatuses for the detection of high energy neutrinos originated in cosmic sources or produced in the interaction of Cosmic Rays with the Cosmic Microwave Background. For neutrino energies in the TeV-PeV range, optical Cherenkov detectors, that have been so far positively exploited by Baikal[1], IceCube[2] and ANTARES[3], are considered optimal. For higher energies, three different experimental techniques are under study: the detection of radio pulses produced by showers induced by a neutrino interaction, the detection of air showers initiated by neutrinos interacting with rocks or deep Earth’s atmosphere and the detection of acoustic waves produced by deposition of energy following the interaction of neutrinos in an acoustically transparent medium. The potential of the acoustic detection technique, first proposed by Askaryan[4], to build very large neutrino detectors is appealing, thanks to the optimal properties of media such as water or ice as sound propagator. Though the studies on this technique are still in an early stage, acoustic positioning systems used to locate the optical modules in underwater Cherenkov neutrino detectors, give the possibility to study the ambient noise and provide important information for the future analysis of acoustic data.

Field-Deployable Acoustic Digital Systems for Noise Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Shams, Qamar A.; Wright, Kenneth D.; Lunsford, Charles B.; Smith, Charlie D.

2000-01-01

Langley Research Center (LaRC) has for years been a leader in field acoustic array measurement technique. Two field-deployable digital measurement systems have been developed to support acoustic research programs at LaRC. For several years, LaRC has used the Digital Acoustic Measurement System (DAMS) for measuring the acoustic noise levels from rotorcraft and tiltrotor aircraft. Recently, a second system called Remote Acquisition and Storage System (RASS) was developed and deployed for the first time in the field along with DAMS system for the Community Noise Flight Test using the NASA LaRC-757 aircraft during April, 2000. The test was performed at Airborne Airport in Wilmington, OH to validate predicted noise reduction benefits from alternative operational procedures. The test matrix was composed of various combinations of altitude, cutback power, and aircraft weight. The DAMS digitizes the acoustic inputs at the microphone site and can be located up to 2000 feet from the van which houses the acquisition, storage and analysis equipment. Digitized data from up to 10 microphones is recorded on a Jaz disk and is analyzed post-test by microcomputer system. The RASS digitizes and stores acoustic inputs at the microphone site that can be located up to three miles from the base station and can compose a 3 mile by 3 mile array of microphones. 16-bit digitized data from the microphones is stored on removable Jaz disk and is transferred through a high speed array to a very large high speed permanent storage device. Up to 30 microphones can be utilized in the array. System control and monitoring is accomplished via Radio Frequency (RF) link. This paper will present a detailed description of both systems, along with acoustic data analysis from both systems.

Combined Opto-Acoustical sensor modules for KM3NeT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enzenhöfer, A.

2013-01-01

KM3NeT is a future multi-cubic-kilometre water Cherenkov neutrino telescope currently entering a first construction phase. It will be located in the Mediterranean Sea and comprise about 600 vertical structures called detection units. Each of these detection units has a length of several hundred metres and is anchored to the sea bed on one side and held taut by a buoy on the other side. The detection units are thus subject to permanent movement due to sea currents. Modules holding photosensors and additional equipment are equally distributed along the detection units. The relative positions of the photosensors has to be known with an uncertainty below 20 cm in order to achieve the necessary precision for neutrino astronomy. These positions can be determined with an acoustic positioning system: dedicated acoustic emitters located at known positions and acoustic receivers along each detection unit. This article describes the approach to combine an acoustic receiver with the photosensors inside one detection module using a common power supply and data readout. The advantage of this approach lies in a reduction of underwater connectors and module configurations as well as in the compactification of the detection units integrating the auxiliary devices necessary for their successful operation.

Underwater fiber-wireless communication with a passive front end

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jing; Sun, Bin; Lyu, Weichao; Kong, Meiwei; Sarwar, Rohail; Han, Jun; Zhang, Wei; Deng, Ning

2017-11-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel concept on underwater fiber-wireless (Fi-Wi) communication system with a fully passive wireless front end. A low-cost step-index (SI) plastic optical fiber (POF) together with a passive collimating lens at the front end composes the underwater Fi-Wi architecture. We have achieved a 1.71-Gb/s transmission at a mean BER of 4.97 × 10-3 (1.30 × 10-3 when using power loading) over a 50-m SI-POF and 2-m underwater wireless channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). Although the wireless part is very short, it actually plays a crucial role in practical underwater implementation, especially in deep sea. Compared with the wired solution (e.g. using a 52-m POF cable without the UWOC part), the proposed underwater Fi-Wi scheme can save optical wet-mate connectors that are sophisticated, very expensive and difficult to install in deep ocean. By combining high-capacity robust POF with the mobility and ubiquity of underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC), the proposed underwater Fi-Wi technology will find wide application in ocean exploration.

Subwavelength image manipulation through oblique and herringbone layered acoustic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Chunhui; Jia, Han; Ke, Manzhu; Li, Yixiang; Liu, Zhengyou

2014-01-01

In this paper, an oblique and a herringbone layered acoustic structure are experimentally and theoretically demonstrated to manipulate acoustic subwavelength images. An imaging resolution of less than one tenth of a wavelength is achieved with both optimized systems, and lateral image shift has been realized by an oblique layered system. The thicknesses of both the oblique and the herringbone layered acoustic systems are largely reduced through utilizing the oblique or herringbone wave propagation path instead of the vertical wave propagation path in the rectangular layered planar acoustic system. With smaller size and subwavelength image manipulation, the acoustic systems are more favourable for practical application. (paper)

Streaming and particle motion in acoustically-actuated leaky systems

Science.gov (United States)

Nama, Nitesh; Barnkob, Rune; Jun Huang, Tony; Kahler, Christian; Costanzo, Francesco

2017-11-01

The integration of acoustics with microfluidics has shown great promise for applications within biology, chemistry, and medicine. A commonly employed system to achieve this integration consists of a fluid-filled, polymer-walled microchannel that is acoustically actuated via standing surface acoustic waves. However, despite significant experimental advancements, the precise physical understanding of such systems remains a work in progress. In this work, we investigate the nature of acoustic fields that are setup inside the microchannel as well as the fundamental driving mechanism governing the fluid and particle motion in these systems. We provide an experimental benchmark using state-of-art 3D measurements of fluid and particle motion and present a Lagrangian velocity based temporal multiscale numerical framework to explain the experimental observations. Following verification and validation, we employ our numerical model to reveal the presence of a pseudo-standing acoustic wave that drives the acoustic streaming and particle motion in these systems.

Robotics Vision-based Heuristic Reasoning for Underwater Target Tracking and Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chua Kia

2005-09-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a robotics vision-based heuristic reasoning system for underwater target tracking and navigation. This system is introduced to improve the level of automation of underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs operations. A prototype which combines computer vision with an underwater robotics system is successfully designed and developed to perform target tracking and intelligent navigation. This study focuses on developing image processing algorithms and fuzzy inference system for the analysis of the terrain. The vision system developed is capable of interpreting underwater scene by extracting subjective uncertainties of the object of interest. Subjective uncertainties are further processed as multiple inputs of a fuzzy inference system that is capable of making crisp decisions concerning where to navigate. The important part of the image analysis is morphological filtering. The applications focus on binary images with the extension of gray-level concepts. An open-loop fuzzy control system is developed for classifying the traverse of terrain. The great achievement is the system's capability to recognize and perform target tracking of the object of interest (pipeline in perspective view based on perceived condition. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by computer and prototype simulations. This work is originated from the desire to develop robotics vision system with the ability to mimic the human expert's judgement and reasoning when maneuvering ROV in the traverse of the underwater terrain.

Robotics Vision-based Heuristic Reasoning for Underwater Target Tracking and Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chua Kia

2008-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a robotics vision-based heuristic reasoning system for underwater target tracking and navigation. This system is introduced to improve the level of automation of underwater Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs operations. A prototype which combines computer vision with an underwater robotics system is successfully designed and developed to perform target tracking and intelligent navigation. This study focuses on developing image processing algorithms and fuzzy inference system for the analysis of the terrain. The vision system developed is capable of interpreting underwater scene by extracting subjective uncertainties of the object of interest. Subjective uncertainties are further processed as multiple inputs of a fuzzy inference system that is capable of making crisp decisions concerning where to navigate. The important part of the image analysis is morphological filtering. The applications focus on binary images with the extension of gray-level concepts. An open-loop fuzzy control system is developed for classifying the traverse of terrain. The great achievement is the system's capability to recognize and perform target tracking of the object of interest (pipeline in perspective view based on perceived condition. The effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated by computer and prototype simulations. This work is originated from the desire to develop robotics vision system with the ability to mimic the human expert's judgement and reasoning when maneuvering ROV in the traverse of the underwater terrain.

Underwater Broadband Source Localization Based on Modal Filtering and Features Extraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominique Fattaccioli

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Passive source localization is a crucial issue in underwater acoustics. In this paper, we focus on shallow water environment (0 to 400 m and broadband Ultra-Low Frequency acoustic sources (1 to 100 Hz. In this configuration and at a long range, the acoustic propagation can be described by normal mode theory. The propagating signal breaks up into a series of depth-dependent modes. These modes carry information about the source position. Mode excitation factors and mode phases analysis allow, respectively, localization in depth and distance. We propose two different approaches to achieve the localization: multidimensional approach (using a horizontal array of hydrophones based on frequency-wavenumber transform (F-K method and monodimensional approach (using a single hydrophone based on adapted spectral representation (FTa method. For both approaches, we propose first complete tools for modal filtering, and then depth and distance estimators. We show that adding mode sign and source spectrum informations improves considerably the localization performance in depth. The reference acoustic field needed for depth localization is simulated with the new realistic propagation modelMoctesuma. The feasibility of both approaches, F-K and FTa, are validated on data simulated in shallow water for different configurations. The performance of localization, in depth and distance, is very satisfactory.

Underwater Broadband Source Localization Based on Modal Filtering and Features Extraction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristol Xavier

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Passive source localization is a crucial issue in underwater acoustics. In this paper, we focus on shallow water environment (0 to 400 m and broadband Ultra-Low Frequency acoustic sources (1 to 100 Hz. In this configuration and at a long range, the acoustic propagation can be described by normal mode theory. The propagating signal breaks up into a series of depth-dependent modes. These modes carry information about the source position. Mode excitation factors and mode phases analysis allow, respectively, localization in depth and distance. We propose two different approaches to achieve the localization: multidimensional approach (using a horizontal array of hydrophones based on frequency-wavenumber transform ( method and monodimensional approach (using a single hydrophone based on adapted spectral representation ( method. For both approaches, we propose first complete tools for modal filtering, and then depth and distance estimators. We show that adding mode sign and source spectrum informations improves considerably the localization performance in depth. The reference acoustic field needed for depth localization is simulated with the new realistic propagation modelMoctesuma. The feasibility of both approaches, and , are validated on data simulated in shallow water for different configurations. The performance of localization, in depth and distance, is very satisfactory.

Multireceiver Acoustic Communications in Time-Varying Environments

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

Conf. on Computer Science and Information Technology (ICCSIT), Chengdu, China , 2010, pp. 606–609, vol. 9. [8] P. Bouvet and A. Loussert, “Capacity...analysis of underwater acoustic MIMO communications,”OCEANS, Sydney, NSW, 2010, pp. 1–8. [9] Wines lab (2013). Wireless networks and embedded... China , 2012, pp. 2059–2063. [17] S. Katwal, R. Nath and G. Murmu, “A simple Kalman channel equalizer using adaptive algorithms for time-variant channel

Measurement of Underwater Operational Noise Emitted by Wave and Tidal Stream Energy Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Lepper, Paul A; Robinson, Stephen P

2016-01-01

The increasing international growth in the development of marine and freshwater wave and tidal energy harvesting systems has been followed by a growing requirement to understand any associated underwater impact. Radiated noise generated during operation is dependent on the device's physical properties, the sound-propagation environment, and the device's operational state. Physical properties may include size, distribution in the water column, and mechanics/hydrodynamics. The sound-propagation environment may be influenced by water depth, bathymetry, sediment type, and water column acoustic properties, and operational state may be influenced by tidal cycle and wave height among others This paper discusses some of the challenges for measurement of noise characteristics from these devices as well as a case study of the measurement of radiated noise from a full-scale wave energy converter.

Polarization Calculation and Underwater Target Detection Inspired by Biological Visual Imaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Shen

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In challenging underwater environments, the polarization parameter maps calculated by the Stokes model are characterized by the high noise and error, harassing the underwater target detection tasks. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel bionic polarization calculation and underwater target detection method by modeling the visual system of mantis shrimps. This system includes many operators including a polarization-opposition calculation, a factor optimization and a visual neural network model. A calibration learning method is proposed to search the optimal value of the factors in the linear subtraction model. Finally, a six-channel visual neural network model is proposed to detect the underwater targets. Experimental results proved that the maps produced by the polarization-opposition parameter is more accurate and have lower noise than that produced by the Stokes parameter, achieving better performance in underwater target detection tasks.

Evaluation of a Single-Beam Sonar System to Map Seagrass at Two Sites in Northern Puget Sound, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Andrew W.; Lacy, Jessica R.; Finlayson, David P.; Gelfenbaum, Guy

2008-01-01

Seagrass at two sites in northern Puget Sound, Possession Point and nearby Browns Bay, was mapped using both a single-beam sonar and underwater video camera. The acoustic and underwater video data were compared to evaluate the accuracy of acoustic estimates of seagrass cover. The accuracy of the acoustic method was calculated for three classifications of seagrass observed in underwater video: bare (no seagrass), patchy seagrass, and continuous seagrass. Acoustic and underwater video methods agreed in 92 percent and 74 percent of observations made in bare and continuous areas, respectively. However, in patchy seagrass, the agreement between acoustic and underwater video was poor (43 percent). The poor agreement between the two methods in areas with patchy seagrass is likely because the two instruments were not precisely colocated. The distribution of seagrass at the two sites differed both in overall percent vegetated and in the distribution of percent cover versus depth. On the basis of acoustic data, seagrass inhabited 0.29 km2 (19 percent of total area) at Possession Point and 0.043 km2 (5 percent of total area) at the Browns Bay study site. The depth distribution at the two sites was markedly different. Whereas the majority of seagrass at Possession Point occurred between -0.5 and -1.5 m MLLW, most seagrass at Browns Bay occurred at a greater depth, between -2.25 and -3.5 m MLLW. Further investigation of the anthropogenic and natural factors causing these differences in distribution is needed.

Marine mammal tracks from two-hydrophone acoustic recordings made with a glider

Science.gov (United States)

Küsel, Elizabeth T.; Munoz, Tessa; Siderius, Martin; Mellinger, David K.; Heimlich, Sara

2017-04-01

A multinational oceanographic and acoustic sea experiment was carried out in the summer of 2014 off the western coast of the island of Sardinia, Mediterranean Sea. During this experiment, an underwater glider fitted with two hydrophones was evaluated as a potential tool for marine mammal population density estimation studies. An acoustic recording system was also tested, comprising an inexpensive, off-the-shelf digital recorder installed inside the glider. Detection and classification of sounds produced by whales and dolphins, and sometimes tracking and localization, are inherent components of population density estimation from passive acoustics recordings. In this work we discuss the equipment used as well as analysis of the data obtained, including detection and estimation of bearing angles. A human analyst identified the presence of sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) regular clicks as well as dolphin clicks and whistles. Cross-correlating clicks recorded on both data channels allowed for the estimation of the direction (bearing) of clicks, and realization of animal tracks. Insights from this bearing tracking analysis can aid in population density estimation studies by providing further information (bearings), which can improve estimates.

Collision Detection for Underwater ROV Manipulator Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satja Sivčev

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Work-class ROVs equipped with robotic manipulators are extensively used for subsea intervention operations. Manipulators are teleoperated by human pilots relying on visual feedback from the worksite. Operating in a remote environment, with limited pilot perception and poor visibility, manipulator collisions which may cause significant damage are likely to happen. This paper presents a real-time collision detection algorithm for marine robotic manipulation. The proposed collision detection mechanism is developed, integrated into a commercial ROV manipulator control system, and successfully evaluated in simulations and experimental setup using a real industry standard underwater manipulator. The presented collision sensing solution has a potential to be a useful pilot assisting tool that can reduce the task load, operational time, and costs of subsea inspection, repair, and maintenance operations.

HULU SUNGAI PERAK BED SEDIMENT MAPPING USING UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC SONAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Arriafdi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Development in acoustic survey techniques in particular side scan sonar have revolutionized the way we are able to image, map and understand the riverbed environment. It is now cost effective to image large areas of the riverbed using these techniques and the backscatter image created from surveys provides base line data from which thematic maps of the riverbed environment including maps of morphological geology, can be derived when interpreted in conjunction with in situ sampling data. This article focuses on investigation characteristics of sediments and correlation of side scan backscatter image with signal strength. The interpretation of acoustic backscatter rely on experienced interpretation by eye of grey scale images produced from the data. A 990F Starfish Side Scan Sonar was used to collect and develop a series of sonar images along 6 km of Hulu Sungai Perak. Background sediments could be delineated accurately and the image textures could be linked to the actual river floor appearance through grab sampling. A major difference was found in the acoustic returns from the two research area studies: the upstream area shows much rougher textures. This is due to an actual differences in riverbed roughness, caused by a difference in bottom currents and sediment dynamics in the two areas. The highest backscatter correlates with coarsest and roughness sediment. Result suggest that image based backscatter classification shows considerable promise for interpretation of side scan sonar data for the production of geological maps.

Development of underwater laser cutting technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Seiichi; Inaba, Takanori; Inose, Koutarou; Matsumoto, Naoyuki; Sakakibara, Yuji

2015-01-01

In is desirable to use remote underwater device for the decommissioning work of highly radioactive components such as the nuclear internals from a view point of reducing the ranitidine exposure to the worker. Underwater laser cutting technology has advantages. First advantage in underwater laser cutting technology is that low reaction force during cutting, namely, remote operability is superior. Second point is that underwater laser cutting generates a little amount of secondary waste, because cutting kerf size is very small. Third point is that underwater laser cutting has low risk of the process delay, because device trouble is hard to happen. While underwater laser cutting has many advantages, the careful consideration in the safe treatment of the offgas which underwater laser cutting generates is necessary. This paper describes outline of underwater laser cutting technology developed by IHI Corporation (IHI) and that this technology is effective in various dismantling works in water. (author)

Blind equalization for underwater communications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blom, K.C.H.

2014-01-01

Underwater wireless (sensor) networks would vastly improve man's ability to explore and exploit remote aquatic environments. Despite underwater sensor and vehicle technology being relatively mature, underwater communications is still a major challenge. The most challenging characteristics of the

Underwater Acoustic Measurements to Estimate Wind and Rainfall in the Mediterranean Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Pensieri

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Oceanic ambient noise measurements can be analyzed to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about wind and rainfall phenomena over the ocean filling the existing gap of reliable meteorological observations at sea. The Ligurian Sea Acoustic Experiment was designed to collect long-term synergistic observations from a passive acoustic recorder and surface sensors (i.e., buoy mounted rain gauge and anemometer and weather radar to support error analysis of rainfall rate and wind speed quantification techniques developed in past studies. The study period included combination of high and low wind and rainfall episodes and two storm events that caused two floods in the vicinity of La Spezia and in the city of Genoa in 2011. The availability of high resolution in situ meteorological data allows improving data processing technique to detect and especially to provide effective estimates of wind and rainfall at sea. Results show a very good correspondence between estimates provided by passive acoustic recorder algorithm and in situ observations for both rainfall and wind phenomena and demonstrate the potential of using measurements provided by passive acoustic instruments in open sea for early warning of approaching coastal storms, which for the Mediterranean coastal areas constitutes one of the main causes of recurrent floods.

Underwater Acoustic Wireless Sensor Networks: Advances and Future Trends in Physical, MAC and Routing Layers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Climent, S.; Sanchez, A.; Capella, J.V.; Meratnia, Nirvana; Serrano, J.J.

2014-01-01

This survey aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current research on underwater wireless sensor networks, focusing on the lower layers of the communication stack, and envisions future trends and challenges. It analyzes the current state-of-the-art on the physical, medium access control

Optimization of a Biometric System Based on Acoustic Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alberto Izquierdo Fuente

2014-01-01

Full Text Available On the basis of an acoustic biometric system that captures 16 acoustic images of a person for 4 frequencies and 4 positions, a study was carried out to improve the performance of the system. On a first stage, an analysis to determine which images provide more information to the system was carried out showing that a set of 12 images allows the system to obtain results that are equivalent to using all of the 16 images. Finally, optimization techniques were used to obtain the set of weights associated with each acoustic image that maximizes the performance of the biometric system. These results improve significantly the performance of the preliminary system, while reducing the time of acquisition and computational burden, since the number of acoustic images was reduced.

Optimization of a Biometric System Based on Acoustic Images

Science.gov (United States)

Izquierdo Fuente, Alberto; Del Val Puente, Lara; Villacorta Calvo, Juan J.; Raboso Mateos, Mariano

2014-01-01

On the basis of an acoustic biometric system that captures 16 acoustic images of a person for 4 frequencies and 4 positions, a study was carried out to improve the performance of the system. On a first stage, an analysis to determine which images provide more information to the system was carried out showing that a set of 12 images allows the system to obtain results that are equivalent to using all of the 16 images. Finally, optimization techniques were used to obtain the set of weights associated with each acoustic image that maximizes the performance of the biometric system. These results improve significantly the performance of the preliminary system, while reducing the time of acquisition and computational burden, since the number of acoustic images was reduced. PMID:24616643

The use of a sparse planar array sensor for measurement of the acoustic properties of panel materials at simulated ocean conditions

OpenAIRE

Beamiss, Graham A.; Robinson, Stephen P.; Wang, Lian S.; Hayman, Gary; Humphrey, Victor F.; Smith, John D.; Martin, M. J.

2015-01-01

Characterisation of the acoustic properties of materials for underwater acoustics is often carried out by measuring the transmitted and/or reflected pressure signals after insonification of a test panel by an incident acoustic wave. For this method to be reliable, the incident and transmitted (or reflected) signals arriving at the hydrophone receiver should be well separated in time (enabling windowing techniques to be applied), and the diffracted signals from the panel edge should not contam...

Vibro-acoustic modeling and analysis of a coupled acoustic system comprising a partially opened cavity coupled with a flexible plate

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Shuangxia; Su, Zhu; Jin, Guoyong; Liu, Zhigang

2018-01-01

This paper is concerned with the modeling and solution method of a three-dimensional (3D) coupled acoustic system comprising a partially opened cavity coupled with a flexible plate and an exterior field of semi-infinite size, which is ubiquitously encountered in architectural acoustics and is a reasonable representation of many engineering occasions. A general solution method is presented to predict the dynamic behaviors of the three-dimensional (3D) acoustic coupled system, in which the displacement of the plate and the sound pressure in the cavity are respectively constructed in the form of the two-dimensional and three-dimensional modified Fourier series with several auxiliary functions introduced to ensure the uniform convergence of the solution over the entire solution domain. The effect of the opening is taken into account via the work done by the sound pressure acting at the coupling aperture that is contributed from the vibration of particles on the acoustic coupling interface and on the structural-acoustic coupling interface. Both the acoustic coupling between finite cavity and exterior field and the structural-acoustic coupling between flexible plate and interior acoustic field are considered in the vibro-acoustic modeling of the three-dimensional acoustic coupled acoustic system. The dynamic responses of the coupled structural-acoustic system are obtained using the Rayleigh-Ritz procedure based on the energy expressions for the coupled system. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method are validated through numerical examples and comparison with results obtained by the boundary element analysis. Furthermore, the influence of the opening and the cavity volume on the acoustic behaviors of opened cavity system is studied.

Advances in the ROBLINKS project on long-range shallow-water robust acoustic communciation links

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gijzen, M.B. van; Walree, P.A. van; Cano, D.; Passerieux, J-M.; Waldhorst, A.; Weber, R.

2000-01-01

Within the ROBLINKS project waveforms and algorithms have been developed to establish robust underwater acoustic communication links with high data rates in shallow water. To evaluate the signalling schemes, a wide range of experiments has been performed during a sea trial that has been held in May

Radiation-acoustic system for solid state research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zalyubovsky, I.I.; Kalinichenko, A.I.; Kresnin, Yu.; Popov, G.F.

1998-01-01

The radiation-acoustic system (RAS) is designed for comprehensive investigation of thermoelastic (TE), thermophysical (TP) and thermodynamic (TD) characteristics of structural materials. It operation is based on radiation-acoustic method, which includes probing of investigated materials by pulsed electron beam and registration the exited thermo acoustic stress. The hardware includes a CAMAC crate, an IBM PC computer, a set of sensors, a strobe analog-digital converter, a commutators of analog signals, and drivers of physical parameters. The system allows to process thermo acoustic signals generated in beam-target interaction and to extract information about phase state, TE-, TP-, and TD characteristics of the target materials. The system was used for simultaneous measuring of phase state, TE-, TP-, and TD characteristics and for investigation of kinetics of structural phase transitions in multifunctional materials such as materials with the shape memory effect (CuAlNi, TiNi, TiNiFe, TiNiCu), rare-earth metals (Dy, Gd), high-temperature superconductors YBaCuO, piezoelectric crystals (TiBa, ZrTiPb-ceramics), polymers (PMMA, PTFE, PE) etc

Fault Risk Assessment of Underwater Vehicle Steering System Based on Virtual Prototyping and Monte Carlo Simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

He Deyu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Assessing the risks of steering system faults in underwater vehicles is a human-machine-environment (HME systematic safety field that studies faults in the steering system itself, the driver’s human reliability (HR and various environmental conditions. This paper proposed a fault risk assessment method for an underwater vehicle steering system based on virtual prototyping and Monte Carlo simulation. A virtual steering system prototype was established and validated to rectify a lack of historic fault data. Fault injection and simulation were conducted to acquire fault simulation data. A Monte Carlo simulation was adopted that integrated randomness due to the human operator and environment. Randomness and uncertainty of the human, machine and environment were integrated in the method to obtain a probabilistic risk indicator. To verify the proposed method, a case of stuck rudder fault (SRF risk assessment was studied. This method may provide a novel solution for fault risk assessment of a vehicle or other general HME system.

Controlling an acoustic wave with a cylindrically-symmetric gradient-index system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhe; Li Rui-Qi; Liang Bin; Zou Xin-Ye; Cheng Jian-Chun

2015-01-01

We present a detailed theoretical description of wave propagation in an acoustic gradient-index system with cylindrical symmetry and demonstrate its potential to numerically control acoustic waves in different ways. The trajectory of an acoustic wave within the system is derived by employing the theory of geometric acoustics, and the validity of the theoretical descriptions is verified numerically by using the finite element method simulation. The results show that by tailoring the distribution function of the refractive index, the proposed system can yield a tunable manipulation of acoustic waves, such as acoustic bending, trapping, and absorbing. (paper)

Current State of Technology of Fuel Cell Power Systems for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alejandro Mendez

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs are vehicles that are primarily used to accomplish oceanographic research data collection and auxiliary offshore tasks. At the present time, they are usually powered by lithium-ion secondary batteries, which have insufficient specific energies. In order for this technology to achieve a mature state, increased endurance is required. Fuel cell power systems have been identified as an effective means to achieve this endurance but no implementation in a commercial device has yet been realized. This paper summarizes the current state of development of the technology in this field of research. First, the most adequate type of fuel cell for this application is discussed. The prototypes and design concepts of AUVs powered by fuel cells which have been developed in the last few years are described. Possible commercial and experimental fuel cell stack options are analyzed, examining solutions adopted in the analogous aerial vehicle applications, as well as the underwater ones, to see if integration in an AUV is feasible. Current solutions in oxygen and hydrogen storage systems are overviewed and energy density is objectively compared between battery power systems and fuel cell power systems for AUVs. A couple of system configuration solutions are described including the necessary lithium-ion battery hybrid system. Finally, some closing remarks on the future of this technology are given.

Short-Range Sensor for Underwater Robot Navigation using Line-lasers and Vision

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Peter Nicholas; Nielsen, Mikkel Cornelius; Christensen, David Johan

2015-01-01

This paper investigates a minimalistic laser-based range sensor, used for underwater inspection by Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV). This range detection system system comprise two lasers projecting vertical lines, parallel to a camera’s viewing axis, into the environment. Using both lasers...

Underwater Scene Composition

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Nanyoung

2009-01-01

In this article, the author describes an underwater scene composition for elementary-education majors. This project deals with watercolor with crayon or oil-pastel resist (medium); the beauty of nature represented by fish in the underwater scene (theme); texture and pattern (design elements); drawing simple forms (drawing skill); and composition…

Resources for Underwater Robotics Education

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Michael L.; Freitas, William M.

2016-01-01

4-H clubs can build and program underwater robots from raw materials. An annotated resource list for engaging youth in building underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) is provided. This article is a companion piece to the Research in Brief article "Building Teen Futures with Underwater Robotics" in this issue of the "Journal of…

Optimal BRUVs (baited remote underwater video system) survey ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Marine protected areas (MPAs) play an important role in coastal conservation, but there is presently no uniformly applied methodology for monitoring the efficacy of coastal fish protection. Whereas underwater visual census and controlled angling surveys have been used, their skilled-labour requirements and environmental ...

A new technique for robot vision in autonomous underwater vehicles using the color shift in underwater imaging

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

FOR ROBOT VISION IN AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES USING THE COLOR SHIFT IN UNDERWATER IMAGING by Jake A. Jones June 2017 Thesis Advisor...techniques to determine the distances from each pixel to the camera. 14. SUBJECT TERMS unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), autonomous ... AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLES USING THE COLOR SHIFT IN UNDERWATER IMAGING Jake A. Jones Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy B.S

Energy Consumption Research of Mobile Data Collection Protocol for Underwater Nodes Using an USV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhichao Lv

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV integrated with an acoustic modem is a novel mobile vehicle for data collection, which has an advantage in terms of mobility, efficiency, and collection cost. In the scenario of data collection, the USV is controlled autonomously along the planning trajectory and the data of underwater nodes are dynamically collected. In order to improve the efficiency of data collection and extend the life of the underwater nodes, a mobile data collection protocol for underwater nodes using the USV was proposed. In the protocol, the stop-and-wait ARQ transmission mechanism is adopted, where the duty cycle is designed considering the ratio between the sleep mode and the detection mode, and the transmission ratio is defined by the duty cycle, wake-up signal cycles, and USV’s speed. According to protocol, the evaluation index for energy consumption is constructed based on the duty cycle and the transmission ratio. The energy consumption of the protocol is simulated and analyzed using the mobile communication experiment data of USV, taking into consideration USV’s speed, data sequence length, and duty cycle. Optimized protocol parameters are identified, which in turn denotes the proposed protocol’s feasibility and effectiveness.

Performance analysis of passive time reversal communication technique for multipath interference in shallow sea acoustic channel

Science.gov (United States)

Kida, Yukihiro; Shimura, Takuya; Deguchi, Mitsuyasu; Watanabe, Yoshitaka; Ochi, Hiroshi; Meguro, Koji

2017-07-01

In this study, the performance of passive time reversal (PTR) communication techniques in multipath rich underwater acoustic environments is investigated. It is recognized empirically and qualitatively that a large number of multipath arrivals could generally raise the demodulation result of PTR. However, the relationship between multipath and the demodulation result is hardly evaluated quantitatively. In this study, the efficiency of the PTR acoustic communication techniques for multipath interference cancelation was investigated quantitatively by applying a PTR-DFE (decision feed-back filter) scheme to a synthetic dataset of a horizontal underwater acoustic channel. Mainly, in this study, we focused on the relationship between the signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) of datasets and the output signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) of demodulation results by a parametric study approach. As a result, a proportional relation between SIR and OSNR is confirmed in low-SNR datasets. It was also found that PTR has a performance limitation, that is OSNR converges to a typical value depending on the number of receivers. In conclusion, results indicate that PTR could utilize the multipath efficiently and also withstand the negative effects of multipath interference at a given limitation.

Ontogenetic investigation of underwater hearing capabilities in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) using a dual testing approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavender, Ashley L; Bartol, Soraya M; Bartol, Ian K

2014-07-15

Sea turtles reside in different acoustic environments with each life history stage and may have different hearing capacity throughout ontogeny. For this study, two independent yet complementary techniques for hearing assessment, i.e. behavioral and electrophysiological audiometry, were employed to (1) measure hearing in post-hatchling and juvenile loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta (19-62 cm straight carapace length) to determine whether these migratory turtles exhibit an ontogenetic shift in underwater auditory detection and (2) evaluate whether hearing frequency range and threshold sensitivity are consistent in behavioral and electrophysiological tests. Behavioral trials first required training turtles to respond to known frequencies, a multi-stage, time-intensive process, and then recording their behavior when they were presented with sound stimuli from an underwater speaker using a two-response forced-choice paradigm. Electrophysiological experiments involved submerging restrained, fully conscious turtles just below the air-water interface and recording auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) when sound stimuli were presented using an underwater speaker. No significant differences in behavior-derived auditory thresholds or AEP-derived auditory thresholds were detected between post-hatchling and juvenile sea turtles. While hearing frequency range (50-1000/1100 Hz) and highest sensitivity (100-400 Hz) were consistent in audiograms pooled by size class for both behavior and AEP experiments, both post-hatchlings and juveniles had significantly higher AEP-derived than behavior-derived auditory thresholds, indicating that behavioral assessment is a more sensitive testing approach. The results from this study suggest that post-hatchling and juvenile loggerhead sea turtles are low-frequency specialists, exhibiting little differences in threshold sensitivity and frequency bandwidth despite residence in acoustically distinct environments throughout ontogeny. © 2014

Novel acoustic technology for studying free-ranging shark social behaviour by recording individuals' interactions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tristan L Guttridge

Full Text Available Group behaviours are widespread among fish but comparatively little is known about the interactions between free-ranging individuals and how these might change across different spatio-temporal scales. This is largely due to the difficulty of observing wild fish groups directly underwater over long enough time periods to quantify group structure and individual associations. Here we describe the use of a novel technology, an animal-borne acoustic proximity receiver that records close-spatial associations between free-ranging fish by detection of acoustic signals emitted from transmitters on other individuals. Validation trials, held within enclosures in the natural environment, on juvenile lemon sharks Negaprion brevirostris fitted with external receivers and transmitters, showed receivers logged interactions between individuals regularly when sharks were within 4 m ( approximately 4 body lengths of each other, but rarely when at 10 m distance. A field trial lasting 17 days with 5 juvenile lemon sharks implanted with proximity receivers showed one receiver successfully recorded association data, demonstrating this shark associated with 9 other juvenile lemon sharks on 128 occasions. This study describes the use of acoustic underwater proximity receivers to quantify interactions among wild sharks, setting the scene for new advances in understanding the social behaviours of marine animals.

Underwater Noise Pollution at the Strait of Istanbul (Bosphorus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cem Gazioğlu

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Underwater noise pollution (UNP has become a major concern in marine habitats, which is intense anthropogenic noise in the marine (aquatic environment. It is caused by ship traffic, oceanographic experiments, and use of explosives in geophysical research, underwater construction, active sonars and seismic survey techniques. Oceans are much nosier than 1960s. Narrow and shallow channel noisy aquatic environments where noise levels reach the highest value is not surprising. The Strait of Istanbul (SoI; Bosphorus is one of the most important maritime passages (app. 50 000 vessel/year or 140 vessel/day which is situated between the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea are also biologically extremely important gateway not only it provides access to a channel. Many of the varieties of fish migration hunting value are realized through the TSS. Local maritime traffic is another important acoustic sources which are more than 3 000 elements (Kesgin and Vardar, 2001 of everyday local traffic in SoI, which are causing noise in the 2 and 10 kHz range. Large vessels create signals both in bands below 1 kHz (main engine, electrical instruments cavitation noise creates higher frequency bands. Almost all elements of marine traffic in SoI located therefore encountered UND in all bands.

Study on underwater plasma arc cutting technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yada, Toshio; Nakamura, Uhachiro; Tomidokoro, Sakae; Fukuzawa, Mitsuo

1980-01-01

The zirconium alloy tube of the impile creep test facility had been subjected to inner pressure in the Japan Material Testing Reactor (JMTR) environment. In the near future, it will be necessary to dismantle the facility and to take out the tube for such examinations as irradiation effects on material properties. In order to establish the dismantling technology for the radioactive facility, a study on underwater plasma arc cutting has been carried out since 1977. Primarily, optimum underwater cutting sequence and conditions were studied in details for developing the remote control handling and the cutting system. Further, the amounts of particles suspended in water as well as those contained in bubbled gas were quantitatively analyzed for developing a safe removal system for contaminants which were produced by cutting the radioactive material. As a result of this study, it has been concluded that the underwater plasma arc cutting method is generally suitable and effective for dismantling such radioactive material as the impile creep test facility of the JMTR. (author)

Ray and wave chaos in underwater acoustic waveguides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Virovlyansky, Anatolii L; Makarov, Denis V; Prants, Sergei V

2012-01-01

In the 1990s, the study of the chaotic behavior of ray trajectories in inhomogeneous waveguides emerged as a new field in ocean acoustics. It turned out that at ranges on the order of or larger than 1000 km ray chaos is well developed and should be taken into account when describing long-range sound propagation in the ocean. The theoretical analysis of ray chaos and of its finite-wavelength manifestation, wave chaos, is to a large extent based on well-known methods and ideas from the theory of dynamical and quantum chaos. Concrete examples are used to review the results obtained in this field over the last two decades. (reviews of topical problems)

Reduced Attitude Control of a Robotic Underwater Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bláha Lukáš

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with stabilization and reduced attitude control of a robotic underwater vehicle. The vehicle is assumed to be able to perform a full stable rotations around all axes in underwater space, that is why the standard bottom-heavy structure is not used. The system preferably uses a vectored-thrust arrangement and is built as an overactuated system, which enables to gain a better robustness and guarantees a stable controlled motion even if some thruster suddenly stop working. Because the heading angle cannot be measured, the reduced attitude control strategy is designed and the stability of reduced state of the system is proved using perturbation method.

ULTRA: Underwater Localization for Transit and Reconnaissance Autonomy

Science.gov (United States)

Huntsberger, Terrance L.

2013-01-01

This software addresses the issue of underwater localization of unmanned vehicles and the inherent drift in their onboard sensors. The software gives a 2 to 3 factor of improvement over the state-of-the-art underwater localization algorithms. The software determines the localization (position, heading) of an AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) in environments where there is no GPS signal. It accomplishes this using only the commanded position, onboard gyros/accelerometers, and the bathymetry of the bottom provided by an onboard sonar system. The software does not rely on an onboard bathymetry dataset, but instead incrementally determines the position of the AUV while mapping the bottom. In order to enable long-distance underwater navigation by AUVs, a localization method called ULTRA uses registration of the bathymetry data products produced by the onboard forward-looking sonar system for hazard avoidance during a transit to derive the motion and pose of the AUV in order to correct the DR (dead reckoning) estimates. The registration algorithm uses iterative point matching (IPM) combined with surface interpolation of the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. This method was used previously at JPL for onboard unmanned ground vehicle localization, and has been optimized for efficient computational and memory use.

Potential of acoustic monitoring for safety assessment of primary system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olma, B.J.

1997-01-01

Safety assessment of the primary system and its components with respect to their mechanical integrity is increasingly supported by acoustic signature analysis during power operation of the plants. Acoustic signals of Loose Parts Monitoring System sensors are continuously monitored by dedicated digital systems for signal bursts associated with metallic impacts. Several years of ISTec/GRS experience and the practical use of its digital systems MEDEA and RAMSES have shown that acoustic monitoring is very successful for detecting component failures at an early stage. Advanced powerful tools for classification and acoustic evaluation of burst signals have recently been realized. The paper presents diagnosis experiences of BWR's and PWR's safety assessment. (author). 7 refs, 8 figs

Underwater Acoustic Modem Configured for Use in a Local Area Network

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Rice, J

1998-01-01

The U.S. Navy Telesonar RDT&E effort is developing a low cost, non-coherent acoustic modem capable of data transmission under adverse channel conditions at data rates up to 2400 bits per second (bps...

Acoustic Shotgun System

Science.gov (United States)

2009-09-16

dispersing a plurality of relatively small, supercavitating projectiles in the water over a wide spatial field at long ranges from an underwater gun...or surface gun. (2) Description of the Prior Art [0004] One major technical challenge related to employing supercavitating projectiles against...accordingly is more limited. [0005] A second problem common to supercavitating projectiles is the configuration of the projectile itself. The primary

Ocean Wave Energy: Underwater Substation System for Wave Energy Converters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahm, Magnus

2010-01-01

This thesis deals with a system for operation of directly driven offshore wave energy converters. The work that has been carried out includes laboratory testing of a permanent magnet linear generator, wave energy converter mechanical design and offshore testing, and finally design, implementation, and offshore testing of an underwater collector substation. Long-term testing of a single point absorber, which was installed in March 2006, has been performed in real ocean waves in linear and in non-linear damping mode. The two different damping modes were realized by, first, a resistive load, and second, a rectifier with voltage smoothing capacitors and a resistive load in the DC-link. The loads are placed on land about 2 km east of the Lysekil wave energy research site, where the offshore experiments have been conducted. In the spring of 2009, another two wave energy converter prototypes were installed. Records of array operation were taken with two and three devices in the array. With two units, non-linear damping was used, and with three units, linear damping was employed. The point absorbers in the array are connected to the underwater substation, which is based on a 3 m3 pressure vessel standing on the seabed. In the substation, rectification of the frequency and amplitude modulated voltages from the linear generators is made. The DC voltage is smoothened by capacitors and inverted to 50 Hz electrical frequency, transformed and finally transmitted to the on-shore measuring station. Results show that the absorption is heavily dependent on the damping. It has also been shown that by increasing the damping, the standard deviation of electrical power can be reduced. The standard deviation of electrical power is reduced by array operation compared to single unit operation. Ongoing and future work include the construction and installation of a second underwater substation, which will connect the first substation and seven new WECs

Nano-optomechanical system based on microwave frequency surface acoustic waves

Science.gov (United States)

Tadesse, Semere Ayalew

Cavity optomechnics studies the interaction of cavity confined photons with mechanical motion. The emergence of sophisticated nanofabrication technology has led to experimental demonstrations of a wide range of novel optomechanical systems that exhibit strong optomechanical coupling and allow exploration of interesting physical phenomena. Many of the studies reported so far are focused on interaction of photons with localized mechanical modes. For my doctoral research, I did experimental investigations to extend this study to propagating phonons. I used surface travelling acoustic waves as the mechanical element of my optomechanical system. The optical cavities constitute an optical racetrack resonator and photonic crystal nanocavity. This dissertation discusses implementation of this surface acoustic wave based optomechanical system and experimental demonstrations of important consequences of the optomechanical coupling. The discussion focuses on three important achievements of the research. First, microwave frequency surface acoustic wave transducers were co-integrated with an optical racetrack resonator on a piezoelectric aluminum nitride film deposited on an oxidized silicon substrate. Acousto-optic modulation of the resonance modes at above 10 GHz with the acoustic wavelength significantly below the optical wavelength was achieved. The phase and modal matching conditions in this paradigm were investigated for efficient optmechanical coupling. Second, the optomechanical coupling was pushed further into the sideband resolved regime by integrating the high frequency surface acoustic wave transducers with a photonic crystal nanocavity. This device was used to demonstrate optomecahnically induced transparency and absorption, one of the interesting consequences of cavity optomechanics. Phase coherent interaction of the acoustic wave with multiple nanocavities was also explored. In a related experiment, the photonic crystal nanoscavity was placed inside an acoustic

12th Anglo-French Physical Acoustics Conference (AFPAC2013)

Science.gov (United States)

2014-04-01

The Anglo-French Physical Acoustics Conference (AFPAC) had its 12th annual meeting in Villa Clythia, Fréjus, France, from 16th to 18th January 2013. This series of meetings is a collaboration between the Physical Acoustics Group (PAG) of the Institute of Physics and the Groupe d'Acoustique Physique, Sous-marine et UltraSonore (GAPSUS) of the Société Française d'Acoustique. This year, attendees got the opportunity to see the French Riviera with its Mediterranean vegetation covered by a nice thick snow layer. The participants heard 34 excellent oral presentations and saw 3 posters covering an exciting and diverse range of subjects and of frequencies, from ultrasonic wave propagation in chocolate to metamaterials applied to seismic waves for protecting buildings. Among them, invited talks were given by Pr F A Duck ( Enhanced healing by ultrasound: clinical effects and mechanisms), Pr. J-C Valiére, who actually gave two invited talks ( 1. Measurement of audible acoustic particle velocity using laser: Principles, signal processing and applications, 2. Acoustic pots in ancient and medieval buildings: Literary analysis of ancient texts and comparison with recent observations in French churches), Dr P Huthwaite ( Ultrasonic imaging through the resolution of inverse problems), Dr X Lurton ( Underwater acoustic systems on oceanographic research vessels: principles and applications), Dr S Guenneau ( From platonics to seismic metamaterials). For the fifth consecutive year AFPAC is followed by the publication of its proceedings with 12 peer-reviewed papers which cover the most recent research developments in the field of Physical Acoustics in the UK and France. Alain Lhémery (CEA, France) and Nader Saffari (UCL, United Kingdom) French Riviera 12th AFPAC — Villa Clythia, Fréjus (French Riviera), the 17th of January 2013

Development of an optical beam system for deep sea data acquisition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibata, Yozo

1994-01-01

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) are an ideal method for acquiring data from instruments located on the seabed. Electrical, acoustic or optical signals can be used to communicate with the data acquisition system. While optical signals have high capacity, the power of the optical beam decreases rapidly with distance in sea water; however, the ROV's ability to approach the instruments eliminates this problem. To investigate a feasibility of an optical beam system for underwater data acquisition, the author has developed and manufactured a prototype data acquisition instrument which the ROV can control. Based on the communication test results, he concludes that such a system is a practical means of short-range underwater data acquisition

A flexible liquid crystal polymer MEMS pressure sensor array for fish-like underwater sensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kottapalli, A G P; Asadnia, M; Miao, J M; Barbastathis, G; Triantafyllou, M S

2012-01-01

In order to perform underwater surveillance, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) require flexible, light-weight, reliable and robust sensing systems that are capable of flow sensing and detecting underwater objects. Underwater animals like fish perform a similar task using an efficient and ubiquitous sensory system called a lateral-line constituting of an array of pressure-gradient sensors. We demonstrate here the development of arrays of polymer microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) pressure sensors which are flexible and can be readily mounted on curved surfaces of AUV bodies. An array of ten sensors with a footprint of 60 (L) mm × 25 (W) mm × 0.4 (H) mm is fabricated using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) as the sensing membrane material. The flow sensing and object detection capabilities of the array are illustrated with proof-of-concept experiments conducted in a water tunnel. The sensors demonstrate a pressure sensitivity of 14.3 μV Pa −1 . A high resolution of 25 mm s −1 is achieved in water flow sensing. The sensors can passively sense underwater objects by transducing the pressure variations generated underwater by the movement of objects. The experimental results demonstrate the array’s ability to detect the velocity of underwater objects towed past by with high accuracy, and an average error of only 2.5%. (paper)

Acoustic--nuclear permeability logging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dowling, D.J.; Arnold, D.M.

1978-01-01

A down hole logging tool featuring a neutron generator, an acoustic disturbance generator, and a radiation detection system is described. An array of acoustic magnetostriction transducers is arranged about the target of a neutron accelerator. Two gamma ray sensors are separated from the accelerator target by shielding. According to the method of the invention, the underground fluid at the level of a formation is bombarded by neutrons which react with oxygen in the fluid to produce unstable nitrogen 16 particles according to the reaction 16 O(n,p) 16 N. Acoustic pulses are communicated to the fluid, and are incident on the boundary of the borehole at the formation. The resulting net flow of fluid across the boundary is determined from radiation detection measurements of the decaying 16 N particles in the fluid. A measure of the permeability of the formation is obtained from the determination of net fluid flow across the boundary

H∞ control of a remotely operated underwater vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conte, G.; Serrani, A.

1994-01-01

The paper discusses the application of H∞ control techniques to the design of a control system for a remotely operated underwater vehicle. As the main problem in defining a control strategy for such vehicles is the nonlinear and uncertain nature of the modeled dynamics, the robustness properties of H∞ controllers can in principle be used to provide stability and nominal performances for the closed loop system. Therefore, a control strategy based on a scheduling of such controllers has been proposed, and the overall performance of the closed loop system have been evaluated by means of nonlinear simulation in a broad range of working conditions, with particular attention to the effects of the underwater current that acts on the vehicle

ROV Based Underwater Blurred Image Restoration

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIU Zhishen; DING Tianfu; WANG Gang

2003-01-01

In this paper, we present a method of ROV based image processing to restore underwater blurry images from the theory of light and image transmission in the sea. Computer is used to simulate the maximum detection range of the ROV under different water body conditions. The receiving irradiance of the video camera at different detection ranges is also calculated. The ROV's detection performance under different water body conditions is given by simulation. We restore the underwater blurry images using the Wiener filter based on the simulation. The Wiener filter is shown to be a simple useful method for underwater image restoration in the ROV underwater experiments. We also present examples of restored images of an underwater standard target taken by the video camera in these experiments.

Experience with digital acoustic monitoring systems for PWRs and BWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olma, B.J.

1998-01-01

Substantial progress could be reached both in system technics and in application of digital acoustic monitoring systems for assessing mechanical integrity of reactor primary systems. For the surveillance of PWRs and BWRs during power operation of the plants, acoustic signals of Loose Parts Monitoring System sensors are continuously monitored for signal bursts associated with metallic impacts. ISTec/GRS experience with its digital systems MEDEA and RAMSES has shown that acoustic signature analysis is very successful for detecting component failures at an early stage. Methods for trending and classification of digital burst signals are shown, experience with their practical use will be presented. (author)

Thin Fresnel zone plate lenses for focusing underwater sound

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calvo, David C.; Thangawng, Abel L.; Nicholas, Michael; Layman, Christopher N.

2015-01-01

A Fresnel zone plate (FZP) lens of the Soret type creates a focus by constructive interference of waves diffracted through open annular zones in an opaque screen. For underwater sound below MHz frequencies, a large FZP that blocks sound using high-impedance, dense materials would have practical disadvantages. We experimentally and numerically investigate an alternative approach of creating a FZP with thin (0.4λ) acoustically opaque zones made of soft silicone rubber foam attached to a thin (0.1λ) transparent rubber substrate. An ultra-thin (0.0068λ) FZP that achieves higher gain is also proposed and simulated which uses low-volume fraction, bubble-like resonant air ring cavities to construct opaque zones. Laboratory measurements at 200 kHz indicate that the rubber foam can be accurately modeled as a lossy fluid with an acoustic impedance approximately 1/10 that of water. Measured focal gains up to 20 dB agree with theoretical predictions for normal and oblique incidence. The measured focal radius of 0.68λ (peak-to-null) agrees with the Rayleigh diffraction limit prediction of 0.61 λ/NA (NA = 0.88) for a low-aberration lens

Underwater 3D filming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Rinaldi

2014-12-01

Full Text Available After an experimental phase of many years, 3D filming is now effective and successful. Improvements are still possible, but the film industry achieved memorable success on 3D movie’s box offices due to the overall quality of its products. Special environments such as space (“Gravity” and the underwater realm look perfect to be reproduced in 3D. “Filming in space” was possible in “Gravity” using special effects and computer graphic. The underwater realm is still difficult to be handled. Underwater filming in 3D was not that easy and effective as filming in 2D, since not long ago. After almost 3 years of research, a French, Austrian and Italian team realized a perfect tool to film underwater, in 3D, without any constrains. This allows filmmakers to bring the audience deep inside an environment where they most probably will never have the chance to be.

CUDA based Level Set Method for 3D Reconstruction of Fishes from Large Acoustic Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sharma, Ojaswa; Anton, François

2009-01-01

Acoustic images present views of underwater dynamics, even in high depths. With multi-beam echo sounders (SONARs), it is possible to capture series of 2D high resolution acoustic images. 3D reconstruction of the water column and subsequent estimation of fish abundance and fish species identificat...... of suppressing threshold and show its convergence as the evolution proceeds. We also present a GPU based streaming computation of the method using NVIDIA's CUDA framework to handle large volume data-sets. Our implementation is optimised for memory usage to handle large volumes....

Underwater welding of steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ibarra, S.; Olson, D.L.

1992-01-01

A fundamental basis to understand the behavior of wet underwater welding of steel is introduced. Both the pyrometallurgical and physical metallurgy concepts are discussed. Modifications of welding consumables and practice are suggested. This chapter promotes further contributions of meatllurgical research to improve and promote wet underwater welding. (orig.)

Acoustic Signals and Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2008-01-01

The Handbook of Signal Processing in Acoustics will compile the techniques and applications of signal processing as they are used in the many varied areas of Acoustics. The Handbook will emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of signal processing in acoustics. Each Section of the Handbook...... will present topics on signal processing which are important in a specific area of acoustics. These will be of interest to specialists in these areas because they will be presented from their technical perspective, rather than a generic engineering approach to signal processing. Non-specialists, or specialists...... from different areas, will find the self-contained chapters accessible and will be interested in the similarities and differences between the approaches and techniques used in different areas of acoustics....

Colour reconstruction of underwater images

OpenAIRE

Hoth, Julian; Kowalczyk, Wojciech

2017-01-01

Objects look very different in the underwater environment compared to their appearance in sunlight. Images with correct colouring simplify the detection of underwater objects and may allow the use of visual SLAM algorithms developed for land-based robots underwater. Hence, image processing is required. Current algorithms focus on the colour reconstruction of scenery at diving depth where different colours can still be distinguished. At greater depth this is not the case. In this study it is i...

Research on the underwater target imaging based on the streak tube laser lidar

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Zihao; Tian, Zhaoshuo; Zhang, Yanchao; Bi, Zongjie; Yang, Gang; Gu, Erdan

2018-03-01

A high frame rate streak tube imaging lidar (STIL) for real-time 3D imaging of underwater targets is presented in this paper. The system uses 532nm pulse laser as the light source, the maximum repetition rate is 120Hz, and the pulse width is 8ns. LabVIEW platform is used in the system, the system control, synchronous image acquisition, 3D data processing and display are realized through PC. 3D imaging experiment of underwater target is carried out in a flume with attenuation coefficient of 0.2, and the images of different depth and different material targets are obtained, the imaging frame rate is 100Hz, and the maximum detection depth is 31m. For an underwater target with a distance of 22m, the high resolution 3D image real-time acquisition is realized with range resolution of 1cm and space resolution of 0.3cm, the spatial relationship of the targets can be clearly identified by the image. The experimental results show that STIL has a good application prospect in underwater terrain detection, underwater search and rescue, and other fields.

Acoustic monitoring systems tests at Indian Point Unit 1. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, J.R.; Rao, G.V.; Craig, J.

1979-12-01

This report describes the results of a program to test acoustic monitoring systems on Indian Point Unit No. 1 under actual plant operating conditions, less the reactor core. The two types of systems evaluated were the monitoring of acoustic emissions generated by growing flaws and the monitoring of acoustic signals from leaks

Autonomous Underwater Gliders

OpenAIRE

Wood,; Stephen,

2009-01-01

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles are only now being marketed as robust commercial vehicles for many industries, and of these vehicles underwater gliders are becoming the new tool for oceanographers. Satellites have provided scientists and marine specialists with measurements of the sea surface such as temperature since the late 1970s, and data via subsurface oceanographic moorings since the 1950's. As stated by David Smeed of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, England, that "gliders...

Underwater welding using remote controlled robots. Development of remote underwater welding technology with a high power YAG laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miwa, Yasuhiro; Sato, Syuuichi; Kojima, Toshio; Owaki, Katsura; Hirose, Naoya

2002-01-01

As components in nuclear power plant have been periodically carried out their inspection and repair to keep their integrity, on radioactive liquid wastes storage facility, because of difficulty on their inspection by human beings, some are remained without inspection, and even when capable of inspection, conversion from human works to remote operations is desired from a viewpoint of their operation efficiency upgrading. For response to these needs, some developments on a technology capable of carrying out inspection of their inside at underwater environment and repairing welding with YAG laser by means of remote operation, have been performed. Remote underwater inspection and repair technology is a combination technology of already applied underwater mobile technique (underwater inspection robot) with underwater YAG laser welding technique which is recently at actual using level. Therefore, this technology is composed of an inspection robot and a repair welding robot. And, testing results using the underwater inspection robot and welding test results using the underwater repair welding robot, were enough preferable to obtain forecasting applicable to actual apparatuses. This technology is especially effective for inspection and repair of inside of nuclear fuel cycle apparatuses and relatively high dose apparatuses, and can be thought to be applicable also to large capacity tanks, tanks dealing with harmful matters, underwater structures, and so on, in general industries. (G.K.)

3D Photo Mosaicing of Tagiri Shallow Vent Field by an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Maki, Toshihiro; Kondo, Hayato; Ura, Tamaki; Sakamaki, Takashi; Mizushima, Hayato; Yanagisawa, Masao

Although underwater visual observation is an ideal method for detailed survey of seafloors, it is currently a costly process that requires the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) or Human Occupied Vehicles (HOVs), and can cover only a limited area. This paper proposes an innovative method to navigate an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to create both 2D and 3D photo mosaics of seafloors with high positioning accuracy without using any vision-based matching. The vehicle finds vertical pole-like acoustic reflectors to use as positioning landmarks using a profiling sonar based on a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) technique. These reflectors can be either artificial or natural objects, and so the method can be applied to shallow vent fields where conventional acoustic positioning is difficult, since bubble plumes can also be used as landmarks as well as artificial reflectors. Path-planning is performed in real-time based on the positions and types of landmarks so as to navigate safely and stably using landmarks of different types (artificial reflector or bubble plume) found at arbitrary times and locations. Terrain tracker switches control reference between depth and altitude from the seafloor based on a local map of hazardous area created in real-time using onboard perceptual sensors, in order to follow rugged terrains at an altitude of 1 to 2 meters, as this range is ideal for visual observation. The method was implemented in the AUV Tri-Dog 1 and experiments were carried out at Tagiri vent field, Kagoshima Bay in Japan. The AUV succeeded in fully autonomous observation for more than 160 minutes to create a photo mosaic with an area larger than 600 square meters, which revealed the spatial distribution of detailed features such as tube-worm colonies, bubble plumes and bacteria mats. A fine bathymetry of the same area was also created using a light-section ranging system mounted on the vehicle. Finally a 3 D representation of the environment was

Application of YAG laser processing in underwater welding and cutting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohwaki, Katsura; Morita, Ichiro; Kojima, Toshio; Sato, Shuichi [Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

2002-09-01

The high-power YAG laser is a new fabrication tool. The laser torch is easy to combine with complex with complex mechanics because of beam delivery through optical fiber. A direct underwater laser welding technology has been developed and applied to the preservation, maintenance and removal of nuclear power plants. For subdividing or removing operations for retirement of plants, the laser cutting properties were confirmed to allow a maximum cutting thickness of 80 mm. For repairing inner surface of stainless steel tanks, an underwater laser welding system using a remote-controlled robot was developed and the high quality of underwater laser welding was confirmed. (author)

Analysis of recordings from underwater controlled sources in the Pacific Ocean received by the International Monitoring System (IMS) of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada, Tomoaki; Zampolli, Mario; Haralabus, Georgios; Heaney, Kevin; Prior, Mark; Isse, Takeshi

2016-04-01

Controlled impulsive scientific underwater sound sources in the Northwestern Pacific were observed at two IMS hydroacoustic stations in the Pacific Ocean. Although these experiments were conducted with the aim of studying the physical properties of the plate boundaries inside the Earth, they are also suitable for the investigation of long range underwater acoustic detections. In spite of the fact that the energy of these controlled impulsive scientific sources is significantly smaller than that of nuclear explosions, the signals were obtained by IMS hydrophone stations thousands of kilometres away and also by distant ocean bottom instruments operated by various Institutes, such as the Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo. These experiments provide calibrated (yield, time, location) long-range acoustic transmissions, which enable one to examine the physics of long-range acoustic propagation and to verify the capabilities of the CTBTO IMS network to detect even small explosions.The two IMS stations used are H03 (Juan Fernandez Island, Chile) off the coast of Chile in the Southeastern Pacific and H11 (Wake Island, USA) in the Western Pacific. Both stations consist of two triplets of hydrophones in the SOFAR channel, which monitor the oceans for signs of nuclear explosions. H03 detected low-yield explosions above flat terrain at distances of 15,000 km across the Pacific as well as explosions above the landward slope off the coast of Japan at distances above 16,000 km across the Pacific. These records showed that source signatures, such as short duration and bubble pulses, were preserved over the long propagation distances. It was found that the observed maximum amplitudes from each source exhibit order of magnitude variations even when the yield and detonation depth are the same. The experimental data and transmission loss simulations suggest that bathymetric features around the sources and between the sources and the receivers are the main causes for

Underwater Time Service and Synchronization Based on Time Reversal Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Hao; Wang, Hai-bin; Aissa-El-Bey, Abdeldjalil; Pyndiah, Ramesh

2010-09-01

Real time service and synchronization are very important to many underwater systems. But the time service and synchronization in existence cannot work well due to the multi-path propagation and random phase fluctuation of signals in the ocean channel. The time reversal mirror technique can realize energy concentration through self-matching of the ocean channel and has very good spatial and temporal focusing properties. Based on the TRM technique, we present the Time Reversal Mirror Real Time service and synchronization (TRMRT) method which can bypass the processing of multi-path on the server side and reduce multi-path contamination on the client side. So TRMRT can improve the accuracy of time service. Furthermore, as an efficient and precise method of time service, TRMRT could be widely used in underwater exploration activities and underwater navigation and positioning systems.

Preliminary characterization of a one-axis acoustic system. [acoustic levitation for space processing

Science.gov (United States)

Oran, W. A.; Reiss, D. A.; Berge, L. H.; Parker, H. W.

1979-01-01

The acoustic fields and levitation forces produced along the axis of a single-axis resonance system were measured. The system consisted of a St. Clair generator and a planar reflector. The levitation force was measured for bodies of various sizes and geometries (i.e., spheres, cylinders, and discs). The force was found to be roughly proportional to the volume of the body until the characteristic body radius reaches approximately 2/k (k = wave number). The acoustic pressures along the axis were modeled using Huygens principle and a method of imaging to approximate multiple reflections. The modeled pressures were found to be in reasonable agreement with those measured with a calibrated microphone.

Supercavitating Projectile Tracking System and Method

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-30

Distribution is unlimited 20100104106 Attorney Docket No. 96681 SUPERCAVITATING PROJECTILE TRACKING SYSTEM AND METHOD STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT...underwater track or path 14 of a supercavitating vehicle under surface 16 of a body of water. In this embodiment, passive acoustic or pressure...transducers 12 are utilized to measure a pressure field produced by a moving supercavitating vehicle. The present invention provides a low-cost, reusable

Validation of multi-body modelling methodology for reconfigurable underwater robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, M.C.; Eidsvik, O. A.; Blanke, Mogens

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the problem of employing reconfigurable robots in an underwater setting. The main results presented is the experimental validation of a modelling methodology for a system consisting of N dynamically connected robots with heterogeneous dynamics. Two distinct types...... of experiments are performed, a series of hydrostatic free-decay tests and a series of open-loop trajectory tests. The results are compared to a simulation based on the modelling methodology. The modelling methodology shows promising results for usage with systems composed of reconfigurable underwater modules...

Acoustic control system BN-350. Explanatory note

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-02-01

A description of the acoustic system developed to control boiling in the active zone of the BN 350 reactor is given together with the corresponding technical characteristics. The results of experiments and calculations which confirm the validity of the solutions adopted are discussed. Theoretical calculations on the boiling process in the duct are reported together with details on the fast diagnostic system. A means for localizing the onset of boiling is also given, possible error being taken into consideration. The special features of the passive acoustic diagnostic method used to study boiling are described and schemas of the anciliary equipment presented [fr

Simulation of an Underwater Acoustic Communication Channel Characterized by Wind-Generated Surface Waves and Bubbles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dol, H.S.; Colin, M.E.G.D.; Ainslie, M.A.; Walree, P.A. van; Janmaat, J.

2012-01-01

Sea surface scattering by wind-generated waves and bubbles is regarded to be the main non-platform related cause of the time variability of shallow acoustic communication channels. Simulations for predicting the quality of acoustic communication links in such channels thus require adequate modeling

Visual communication system among underwater robots and divers. Kaichu robot ya diver kan no shikaku ni yoru tsushin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiba, H. (East Japan Railway Co., Tokyo (Japan)); Ura, T.; Fujii, T. (The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan). Institute of Industrial Science)

1993-07-01

Performing coordinated works between underwater robots and divers, often called undersea agents, requires communication means to promote mutual understanding. This paper describes a system to make visual communications as a communication means used under sea, and discusses elementary technologies to realize mutual communications between the agents. The visual communication system comprises a device to indicate command patterns that correspond to intentions to be communicated using five electroluminescence (EL) panels, a CCD camera, and a transponder. Discussions were given on image processing to recognize the command patterns, EL panel positions, and communication protocols. As a result of experiments assuming underwater communications between divers and robots, using a water tank, it was found that the command patterns can be recognized if illuminance in the water tank is 100 lux or lower. Validity of the system was verified in the experiments. 4 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab.

A Review of the Emerging Field of Underwater Mass Spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily Chua

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Mass spectrometers are versatile sensor systems, owing to their high sensitivity and ability to simultaneously measure multiple chemical species. Over the last two decades, traditional laboratory-based membrane inlet mass spectrometers have been adapted for underwater use. Underwater mass spectrometry has drastically improved our capability to monitor a broad suite of gaseous compounds (e.g., dissolved atmospheric gases, light hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds in the aquatic environment. Here we provide an overview of the progress made in the field of underwater mass spectrometry since its inception in the 1990s to the present. In particular, we discuss the approaches undertaken by various research groups in developing in situ mass spectrometers. We also provide examples to illustrate how underwater mass spectrometers have been used in the field. Finally, we present future trends in the field of in situ mass spectrometry. Most of these efforts are aimed at improving the quality and spatial and temporal scales of chemical measurements in the ocean. By providing up-to-date information on underwater mass spectrometry, this review offers guidance for researchers interested in adapting this technology as well as goals for future progress in the field.

Axisymmetric scattering of an acoustical Bessel beam by a rigid fixed spheroid.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitri, Farid G

2015-10-01

Based on the partial-wave series expansion (PWSE) method in spherical coordinates, a formal analytical solution for the acoustic scattering of a zeroth-order Bessel acoustic beam centered on a rigid fixed (oblate or prolate) spheroid is provided. The unknown scattering coefficients of the spheroid are determined by solving a system of linear equations derived for the Neumann boundary condition. Numerical results for the modulus of the backscattered pressure (θ = π) in the near field and the backscattering form function in the far field for both prolate and oblate spheroids are presented and discussed, with particular emphasis on the aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio of the major axis over the minor axis of the spheroid), the half-cone angle of the Bessel beam, and the dimensionless frequency. The plots display periodic oscillations (versus the dimensionless frequency) because of the interference of specularly reflected waves in the backscattering direction with circumferential Franz' waves circumnavigating the surface of the spheroid in the surrounding fluid. Moreover, the 3-D directivity patterns illustrate the near- and far-field axisymmetric scattering. Investigations in underwater acoustics, particle levitation, scattering, and the detection of submerged elongated objects and other related applications utilizing Bessel waves would benefit from the results of the present study.

High–Level Control System for Biomimetic Autonomous Under-water Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Praczyk Tomasz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Usually, a rough software architecture designed for a robot can be can be shortly presented in the form of layers. The lowest layer is responsible for direct control of the hardware, i.e. engines, energy system, sensors, navigation devices, etc. A next layer is a low–level control which knows how to use the hardware in order to achieve a desired state of the robot, e.g. to stay on a desired course. And the last layer, the layer which is the nearest to the human–operator, is a high–level control which decides how to use the low–level control and sometimes also individual pieces of the hardware to achieve predefined objectives. The paper describes architecture, tasks and operation of the high–level control system (HLCS designed for Biomimetic Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (BAUV.

Real-time system for studies of the effects of acoustic feedback on animal vocalizations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mike eSkocik

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Studies of behavioral and neural responses to distorted auditory feedback can help shed light on the neural mechanisms of animal vocalizations. We describe an apparatus for generating real-time acoustic feedback. The system can very rapidly detect acoustic features in a song and output acoustic signals if the detected features match the desired acoustic template. The system uses spectrogram-based detection of acoustic elements. It is low-cost and can be programmed for a variety of behavioral experiments requiring acoustic feedback or neural stimulation. We use the system to study the effects of acoustic feedback on birds' vocalizations and demonstrate that such an acoustic feedback can cause both immediate and long-term changes to birds’ songs.

Leakage warning system for flexible underwater pipelines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeller, E; Bernstein, L

1985-08-01

Underwater pipelines for unloading oil tankers, e.g. in 30 km distance from the harbour site, are required to be flexible and require supervision. This is done by implementation of oil sensitive sensors between the inner rubber tube and the following impregnated textile layer. The generated sensor signals, influenced by leak oil, have to be wireless transmitted from 150 meters under water to the supervisory station at the coast. Sensor configurations are described, to derive the point of the leakage from the topologized warning signals.

Navigation System Fault Diagnosis for Underwater Vehicle

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falkenberg, Thomas; Gregersen, Rene Tavs; Blanke, Mogens

2014-01-01

This paper demonstrates fault diagnosis on unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) based on analysis of structure of the nonlinear dynamics. Residuals are generated using dierent approaches in structural analysis followed by statistical change detection. Hypothesis testing thresholds are made signal...... based to cope with non-ideal properties seen in real data. Detection of both sensor and thruster failures are demonstrated. Isolation is performed using the residual signature of detected faults and the change detection algorithm is used to assess severity of faults by estimating their magnitude...

The development of controller and navigation algorithm for underwater wall crawler

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Hyung Suck; Kim, Kyung Hoon; Kim, Min Young [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea)

1999-01-01

In this project, the control system of a underwater robotic vehicle(URV) for underwater wall inspection in the nuclear reactor pool or the related facilities has been developed. The following 4-sub projects have been studied for this project: (1) Development of the controller and motor driver for the URV (2) Development of the control algorithm for the tracking control of the URV (3) Development of the localization system (4) Underwater experiments of the developed system. First, the dynamic characteristic of thruster with the DC servo-motor was analyzed experimentally. Second the controller board using the INTEL 80C196 was designed and constructed, and the software for the communication and motor control is developed. Third the PWM motor-driver was developed. Fourth the localization system using the laser scanner and inclinometer was developed and tested in the pool. Fifth the dynamics of the URV was studied and the proper control algorithms for the URV was proposed. Lastly the validation of the integrated system was experimentally performed. (author). 27 refs., 51 figs., 8 tabs.

A Game-theoretical Approach for Distributed Cooperative Control of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

KAUST Repository

Lu, Yimeng

2018-05-01

This thesis explores a game-theoretical approach for underwater environmental monitoring applications. We first apply game-theoretical algorithm to multi-agent resource coverage problem in drifting environments. Furthermore, existing utility design and learning process of the algorithm are modified to fit specific constraints of underwater exploration/monitoring tasks. The revised approach can take the real scenario of underwater monitoring applications such as the effect of sea current, previous knowledge of the resource and occasional communications between agents into account, and adapt to them to reach better performance. As the motivation of this thesis is from real applications, in this work we emphasize highly on implementation phase. A ROS-Gazebo simulation environment was created for preparation of actual tests. The algorithms are implemented in simulating both the dynamics of vehicles and the environment. After that, a multi-agent underwater autonomous robotic system was developed for hardware test in real settings with local controllers to make their own decisions. These systems are used for testing above mentioned algorithms and future development of other underwater projects. After that, other works related to robotics during this thesis will be briefly mentioned, including contributions in MBZIRC robotics competition and distributed control of UAVs in an adversarial environment.

Nonuniform Illumination Correction Algorithm for Underwater Images Using Maximum Likelihood Estimation Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sonali Sachin Sankpal

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Scattering and absorption of light is main reason for limited visibility in water. The suspended particles and dissolved chemical compounds in water are also responsible for scattering and absorption of light in water. The limited visibility in water results in degradation of underwater images. The visibility can be increased by using artificial light source in underwater imaging system. But the artificial light illuminates the scene in a nonuniform fashion. It produces bright spot at the center with the dark region at surroundings. In some cases imaging system itself creates dark region in the image by producing shadow on the objects. The problem of nonuniform illumination is neglected by the researchers in most of the image enhancement techniques of underwater images. Also very few methods are discussed showing the results on color images. This paper suggests a method for nonuniform illumination correction for underwater images. The method assumes that natural underwater images are Rayleigh distributed. This paper used maximum likelihood estimation of scale parameter to map distribution of image to Rayleigh distribution. The method is compared with traditional methods for nonuniform illumination correction using no-reference image quality metrics like average luminance, average information entropy, normalized neighborhood function, average contrast, and comprehensive assessment function.

Photomultiplier characteristics considerations for the deep underwater muon and neutrino detection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leskovar, B.

1980-01-01

The results of an investigation of the characteristics of photomultipliers for the Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detection (DUMAND) System are discussed. The pulse-height resolution, the afterpulsing phenomena and the gain sensitivity to the ambient magnetic field have been determined for large photocathode area photomultipliers. Furthermore, the transient time difference, the single photoelectron time spread, and the collection and photocathode quantum efficiency uniformity as a function of the position of the photocathode sensing area have been reviewed. Finally, an attempt has been made to estimate the photomultiplier reliability and its lifetime

Accuracy Assessment of Underwater Photogrammetric Three Dimensional Modelling for Coral Reefs

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, T.; Capra, A.; Troyer, M.; Gruen, A.; Brooks, A. J.; Hench, J. L.; Schmitt, R. J.; Holbrook, S. J.; Dubbini, M.

2016-06-01

Recent advances in automation of photogrammetric 3D modelling software packages have stimulated interest in reconstructing highly accurate 3D object geometry in unconventional environments such as underwater utilizing simple and low-cost camera systems. The accuracy of underwater 3D modelling is affected by more parameters than in single media cases. This study is part of a larger project on 3D measurements of temporal change of coral cover in tropical waters. It compares the accuracies of 3D point clouds generated by using images acquired from a system camera mounted in an underwater housing and the popular GoPro cameras respectively. A precisely measured calibration frame was placed in the target scene in order to provide accurate control information and also quantify the errors of the modelling procedure. In addition, several objects (cinder blocks) with various shapes were arranged in the air and underwater and 3D point clouds were generated by automated image matching. These were further used to examine the relative accuracy of the point cloud generation by comparing the point clouds of the individual objects with the objects measured by the system camera in air (the best possible values). Given a working distance of about 1.5 m, the GoPro camera can achieve a relative accuracy of 1.3 mm in air and 2.0 mm in water. The system camera achieved an accuracy of 1.8 mm in water, which meets our requirements for coral measurement in this system.

Vehicle Based Vector Sensor

Science.gov (United States)

2015-09-28

buoyant underwater vehicle with an interior space in which a length of said underwater vehicle is equal to one tenth of the acoustic wavelength...underwater vehicle with an interior space in which a length of said underwater vehicle is equal to one tenth of the acoustic wavelength; an...unmanned underwater vehicle that can function as an acoustic vector sensor. (2) Description of the Prior Art [0004] It is known that a propagating

Acoustic fMRI noise : Linear time-invariant system model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sierra, Carlos V. Rizzo; Versluis, Maarten J.; Hoogduin, Johannes M.; Duifhuis, Hendrikus (Diek)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) enables sites of brain activation to be localized in human subjects. For auditory system studies, however, the acoustic noise generated by the scanner tends to interfere with the assessments of this activation. Understanding and modeling fMRI acoustic

Determining spherical lens correction for astronaut training underwater.

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Jason; Gibson, C Robert; Strauss, Samuel

2011-09-01

To develop a model that will accurately predict the distance spherical lens correction needed to be worn by National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts while training underwater. The replica space suit's helmet contains curved visors that induce refractive power when submersed in water. Anterior surface powers and thicknesses were measured for the helmet's protective and inside visors. The impact of each visor on the helmet's refractive power in water was analyzed using thick lens calculations and Zemax optical design software. Using geometrical optics approximations, a model was developed to determine the optimal distance spherical power needed to be worn underwater based on the helmet's total induced spherical power underwater and the astronaut's manifest spectacle plane correction in air. The validity of the model was tested using data from both eyes of 10 astronauts who trained underwater. The helmet's visors induced a total power of -2.737 D when placed underwater. The required underwater spherical correction (FW) was linearly related to the spectacle plane spherical correction in air (FAir): FW = FAir + 2.356 D. The mean magnitude of the difference between the actual correction worn underwater and the calculated underwater correction was 0.20 ± 0.11 D. The actual and calculated values were highly correlated (r = 0.971) with 70% of eyes having a difference in magnitude of astronauts. The model accurately predicts the actual values worn underwater and can be applied (more generally) to determine a suitable spectacle lens correction to be worn behind other types of masks when submerged underwater.

Dynamics and Control of Underwater Gliders I: Steady Motions

OpenAIRE

Mahmoudian, N.; Geisbert, J.; Woolsey, C.

2007-01-01

This paper describes analysis of steady motions for underwater gliders, a type of highly efficient underwater vehicle which uses gravity for propulsion. Underwater gliders are winged underwater vehicles which locomote by modulating their buoyancy and their attitude. Several such vehicles have been developed and have proven their worth as efficient long-distance, long-duration ocean sampling platforms. To date, the primary emphasis in underwater glider development has been on locomotive effici...

'Surveyor': An Underwater System for Threat Material Detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valkovic, Vladivoj; Sudac, Davorin; Nad, Karlo; Obhodas, Jasmina; Matika, Dario; Kollar, Robert

2010-01-01

The bottoms of the coastal seas, and oceans as well, are contaminated by many man-made objects including a variety of ammunition. This contamination is world wide spread with some areas being highly polluted presenting a serious threat to local population and to visitors as well. All littoral nations are investing lots of effort into the remediation of their coastal areas. Once the presence of the anomaly on the bottom of the shallow coastal sea water is confirmed (by visual identification and by using one or several sensors, namely magnetometer, sonar and optical cameras) it is necessary to establish if it contains explosive/chemical warfare charge. In our work we propose this to be performed by using neutron sensor installed within an underwater vessel - 'Surveyor'. When positioned above the object, or to its side, the system inspects the object for the presence of the threat material by using alpha particle tagged neutrons from the sealed tube d+t neutron generator. (author)

PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONITORING OF ODONTOCETES IN THE VICINITY OF PUULOA UNDERWATER DETONATION TRAINING RANGE, HAWAII RANGE COMPLEX, OAHU

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-25

Printed on recycled paper Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. SITE SPECIFIC REPORT SSR-NAVFAC-EXWC-EV-1702 SEPTEMBER 2016...NOAA’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Division. The EAR is an autonomous underwater recorder controlled by a Persistor CF2 microcontroller that may be

Cardiovascular response during submaximal underwater treadmill exercise in stroke patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Jeehyun; Lim, Kil-Byung; Lee, Hong-Jae; Kwon, Yong-Geol

2014-10-01

To evaluate the cardiovascular response during head-out water immersion, underwater treadmill gait, and land treadmill gait in stroke patients. Ten stroke patients were recruited for underwater and land treadmill gait sessions. Each session was 40 minutes long; 5 minutes for standing rest on land, 5 minutes for standing rest in water or on treadmill, 20 minutes for treadmill walking in water or on land, 5 minutes for standing rest in water or on treadmill, and 5 minutes for standing rest on land. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measured during each session. In order to estimate the cardiovascular workload and myocardial oxygen demand, the rate pressure product (RPP) value was calculated by multiplying systolic BP (SBP) by HR. SBP, DBP, mean BP (mBP), and RPP decreased significantly after water immersion, but HR was unchanged. During underwater and land treadmill gait, SBP, mBP, DBP, RPP, and HR increased. However, the mean maximum increases in BP, HR and RPP of underwater treadmill walking were significantly lower than that of land treadmill walking. Stroke patients showed different cardiovascular responses during water immersion and underwater gait as opposed to standing and treadmill-walking on land. Water immersion and aquatic treadmill gait may reduce the workload of the cardiovascular system. This study suggested that underwater treadmill may be a safe and useful option for cardiovascular fitness and early ambulation in stroke rehabilitation.

Mach-Zehnder interferometric photonic crystal fiber for low acoustic frequency detections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pawar, Dnyandeo; Rao, Ch. N.; Kale, S. N., E-mail: sangeetakale2004@gmail.com [Department of Applied Physics, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DU), Girinagar, Pune 411 025, Maharashtra (India); Choubey, Ravi Kant [Department of Applied Physics, Amity Institute of Applied Sciences, Amity University, Noida 201 313 (India)

2016-01-25

Low frequency under-water acoustic signal detections are challenging, especially for marine applications. A Mach-Zehnder interferometric hydrophone is demonstrated using polarization-maintaining photonic-crystal-fiber (PM-PCF), spliced between two single-mode-fibers, operated at 1550 nm source. These data are compared with standard hydrophone, single-mode and multimode fiber. The PM-PCF sensor shows the highest response with a power shift (2.32 dBm) and a wavelength shift (392.8 pm) at 200 Hz. High birefringence values and the effect of the imparted acoustic pressure on this fiber, introducing the difference between the fast and slow axis changes, owing to the phase change in the propagation waves, demonstrate the strain-optic properties of the sensor.

Distributed estimation of sensors position in underwater wireless sensor network

Science.gov (United States)

Zandi, Rahman; Kamarei, Mahmoud; Amiri, Hadi

2016-05-01

In this paper, a localisation method for determining the position of fixed sensor nodes in an underwater wireless sensor network (UWSN) is introduced. In this simple and range-free scheme, the node localisation is achieved by utilising an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that transverses through the network deployment area, and that periodically emits a message block via four directional acoustic beams. A message block contains the actual known AUV position as well as a directional dependent marker that allows a node to identify the respective transmit beam. The beams form a fixed angle with the AUV body. If a node passively receives message blocks, it could calculate the arithmetic mean of the coordinates existing in each messages sequence, to find coordinates at two different time instants via two different successive beams. The node position can be derived from the two computed positions of the AUV. The major advantage of the proposed localisation algorithm is that it is silent, which leads to energy efficiency for sensor nodes. The proposed method does not require any synchronisation among the nodes owing to being silent. Simulation results, using MATLAB, demonstrated that the proposed method had better performance than other similar AUV-based localisation methods in terms of the rates of well-localised sensor nodes and positional root mean square error.

Underwater welding and repair technologies applied in PWR environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scandella, Fabrice; Carpreau, Jean-Michel

2012-01-01

The authors describe several welding processes and technologies which have been used for underwater applications and which can be applied when repairing components of a PWR type reactor. They address, describe and discuss wet arc welding processes, the peculiarities of underwater welding, and the use of various processes such as 111, 114 and 135 processes, underwater welding with the hybrid plasma MIG-MAG process, underwater welding with the laser wire process, underwater welding with the FSW, FSP or UWFSW processes, underwater welding with variants of the friction welding process (friction surfacing, taper stitch welding, hydro-pillar processing

Autonomous Navigation for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Based on Information Filters and Active Sensing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tianhong Yan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses an autonomous navigation method for the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV C-Ranger applying information-filter-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM, and its sea trial experiments in Tuandao Bay (Shangdong Province, P.R. China. Weak links in the information matrix in an extended information filter (EIF can be pruned to achieve an efficient approach-sparse EIF algorithm (SEIF-SLAM. All the basic update formulae can be implemented in constant time irrespective of the size of the map; hence the computational complexity is significantly reduced. The mechanical scanning imaging sonar is chosen as the active sensing device for the underwater vehicle, and a compensation method based on feedback of the AUV pose is presented to overcome distortion of the acoustic images due to the vehicle motion. In order to verify the feasibility of the navigation methods proposed for the C-Ranger, a sea trial was conducted in Tuandao Bay. Experimental results and analysis show that the proposed navigation approach based on SEIF-SLAM improves the accuracy of the navigation compared with conventional method; moreover the algorithm has a low computational cost when compared with EKF-SLAM.

Autonomous navigation for autonomous underwater vehicles based on information filters and active sensing.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Bo; Zhang, Hongjin; Li, Chao; Zhang, Shujing; Liang, Yan; Yan, Tianhong

2011-01-01

This paper addresses an autonomous navigation method for the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) C-Ranger applying information-filter-based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), and its sea trial experiments in Tuandao Bay (Shangdong Province, P.R. China). Weak links in the information matrix in an extended information filter (EIF) can be pruned to achieve an efficient approach-sparse EIF algorithm (SEIF-SLAM). All the basic update formulae can be implemented in constant time irrespective of the size of the map; hence the computational complexity is significantly reduced. The mechanical scanning imaging sonar is chosen as the active sensing device for the underwater vehicle, and a compensation method based on feedback of the AUV pose is presented to overcome distortion of the acoustic images due to the vehicle motion. In order to verify the feasibility of the navigation methods proposed for the C-Ranger, a sea trial was conducted in Tuandao Bay. Experimental results and analysis show that the proposed navigation approach based on SEIF-SLAM improves the accuracy of the navigation compared with conventional method; moreover the algorithm has a low computational cost when compared with EKF-SLAM.

Underwater Acoustic Signal Processing

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Culver, Richard L; Sibul, Leon H; Bradley, David L

2007-01-01

.... The research is directed toward passive sonar detection and classification, continuous wave (CW) and broadband signals, shallow water operation, both platform-mounted and distributed systems, and frequencies below 1 kHz...

Tracking Controller Design for Diving Behavior of an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Hsiang Tseng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The study has investigated the almost disturbance decoupling problem of nonlinear uncertain control systems via the fuzzy feedback linearization approach. The significant dedication of this paper is to organize a control algorithm such that the closed-loop system is active for given initial condition and bounded tracking trajectory with the input-to-state stability and almost disturbance decoupling performance. This study presents a feedback linearization controller for diving control of an unmanned underwater vehicle. Unmanned underwater vehicle proposes difficult control subject due to its nonlinear dynamics, uncertain models, and the existence of disturbances that are difficult to measure. In general, while investigating the diving dynamics of an unmanned underwater vehicle, the pitch angle is always assumed to be small. This assumption is a strong restricting constraint in many interesting practical applications and will be relaxed in this study.

A study on practical use of underwater abrasive water jet cutting

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Hitoshi; Demura, Kenji

1993-09-01

The practicality of underwater abrasive water jet cutting technology was studied in experiments. A study of abrasives in slurried form showed that optimum polymer concentration can be selected to suit underwater conditions. For the long-distance transport of slurry from the ocean surface to the ocean floor, a direct supply system by hose proved to be practical. This system takes advantage of the insolubility of the slurry in water due to a difference in specific gravity. For cutting thick steel plate at great ocean depths, a simulation with a pressurized container revealed the requirements for actual cutting. Confirmation of remote cutting operations will become the most important technology in field applications. Underwater sound vibration characteristics were found to change significantly in direct response to modifications in cutting conditions. This will be important basic data to develop an effective sensoring method.

DUMAND-II (Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detector) PROGRESS Report

OpenAIRE

Young, Kenneth K.

1994-01-01

The DUMAND-II detector will search for astronomical sources of high energy neutrinos. Successful deployment of the basic infrastructure, including the shore cable, the underwater junction box, and an environmental module was accomplished in December, 1993. One optical module string was also deployed and operated, logging data for about 10 hours. The underwater cable was connected to the shore station where we were able to successfully exercise system controls and log further environmental dat...

Underwater object classification using scattering transform of sonar signals

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Naoki; Weber, David S.

2017-08-01

In this paper, we apply the scattering transform (ST)-a nonlinear map based off of a convolutional neural network (CNN)-to classification of underwater objects using sonar signals. The ST formalizes the observation that the filters learned by a CNN have wavelet-like structure. We achieve effective binary classification both on a real dataset of Unexploded Ordinance (UXOs), as well as synthetically generated examples. We also explore the effects on the waveforms with respect to changes in the object domain (e.g., translation, rotation, and acoustic impedance, etc.), and examine the consequences coming from theoretical results for the scattering transform. We show that the scattering transform is capable of excellent classification on both the synthetic and real problems, thanks to having more quasi-invariance properties that are well-suited to translation and rotation of the object.

Estimating uncertainty in subsurface glider position using transmissions from fixed acoustic tomography sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Uffelen, Lora J; Nosal, Eva-Marie; Howe, Bruce M; Carter, Glenn S; Worcester, Peter F; Dzieciuch, Matthew A; Heaney, Kevin D; Campbell, Richard L; Cross, Patrick S

2013-10-01

Four acoustic Seagliders were deployed in the Philippine Sea November 2010 to April 2011 in the vicinity of an acoustic tomography array. The gliders recorded over 2000 broadband transmissions at ranges up to 700 km from moored acoustic sources as they transited between mooring sites. The precision of glider positioning at the time of acoustic reception is important to resolve the fundamental ambiguity between position and sound speed. The Seagliders utilized GPS at the surface and a kinematic model below for positioning. The gliders were typically underwater for about 6.4 h, diving to depths of 1000 m and traveling on average 3.6 km during a dive. Measured acoustic arrival peaks were unambiguously associated with predicted ray arrivals. Statistics of travel-time offsets between received arrivals and acoustic predictions were used to estimate range uncertainty. Range (travel time) uncertainty between the source and the glider position from the kinematic model is estimated to be 639 m (426 ms) rms. Least-squares solutions for glider position estimated from acoustically derived ranges from 5 sources differed by 914 m rms from modeled positions, with estimated uncertainty of 106 m rms in horizontal position. Error analysis included 70 ms rms of uncertainty due to oceanic sound-speed variability.

Whose Line Sound is it Anyway? Identifying the Vocalizer on Underwater Video by Localizing with a Hydrophone Array

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthias Hoffmann-Kuhnt

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A new device that combined high-resolution (1080p wide-angle video and three channels of high-frequency acoustic recordings (at 500 kHz per channel in a portable underwater housing was designed and tested with wild bottlenose and spotted dolphins in the Bahamas. It consisted of three hydrophones, a GoPro camera, a small Fit PC, a set of custom preamplifiers and a high-frequency data acquisition board. Recordings were obtained to identify individual vocalizing animals through time-delay-of-arrival localizing in post-processing. The calculated source positions were then overlaid onto the video – providing the ability to identify the vocalizing animal on the recorded video. The new tool allowed for much clearer analysis of the acoustic behavior of cetaceans than was possible before.

Development of acoustic leak detection system in PNC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanabe, H.; Kuroha, M.

1990-01-01

The development of an acoustic leak detector is under way at PNC as a detection system that has potential of quick response and high reliability for larger steam generators of future LMFBR plants. The studies have two aspects, i.e., an acoustic wave analysis in various sodium-water reactions and a background noise (BGN) analysis in a sodium-heated 50MWt steam generator (50MWGS). In the former analysis, wave profiles of the sodium-water reaction sound were analyzed and compared with those of inert gas injection sound. The comparison revealed that there were no wave profiles specific to a sodium-water reaction sound. The latter clarified that major acoustic sources in the steam generator were sodium flow and steam generation/flow and that the water leak rate at which a noise level was comparable with that of the background noise was about 0.5 g/sec. in the evaporator of 50MWSG. The estimation of acceleration levels of BGN and leak sounds in other plants reveals that an intermediate leak is detectable in the Monju evaporator with a present acoustic detection system. (author). 2 refs, 9 figs

BisQue: cloud-based system for management, annotation, visualization, analysis and data mining of underwater and remote sensing imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Fedorov, D.; Miller, R. J.; Kvilekval, K. G.; Doheny, B.; Sampson, S.; Manjunath, B. S.

2016-02-01

Logistical and financial limitations of underwater operations are inherent in marine science, including biodiversity observation. Imagery is a promising way to address these challenges, but the diversity of organisms thwarts simple automated analysis. Recent developments in computer vision methods, such as convolutional neural networks (CNN), are promising for automated classification and detection tasks but are typically very computationally expensive and require extensive training on large datasets. Therefore, managing and connecting distributed computation, large storage and human annotations of diverse marine datasets is crucial for effective application of these methods. BisQue is a cloud-based system for management, annotation, visualization, analysis and data mining of underwater and remote sensing imagery and associated data. Designed to hide the complexity of distributed storage, large computational clusters, diversity of data formats and inhomogeneous computational environments behind a user friendly web-based interface, BisQue is built around an idea of flexible and hierarchical annotations defined by the user. Such textual and graphical annotations can describe captured attributes and the relationships between data elements. Annotations are powerful enough to describe cells in fluorescent 4D images, fish species in underwater videos and kelp beds in aerial imagery. Presently we are developing BisQue-based analysis modules for automated identification of benthic marine organisms. Recent experiments with drop-out and CNN based classification of several thousand annotated underwater images demonstrated an overall accuracy above 70% for the 15 best performing species and above 85% for the top 5 species. Based on these promising results, we have extended bisque with a CNN-based classification system allowing continuous training on user-provided data.

Human Injury Criteria for Underwater Blasts.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rachel M Lance

Full Text Available Underwater blasts propagate further and injure more readily than equivalent air blasts. Development of effective personal protection and countermeasures, however, requires knowledge of the currently unknown human tolerance to underwater blast. Current guidelines for prevention of underwater blast injury are not based on any organized injury risk assessment, human data or experimental data. The goal of this study was to derive injury risk assessments for underwater blast using well-characterized human underwater blast exposures in the open literature. The human injury dataset was compiled using 34 case reports on underwater blast exposure to 475 personnel, dating as early as 1916. Using severity ratings, computational reconstructions of the blasts, and survival information from a final set of 262 human exposures, injury risk models were developed for both injury severity and risk of fatality as functions of blast impulse and blast peak overpressure. Based on these human data, we found that the 50% risk of fatality from underwater blast occurred at 302±16 kPa-ms impulse. Conservatively, there is a 20% risk of pulmonary injury at a kilometer from a 20 kg charge. From a clinical point of view, this new injury risk model emphasizes the large distances possible for potential pulmonary and gut injuries in water compared with air. This risk value is the first impulse-based fatality risk calculated from human data. The large-scale inconsistency between the blast exposures in the case reports and the guidelines available in the literature prior to this study further underscored the need for this new guideline derived from the unique dataset of actual injuries in this study.

Active Hearing Mechanisms Inspire Adaptive Amplification in an Acoustic Sensor System.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerreiro, Jose; Reid, Andrew; Jackson, Joseph C; Windmill, James F C

2018-06-01

Over many millions of years of evolution, nature has developed some of the most adaptable sensors and sensory systems possible, capable of sensing, conditioning and processing signals in a very power- and size-effective manner. By looking into biological sensors and systems as a source of inspiration, this paper presents the study of a bioinspired concept of signal processing at the sensor level. By exploiting a feedback control mechanism between a front-end acoustic receiver and back-end neuronal based computation, a nonlinear amplification with hysteretic behavior is created. Moreover, the transient response of the front-end acoustic receiver can also be controlled and enhanced. A theoretical model is proposed and the concept is prototyped experimentally through an embedded system setup that can provide dynamic adaptations of a sensory system comprising a MEMS microphone placed in a closed-loop feedback system. It faithfully mimics the mosquito's active hearing response as a function of the input sound intensity. This is an adaptive acoustic sensor system concept that can be exploited by sensor and system designers within acoustics and ultrasonic engineering fields.

Design of acoustic emission monitoring system based on VC++

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Yang; He, Wei

2015-12-01

At present, a lot of companies at home and abroad have researched and produced a batch of specialized monitoring instruments for acoustic emission (AE). Most of them cost highly and the system function exists in less stable and less portability for the testing environment and transmission distance and other aspects. Depending on the research background and the status quo, a dual channel intelligent acoustic emission monitoring system was designed based on Microsoft Foundation Classes in Visual Studio C++ to solve some of the problems in the acoustic emission research and meet the needs of actual monitoring task. It contains several modules such as main module, acquisition module, signal parameters setting module and so on. It could give out corrosion AE waveform and signal parameters results according to the main menu selected parameters. So the needed information could be extracted from the experiments datum to solve the problem deeply. This soft system is the important part of AE detection g system.

Defect detectability of eddy current testing for underwater laser beam welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueno, Souichi; Kobayashi, Noriyasu; Ochiai, Makoto; Kasuya, Takashi; Yuguchi, Yasuhiro

2011-01-01

We clarified defect detectability of eddy current testing (ECT) as a surface inspection technique for underwater laser beam welding works of dissimilar metal welding (DMW) of reactor vessel nozzle. The underwater laser beam welding procedure includes groove caving as a preparation, laser beam welding in the grooves and welded surface grinding as a post treatment. Therefore groove and welded surface inspections are required in the underwater condition. The ECT is a major candidate as this inspection technique because a penetrant testing is difficult to perform in the underwater condition. Several kinds of experiments were curried out using a cross coil an ECT probe and ECT data acquisition system in order to demonstrate the ECT defect detectability. We used specimens, simulating groove and DMW materials at an RV nozzle, with electro-discharge machining (EDM) slits over it. Additionally, we performed a detection test for artificial stress corrosion cracking (SCC) defects. From these experimental results, we confirmed that an ECT was possible to detect EDM slits 0.3 mm or more in depth and artificial SCC defects 0.02 mm to 0.48 mm in depth on machined surface. Furthermore, the underwater ECT defect detectability is equivalent to that in air. We clarified an ECT is sufficiently usable as a surface inspection technique for underwater laser beam welding works. (author)

A climatology of the California Current System from a network of underwater gliders

Science.gov (United States)

Rudnick, Daniel L.; Zaba, Katherine D.; Todd, Robert E.; Davis, Russ E.

2017-05-01

Autonomous underwater gliders offer the possibility of sustained observation of the coastal ocean. Since 2006 Spray underwater gliders in the California Underwater Glider Network (CUGN) have surveyed along California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) lines 66.7, 80.0, and 90.0, constituting the world's longest sustained glider network, to our knowledge. In this network, gliders dive between the surface and 500 m, completing a cycle in 3 h and covering 3 km in that time. Sections extend 350-500 km offshore and take 2-3 weeks to occupy. Measured variables include pressure, temperature, salinity, and depth-average velocity. The CUGN has amassed over 10,000 glider-days, covering over 210,000 km with over 95,000 dives. These data are used to produce a climatology whose products are for each variable a mean field, an annual cycle, and the anomaly from the annual cycle. The analysis includes a weighted least-squares fit to derive the mean and annual cycle, and an objective map to produce the anomaly. The final results are variables on rectangular grids in depth, distance offshore, and time. The mean fields are finely resolved sections across the main flows in the California Current System, including the poleward California Undercurrent and the equatorward California Current. The annual cycle shows a phase change from the surface to the thermocline, reflecting the effects of air/sea fluxes at the surface and upwelling in the thermocline. The interannual anomalies are examined with an emphasis on climate events of the last ten years including the 2009-2010 El Niño, the 2010-2011 La Niña, the warm anomaly of 2014-2015, and the 2015-2016 El Niño.

SEATURTLE: Sustained Engagement Autonomous Tracking of Underwater RepTiLEs

OpenAIRE

Budd, Johnathan

2015-01-01

While oceans cover the majority of our planet, these vast expanses remain relatively unexplored. Among the most interesting parts of the ocean are the shallow reef systems, which contain a huge amount of the planet’s biodiversity. The Sustained Engagement Autonomous Tracking of Underwater RepTiLEs or SEATURTLE is a low cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicle designed to carry out missions in these shallow environments. Its small displacement and precise movement make it ideal for navigating tight ...

ACCURACY ASSESSMENT OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAMMETRIC THREE DIMENSIONAL MODELLING FOR CORAL REEFS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Guo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Recent advances in automation of photogrammetric 3D modelling software packages have stimulated interest in reconstructing highly accurate 3D object geometry in unconventional environments such as underwater utilizing simple and low-cost camera systems. The accuracy of underwater 3D modelling is affected by more parameters than in single media cases. This study is part of a larger project on 3D measurements of temporal change of coral cover in tropical waters. It compares the accuracies of 3D point clouds generated by using images acquired from a system camera mounted in an underwater housing and the popular GoPro cameras respectively. A precisely measured calibration frame was placed in the target scene in order to provide accurate control information and also quantify the errors of the modelling procedure. In addition, several objects (cinder blocks with various shapes were arranged in the air and underwater and 3D point clouds were generated by automated image matching. These were further used to examine the relative accuracy of the point cloud generation by comparing the point clouds of the individual objects with the objects measured by the system camera in air (the best possible values. Given a working distance of about 1.5 m, the GoPro camera can achieve a relative accuracy of 1.3 mm in air and 2.0 mm in water. The system camera achieved an accuracy of 1.8 mm in water, which meets our requirements for coral measurement in this system.

UNDERWATER COATINGS FOR CONTAMINATION CONTROL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Julia L. Tripp; Kip Archibald; Ann Marie Phillips; Joseph Campbell

2004-01-01

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) deactivated several aging nuclear fuel storage basins. Planners for this effort were greatly concerned that radioactive contamination present on the basin walls could become airborne as the sides of the basins became exposed during deactivation and allowed to dry after water removal. One way to control this airborne contamination was to fix the contamination in place while the pool walls were still submerged. There are many underwater coatings available on the market for marine, naval and other applications. A series of tests were run to determine whether the candidate underwater fixatives were easily applied and adhered well to the substrates (pool wall materials) found in INL fuel pools. Lab-scale experiments were conducted by applying fourteen different commercial underwater coatings to four substrate materials representative of the storage basin construction materials, and evaluating their performance. The coupons included bare concrete, epoxy painted concrete, epoxy painted carbon steel, and stainless steel. The evaluation criteria included ease of application, adherence to the four surfaces of interest, no change on water clarity or chemistry, non-hazardous in final applied form and be proven in underwater applications. A proprietary two-part, underwater epoxy owned by S. G. Pinney and Associates was selected from the underwater coatings tested for application to all four pools. Divers scrubbed loose contamination off the basin walls and floors using a ship hull scrubber and vacuumed up the sludge. The divers then applied the coating using a special powered roller with two separate heated hoses that allowed the epoxy to mix at the roller surface was used to eliminate pot time concerns. The walls were successfully coated and water was removed from the pools with no detectable airborne contamination releases

Underwater Munitions Expert System to Predict Mobility and Burial

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-14

for predicting the location and possible burial of underwater munitions is required to advise site managers as they plan...that region above the given UXO relative density, which is defined as the UXO density divided by the sand grain density, ( nominally 2650 g...0.0 + 2.5*dsed ; % nominal bed roughness if no burial % (Potentially in future version, ripple height

Autopilot Using Differential Thrust for ARIES Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sarton, Christopher

2003-01-01

.... Unfortunately, communication antennas must point to specific satellites in this system and thus underwater vehicles must steer a specific course on the surface during the communication process...

An Observability Metric for Underwater Vehicle Localization Using Range Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filippo Arrichiello

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The paper addresses observability issues related to the general problem of single and multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV localization using only range measurements. While an AUV is submerged, localization devices, such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems, are ineffective, due to the attenuation of electromagnetic waves. AUV localization based on dead reckoning techniques and the use of affordable motion sensor units is also not practical, due to divergence caused by sensor bias and drift. For these reasons, localization systems often build on trilateration algorithms that rely on the measurements of the ranges between an AUV and a set of fixed transponders using acoustic devices. Still, such solutions are often expensive, require cumbersome calibration procedures and only allow for AUV localization in an area that is defined by the geometrical arrangement of the transponders. A viable alternative for AUV localization that has recently come to the fore exploits the use of complementary information on the distance from the AUV to a single transponder, together with information provided by on-board resident motion sensors, such as, for example, depth, velocity and acceleration measurements. This concept can be extended to address the problem of relative localization between two AUVs equipped with acoustic sensors for inter-vehicle range measurements. Motivated by these developments, in this paper, we show that both the problems of absolute localization of a single vehicle and the relative localization of multiple vehicles can be treated using the same mathematical framework, and tailoring concepts of observability derived for nonlinear systems, we analyze how the performance in localization depends on the types of motion imparted to the AUVs. For this effect, we propose a well-defined observability metric and validate its usefulness, both in simulation and by carrying out experimental tests with a real marine vehicle during which the

Analysis, Design, and Evaluation of Acoustic Feedback Cancellation Systems for Hearing Aids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guo, Meng

2013-01-01

Acoustic feedback problems occur when the output loudspeaker signal of an audio system is partly returned to the input microphone via an acoustic coupling through the air. This problem often causes significant performance degradations in applications such as public address systems and hearing aids....... In the worst case, the audio system becomes unstable and howling occurs. In this work, first we analyze a general multiple microphone audio processing system, where a cancellation system using adaptive filters is used to cancel the effect of acoustic feedback. We introduce and derive an accurate approximation...... in acoustic feedback cancellation for hearing aids. It utilizes a probe noise signal which is generated with a specific characteristic so that it can facilitate an unbiased adaptive filter estimation with fast tracking of feedback path variations/changes despite its low signal level. We show in a hearing aid...

Development and assessment of two decontamination processes: closed electropolishing system for decontamination of underwater surfaces -vibratory decontamination with abrasives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benavides, E.; Fajardo, M.

1992-01-01

Two decontamination processes have been developed to decontaminate the stainless steel components of nuclear power plants. The first process uses an underwater closed electropolishing system for the decontamination of large stainless steel surfaces in flooded systems without loss of electrolyte. Large underwater contaminated areas can be treated with an electropolishing head covering an area of 2 m 2 in one step. The decontamination factors achieved with this technique range between 100 and 1000. The second process consists in the decontamination of nuclear components using vibratory equipment with self-cleaning abrasives generating a minimum quantity of waste. This technique may reach contamination factors similar to those obtained with other abrasive methods (brush abrasion, abrasive blasting, etc...). The obtained decontamination factors range between 5 and 50. Only a small quantity of waste is generated, which is treated and reduced in volume by filtration and evaporation

Acquisition and tracking for underwater optical communications

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Andrew J.; Laycock, Leslie L.; Griffith, Michael S.; McCarthy, Andrew G.; Rowe, Duncan P.

2017-10-01

There is a growing requirement to transfer large volumes of data between underwater platforms. As seawater is transmissive in the visible band, underwater optical communications is an active area of interest since it offers the potential for power efficient, covert and high bandwidth datalinks at short to medium ranges. Short range systems have been successfully demonstrated using sources with low directionality. To realise higher data rates and/or longer ranges, the use of more efficient directional beams is required; by necessity, these must be sufficiently aligned to achieve the required link margin. For mobile platforms, the acquisition and tracking of each node is therefore critical in order to establish and maintain an optical datalink. This paper describes work undertaken to demonstrate acquisition and tracking in a 3D underwater environment. A range of optical sources, beam steering technologies, and tracking sensors have been assessed for suitability. A novel scanning strategy exploiting variable beam divergence was developed to provide robust acquisition whilst minimising acquisition time. A prototype system was assembled and demonstrated in a large water tank. This utilised custom quadrant detectors based on Silicon PhotoMultiplier (SiPM) arrays for fine tracking, and a Wide Field of View (WFoV) sCMOS camera for link acquisition. Fluidic lenses provided dynamic control of beam divergence, and AC modulation/filtering enabled background rejection. The system successfully demonstrated robust optical acquisition and tracking between two nodes with only nanowatt received optical powers. The acquisition time was shown to be dependent on the initial conditions and the transmitted optical power.

Underwater Gliders: A Review

OpenAIRE

Javaid Muhammad Yasar; Ovinis Mark; Nagarajan T; Hashim Fakhruldin B M

2014-01-01

Underwater gliders are a type of underwater vehicle that transverse the oceans by shifting its buoyancy, during which its wings develop a component of the downward motion in the horizontal plane, thus producing a forward force. They are primarily used in oceanography sensing and data collection and play an important role in ocean research and development. Although there have been considerable developments in these gliders since the development of the first glider concept in 1989, to date, no ...

Underwater noise pollution in a coastal tropical environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bittencourt, L; Carvalho, R R; Lailson-Brito, J; Azevedo, A F

2014-06-15

Underwater noise pollution has become a major concern in marine habitats. Guanabara Bay, southeastern Brazil, is an impacted area of economic importance with constant vessel traffic. One hundred acoustic recording sessions took place over ten locations. Sound sources operating within 1 km radius of each location were quantified during recordings. The highest mean sound pressure level near the surface was 111.56±9.0 dB re 1 μPa at the frequency band of 187 Hz. Above 15 kHz, the highest mean sound pressure level was 76.21±8.3 dB re 1 μPa at the frequency 15.89 kHz. Noise levels correlated with number of operating vessels and vessel traffic composition influenced noise profiles. Shipping locations had the highest noise levels, while small vessels locations had the lowest noise levels. Guanabara Bay showed noise pollution similar to that of other impacted coastal regions, which is related to shipping and vessel traffic. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perancangan Prototipe Receiver Beacon Black Box Locator Acoustic 37,5 kHz Pingers

OpenAIRE

RUSTAMAJI RUSTAMAJI; PAULINE RAHMIATI; SARAH PERMATASARI

2016-01-01

ABSTRAK Ketika suatu pesawat terbang mengalami kecelakaan terjatuh ke dalam air, maka lokasi keberadaannya dapat dideteksi oleh alat yang disebut receiver beacon black box locator acoustic (pingers receiver). Pingers receiver berfungsi untuk menerima sinyal dengan frekuensi 37,5 kHz ± 1 kHz dari pingers transmitter atau Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB) yang berada pada black box pesawat. Dalam penelitian ini dibuat perancangan pingers receiver yang tersusun dari rangkaian Band Pass Filter (BPF...

Underwater Calibration of Dome Port Pressure Housings

Science.gov (United States)

Nocerino, E.; Menna, F.; Fassi, F.; Remondino, F.

2016-03-01

Underwater photogrammetry using consumer grade photographic equipment can be feasible for different applications, e.g. archaeology, biology, industrial inspections, etc. The use of a camera underwater can be very different from its terrestrial use due to the optical phenomena involved. The presence of the water and camera pressure housing in front of the camera act as additional optical elements. Spherical dome ports are difficult to manufacture and consequently expensive but at the same time they are the most useful for underwater photogrammetry as they keep the main geometric characteristics of the lens unchanged. Nevertheless, the manufacturing and alignment of dome port pressure housing components can be the source of unexpected changes of radial and decentring distortion, source of systematic errors that can influence the final 3D measurements. The paper provides a brief introduction of underwater optical phenomena involved in underwater photography, then presents the main differences between flat and dome ports to finally discuss the effect of manufacturing on 3D measurements in two case studies.

Modelling cavitating flow around underwater missiles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabien Petitpas

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The diffuse interface model of Saurel et al. (2008 is used for the computation of compressible cavitating flows around underwater missiles. Such systems use gas injection and natural cavitation to reduce drag effects. Consequently material interfaces appear separating liquid and gas. These interfaces may have a really complex dynamics such that only a few formulations are able to predict their evolution. Contrarily to front tracking or interface reconstruction method the interfaces are computed as diffused numerical zones, that are captured in a routinely manner, as is done usually with gas dynamics solvers for shocks and contact discontinuity. With the present approach, a single set of partial differential equations is solved everywhere, with a single numerical scheme. This leads to very efficient solvers. The algorithm derived in Saurel et al. (2009 is used to compute cavitation pockets around solid bodies. It is first validated against experiments done in cavitation tunnel at CNU. Then it is used to compute flows around high speed underwater systems (Shkval-like missile. Performance data are then computed showing method ability to predict forces acting on the system.

Near-Real-Time Acoustic Monitoring of Beaked Whales and Other Cetaceans Using a Seaglider™

Science.gov (United States)

Klinck, Holger; Mellinger, David K.; Klinck, Karolin; Bogue, Neil M.; Luby, James C.; Jump, William A.; Shilling, Geoffrey B.; Litchendorf, Trina; Wood, Angela S.; Schorr, Gregory S.; Baird, Robin W.

2012-01-01

In most areas, estimating the presence and distribution of cryptic marine mammal species, such as beaked whales, is extremely difficult using traditional observational techniques such as ship-based visual line transect surveys. Because acoustic methods permit detection of animals underwater, at night, and in poor weather conditions, passive acoustic observation has been used increasingly often over the last decade to study marine mammal distribution, abundance, and movements, as well as for mitigation of potentially harmful anthropogenic effects. However, there is demand for new, cost-effective tools that allow scientists to monitor areas of interest autonomously with high temporal and spatial resolution in near-real time. Here we describe an autonomous underwater vehicle – a glider – equipped with an acoustic sensor and onboard data processing capabilities to passively scan an area for marine mammals in near-real time. The glider was tested extensively off the west coast of the Island of Hawai'i, USA. The instrument covered approximately 390 km during three weeks at sea and collected a total of 194 h of acoustic data. Detections of beaked whales were successfully reported to shore in near-real time. Manual analysis of the recorded data revealed a high number of vocalizations of delphinids and sperm whales. Furthermore, the glider collected vocalizations of unknown origin very similar to those made by known species of beaked whales. The instrument developed here can be used to cost-effectively screen areas of interest for marine mammals for several months at a time. The near-real-time detection and reporting capabilities of the glider can help to protect marine mammals during potentially harmful anthropogenic activities such as seismic exploration for sub-sea fossil fuels or naval sonar exercises. Furthermore, the glider is capable of under-ice operation, allowing investigation of otherwise inaccessible polar environments that are critical habitats for many

Near-real-time acoustic monitoring of beaked whales and other cetaceans using a Seaglider™.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holger Klinck

Full Text Available In most areas, estimating the presence and distribution of cryptic marine mammal species, such as beaked whales, is extremely difficult using traditional observational techniques such as ship-based visual line transect surveys. Because acoustic methods permit detection of animals underwater, at night, and in poor weather conditions, passive acoustic observation has been used increasingly often over the last decade to study marine mammal distribution, abundance, and movements, as well as for mitigation of potentially harmful anthropogenic effects. However, there is demand for new, cost-effective tools that allow scientists to monitor areas of interest autonomously with high temporal and spatial resolution in near-real time. Here we describe an autonomous underwater vehicle--a glider--equipped with an acoustic sensor and onboard data processing capabilities to passively scan an area for marine mammals in near-real time. The glider was tested extensively off the west coast of the Island of Hawai'i, USA. The instrument covered approximately 390 km during three weeks at sea and collected a total of 194 h of acoustic data. Detections of beaked whales were successfully reported to shore in near-real time. Manual analysis of the recorded data revealed a high number of vocalizations of delphinids and sperm whales. Furthermore, the glider collected vocalizations of unknown origin very similar to those made by known species of beaked whales. The instrument developed here can be used to cost-effectively screen areas of interest for marine mammals for several months at a time. The near-real-time detection and reporting capabilities of the glider can help to protect marine mammals during potentially harmful anthropogenic activities such as seismic exploration for sub-sea fossil fuels or naval sonar exercises. Furthermore, the glider is capable of under-ice operation, allowing investigation of otherwise inaccessible polar environments that are critical

NRL Fact Book

Science.gov (United States)

1988-05-01

interests are centered on signal processing and the physics of underwater acoustic propagation, ambient noise, and reverberation. Mr. Rojas is a member...Airborne underwater acoustics Bottom-limited acoustics Arctic underwater acoustics Propagation Noise Ambient noise measurements and modeling Spectral...Multispectral image correlation Space sensor and mission analysis CROWN" STALK Time, ms (100 ms after impactO Time-history of the . radar backscatter from a

Amélioration des performances du traitement des interférences dans le domaine fréquentiel pour les communications acoustiques sous marines

OpenAIRE

YOUCEF , Abdelhakim

2013-01-01

Underwater acoustic (UWA) communications allow wireless transmission between the surface and the bottom of a subsea environment based on acoustic waves. The wireless acoustic link reduces the physical infrastructure cost compared to the cable-based underwater communications. However, underwater acoustic channel imposes severe degradations on the transmitted signal. Its propagation characteristics are widely different from those of the radio channel. The multipath propagation caused by multipl...

Forced synchronization and asynchronous quenching in a thermo-acoustic system

Science.gov (United States)

Mondal, Sirshendu; Pawar, Samadhan A.; Sujith, Raman

2017-11-01

Forced synchronization, which has been extensively studied in theory and experiments, occurs through two different mechanisms known as phase locking and asynchronous quenching. The latter indicates the suppression of oscillation amplitude. In most practical combustion systems such as gas turbine engines, the main concern is high amplitude pressure oscillations, known as thermo-acoustic instability. Thermo-acoustic instability is undesirable and needs to be suppressed because of its damaging consequences to an engine. In the present study, a systematic experimental investigation of forced synchronization is performed in a prototypical thermo-acoustic system, a Rijke tube, in its limit cycle operation. Further, we show a qualitatively similar behavior using a reduced order model. In the phase locking region, the simultaneous occurrence of synchronization and resonant amplification leads to high amplitude pressure oscillations. However, a reduction in the amplitude of natural oscillations by about 78% of the unforced amplitude is observed when the forcing frequency is far lower than the natural frequency. This shows the possibility of suppression of the oscillation amplitude through asynchronous quenching in thermo-acoustic systems.

The industrial research project: “Blu-Archeosys – Innovative Technologies and Advanced Systems as Support in Underwater Archaeology”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salvatore Lorusso

2003-02-01

Full Text Available The reasons of the research about new technologies as support in naval and underwater archaeology or, more generally, in waters archaeology are various and described in this work, where the characteristics of the research project “BLU-ARCHEOSYS – Innovative Technologies and Advanced SYStems as Support in Underwater ARCHaeology” are illustrated. This industrial research project faces problems regarding innovative technologies and instruments in waters archaeology and it comprehends synergic steps and joined works among skilled professionals that have the competences to interpret qualitative and/or quantitative data within an artistic – historical and technical – historical study, also with the involvement of various public and private institutions. The BLUARCHEOSYS project has, in fact, the objective to create technologies that have a reply in underwater archaeology and contemporaneously in other sectors. In particular, starting from the methodological way that spans from the discovery in underwater or subaerial environment to the collocation of the objects in museums, the intent is to support the different methodological stages with specific tools and innovative technologies. The education project, presented to the Ministry with the research one, is articulated in the different branches of artistic-historical character, of the management, normative and operative character, and of the technical-diagnostic-material-preservative character. The professionals will have not only theoretical knowledge about standard and consolidated technologies, but they will be also experts about methodologies, in particular the diagnostic ones, that put in field the innovative tools evaluated in the project, with consequent competitive advantage in the working field, more and more demanding specific sector competences.

Prevention of Pressure Oscillations in Modeling a Cavitating Acoustic Fluid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Klenow

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Cavitation effects play an important role in the UNDEX loading of a structure. For far-field UNDEX, the structural loading is affected by the formation of local and bulk cavitation regions, and the pressure pulses resulting from the closure of the cavitation regions. A common approach to numerically modeling cavitation in far-field underwater explosions is Cavitating Acoustic Finite Elements (CAFE and more recently Cavitating Acoustic Spectral Elements (CASE. Treatment of cavitation in this manner causes spurious pressure oscillations which must be treated by a numerical damping scheme. The focus of this paper is to investigate the severity of these oscillations on the structural response and a possible improvement to CAFE, based on the original Boris and Book Flux-Corrected Transport algorithm on structured meshes [6], to limit oscillations without the energy loss associated with the current damping schemes.

Review of potential impacts to sea turtles from underwater explosive removal of offshore structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viada, Stephen T.; Hammer, Richard M.; Racca, Roberto; Hannay, David; Thompson, M. John; Balcom, Brian J.; Phillips, Neal W.

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to collect and synthesize existing information relevant to the explosive removal of offshore structures (EROS) in aquatic environments. Data sources were organized and summarized by topic - explosive removal methods, physics of underwater explosions, sea turtle resources, documented impacts to sea turtles, and mitigation of effects. Information was gathered via electronic database searches and literature source review. Bulk explosive charges are the most commonly used technique in EROS. While the physical principles of underwater detonations and the propagation of pressure and acoustic waves are well understood, there are significant gaps in the application of this knowledge. Impacts to sea turtles from explosive removal operations may range from non-injurious effects (e.g. acoustic annoyance; mild tactile detection or physical discomfort) to varying levels of injury (i.e. non-lethal and lethal injuries). Very little information exists regarding the impacts of underwater explosions on sea turtles. Effects of explosions on turtles often must be inferred from documented effects to other vertebrates with lungs or other gas-containing organs, such as mammals and most fishes. However, a cautious approach should be used when determining impacts to sea turtles based on extrapolations from other vertebrates. The discovery of beached sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins following an explosive platform removal event in 1986 prompted the initiation of formal consultation between the U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), authorized through the Endangered Species Act Section 7, to determine a mechanism to minimize potential impacts to listed species. The initial consultation resulted in a requirement for oil and gas companies to obtain a permit (through separate consultations on a case-by-case basis) prior to using explosives in Federal waters. Because many offshore

Underwater Adhesives Retrofit Pipelines with Advanced Sensors

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Houston-based Astro Technology Inc. used a partnership with Johnson Space Center to pioneer an advanced fiber-optic monitoring system for offshore oil pipelines. The company's underwater adhesives allow it to retrofit older deepwater systems in order to measure pressure, temperature, strain, and flow properties, giving energy companies crucial data in real time and significantly decreasing the risk of a catastrophe.

Efficient Modelling Methodology for Reconfigurable Underwater Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mikkel Cornelius; Blanke, Mogens; Schjølberg, Ingrid

2016-01-01

This paper considers the challenge of applying reconfigurable robots in an underwater environment. The main result presented is the development of a model for a system comprised of N, possibly heterogeneous, robots dynamically connected to each other and moving with 6 Degrees of Freedom (DOF). Th...

Ireland and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Science.gov (United States)

Kirwan, Seán

2010-12-01

Ratification by Ireland of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage will not be able to take place until after enactment of additional domestic legislation. The reasons for this are examined in the context of Ireland's legal system. Since 1987 Ireland has had extensive legal protection for underwater cultural heritage, but the jurisdictional aspects of the Convention are key to understanding why additional legislation is necessary. Issues relating to salvage law are also considered. The 2001 Convention is placed in the context of development of Irish policy on underwater cultural heritage.

Human Injury Criteria for Underwater Blasts

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-08

further underscored the need for this new guideline based on injury data. Conference Name: Personal Armour Systems Symposium Conference Date...29.  Cole, R., Underwater Explosion. (Dover Publications, Inc ., New York, N.Y., 1948) 30.  Nakahara, M., Nagayama, K, Mori, Y, Japanese Journal...Abstract of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc . Annual Scientific Meeting, (1976).

Limiting Performance Analysis of Underwater Shock Isolation of a System with Biodynamic Response Using Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Zong

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Biodynamic response of shipboard crew to underwater shock is of a major concern to navies. An underwater shock can produce very high accelerations, resulting in severe human injuries aboard a battleship. Protection of human bodies from underwater shock is implemented by installing onboard isolators. In this paper, the optimal underwater shock isolation to protect human bodies is studied. A simple shock-structure-isolator-human interaction model is first constructed. The model incorporates the effect of fluid-structure interaction, biodynamic response of human body, isolator influence. Based on this model, the optimum shock isolation is then formulated. The performance index and restriction are defined. Thirdly, GA (genetic algorithm is employed to solve the formulated optimization problem. GA is a powerful evolutionary optimization scheme suitable for large-scale and multi-variable optimization problems that are otherwise hard to be solved by conventional methods. A brief introduction to GA is given in the paper. Finally, the method is applied to an example problem and the limiting performance characteristic is obtained.

Hydroelastic behaviour of a structure exposed to an underwater explosion.

Science.gov (United States)

Colicchio, G; Greco, M; Brocchini, M; Faltinsen, O M

2015-01-28

The hydroelastic interaction between an underwater explosion and an elastic plate is investigated num- erically through a domain-decomposition strategy. The three-dimensional features of the problem require a large computational effort, which is reduced through a weak coupling between a one-dimensional radial blast solver, which resolves the blast evolution far from the boundaries, and a three-dimensional compressible flow solver used where the interactions between the compression wave and the boundaries take place and the flow becomes three-dimensional. The three-dimensional flow solver at the boundaries is directly coupled with a modal structural solver that models the response of the solid boundaries like elastic plates. This enables one to simulate the fluid-structure interaction as a strong coupling, in order to capture hydroelastic effects. The method has been applied to the experimental case of Hung et al. (2005 Int. J. Impact Eng. 31, 151-168 (doi:10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2003.10.039)) with explosion and structure sufficiently far from other boundaries and successfully validated in terms of the evolution of the acceleration induced on the plate. It was also used to investigate the interaction of an underwater explosion with the bottom of a close-by ship modelled as an orthotropic plate. In the application, the acoustic phase of the fluid-structure interaction is examined, highlighting the need of the fluid-structure coupling to capture correctly the possible inception of cavitation. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Research on key technology of prognostic and health management for autonomous underwater vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhi

2017-12-01

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are non-cable and autonomous motional underwater robotics. With a wide range of activities, it can reach thousands of kilometers. Because it has the advantages of wide range, good maneuverability, safety and intellectualization, it becomes an important tool for various underwater tasks. How to improve diagnosis accuracy of the AUVs electrical system faults, and how to repair AUVs by the information are the focus of navy in the world. In turn, ensuring safe and reliable operation of the system has very important significance to improve AUVs sailing performance. To solve these problems, in the paper the prognostic and health management(PHM) technology is researched and used to AUV, and the overall framework and key technology are proposed, such as data acquisition, feature extraction, fault diagnosis, failure prediction and so on.

Fault-Tolerant Region-Based Control of an Underwater Vehicle with Kinematically Redundant Thrusters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zool H. Ismail

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new control approach for an underwater vehicle with a kinematically redundant thruster system. This control scheme is derived based on a fault-tolerant decomposition for thruster force allocation and a region control scheme for the tracking objective. Given a redundant thruster system, that is, six or more pairs of thrusters are used, the proposed redundancy resolution and region control scheme determine the number of thruster faults, as well as providing the reference thruster forces in order to keep the underwater vehicle within the desired region. The stability of the presented control law is proven in the sense of a Lyapunov function. Numerical simulations are performed with an omnidirectional underwater vehicle and the results of the proposed scheme illustrate the effectiveness in terms of optimizing the thruster forces.

Underwater 3D filming

OpenAIRE

Rinaldi, Roberto

2014-01-01

After an experimental phase of many years, 3D filming is now effective and successful. Improvements are still possible, but the film industry achieved memorable success on 3D movie’s box offices due to the overall quality of its products. Special environments such as space (“Gravity” ) and the underwater realm look perfect to be reproduced in 3D. “Filming in space” was possible in “Gravity” using special effects and computer graphic. The underwater realm is still difficult to be handled. Unde...

A simple steel/water model for preliminary studies of acoustic vibration in LMFBR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bentley, P.G.; Firth, D.; Rowley, R.; Beesley, M.

1977-01-01

One source of vibration excitation in Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors is the acoustic energy which is generated by the circulating pump and transmitted through the fluid to various structural components. Since most of the energy occurs at fairly low frequencies, that of low harmonies of blade passing frequency, only the very large components have resonant frequencies such that they are significantly excited. To gain some preliminary understanding of the extent and magnitude of vibration in fast reactors therefore, a simple model has been constructed in which only the major components are represented. The modelling theory is discussed and it is shown that adequate representation of the steel/sodium reactor materials can be obtained in the model based on the use of steel/water. The model represents a pool design with a primary tank of 3 1/4 metres diameter and typical components scaled in proportion; however, it does not necessarily relate to any specific reactor design. The pump acoustic source is represented by an underwater loudspeaker system and vibration amplitudes are scaled according to typical pressures generated by reactor circulators. Results from the model include calibration data for the acoustic source and measurements of acoustic pressure throughout the primary flow circuit and the inner and outer pools. Stresses are measured on structural components over a frequency range scaled from reactor frequencies and compensated for the characteristics of the acoustic source. Appreciable stresses are found on all the components in the primary circuit, not necessarily only those close to the simulated pump source. After scaling them to reactor size and allowing for the source calibration, it is found that stresses are unlikely to be sufficiently high to cause damage

A highly versatile autonomous underwater vehicle with biomechanical propulsion

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Simons, D.G.; Bergers, M.M.C.; Henrion, S.; Hulzenga, J.I.J.; Jutte, R.W.; Pas, W.M.G.; Van Schravendijk, M.; Vercruyssen, T.G.A.; Wilken, A.P.

2009-01-01

An autonomous underwater vehicle with a biomechanical propulsion system is a possible answer to the demand for small, silent sensor platforms in many fields. The design of Galatea, a bio-mimetic AUV, involves four aspects: hydrodynamic shape, the propulsion, the motion control systems and payload.

Acoustic radiation force on a multilayered sphere in a Gaussian standing field

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Haibin; Liu, Xiaozhou; Gao, Sha; Cui, Jun; Liu, Jiehui; He, Aijun; Zhang, Gutian

2018-03-01

We develop a model for calculating the radiation force on spherically symmetric multilayered particles based on the acoustic scattering approach. An expression is derived for the radiation force on a multilayered sphere centered on the axis of a Gaussian standing wave propagating in an ideal fluid. The effects of the sound absorption of the materials and sound wave on acoustic radiation force of a multilayered sphere immersed in water are analyzed, with particular emphasis on the shell thickness of every layer, and the width of the Gaussian beam. The results reveal that the existence of particle trapping behavior depends on the choice of the non-dimensional frequency ka, as well as the shell thickness of each layer. This study provides a theoretical basis for the development of acoustical tweezers in a Gaussian standing wave, which may benefit the improvement and development of acoustic control technology, such as trapping, sorting, and assembling a cell, and drug delivery applications. Project supported by National Key R&D Program (Grant No. 2016YFF0203000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11774167 and 61571222), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. 020414380001), the Key Laboratory of Underwater Acoustic Environment, Institute of Acoustics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. SSHJ-KFKT-1701), and the AQSIQ Technology R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2017QK125).

Development of a highly maneuverable unmanned underwater vehicle on the basis of quad-copter dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Amin, Osman Md; Karim, Md. Arshadul; Saad, Abdullah His

2017-12-01

At present, research on unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) has become a significant & familiar topic for researchers from various engineering fields. UUV is of mainly two types - AUV (Autonomous Underwater vehicle) & ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). There exist a significant number of published research papers on UUV, where very few researchers emphasize on the ease of maneuvering and control of UUV. Maneuvering is important for underwater vehicle in avoiding obstacles, installing underwater piping system, searching undersea resources, underwater mine disposal operations, oceanographic surveys etc. A team from Dept. of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering of MIST has taken a project to design a highly maneuverable unmanned underwater vehicle on the basis of quad-copter dynamics. The main objective of the research is to develop a control system for UUV which would be able to maneuver the vehicle in six DOF (Degrees of Freedom) with great ease. For this purpose we are not only focusing on controllability but also designing an efficient hull with minimal drag force & optimized propeller using CFD technique. Motors were selected on the basis of the simulated thrust generated by propellers in ANSYS Fluent software module. Settings for control parameters to carry out different types of maneuvering such as hovering, spiral, one point rotation about its centroid, gliding, rolling, drifting and zigzag motions were explained in short at the end.

IVO develops a new repair technique for underwater sites. Viscous doughlike substance underwater cracks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klingstedt, G.; Leisio, C. [ed.

1998-07-01

A viscous sealant is revolutionizing repair of the stone and concrete masonry of underwater dams, bridges and canals. There is now no need for expensive and time-consuming cofferdams, since a diver can extrude quick-setting mortar into underwater structures needing repair. This technique has worked well in recent years in various parts of Finland even in strongly flowing water. IVO experts are now starting to look more beyond the borders of Finland

A man-made object detection for underwater TV

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Binbin; Wang, Wenwu; Chen, Yao

2018-03-01

It is a great challenging task to complete an automatic search of objects underwater. Usually the forward looking sonar is used to find the target, and then the initial identification of the target is completed by the side-scan sonar, and finally the confirmation of the target is accomplished by underwater TV. This paper presents an efficient method for automatic extraction of man-made sensitive targets in underwater TV. Firstly, the image of underwater TV is simplified with taking full advantage of the prior knowledge of the target and the background; then template matching technology is used for target detection; finally the target is confirmed by extracting parallel lines on the target contour. The algorithm is formulated for real-time execution on limited-memory commercial-of-the-shelf platforms and is capable of detection objects in underwater TV.

A scaled underwater launch system accomplished by stress wave propagation technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Yanpeng; Wang Yiwei; Huang Chenguang; Fang Xin; Duan Zhuping

2011-01-01

A scaled underwater launch system based on the stress wave theory and the slip Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) technique is developed to study the phenomenon of cavitations and other hydrodynamic features of high-speed submerged bodies. The present system can achieve a transient acceleration in the water instead of long-time acceleration outside the water. The projectile can obtain a maximum speed of 30 m/s in about 200 μs by the SHPB launcher. The cavitation characteristics in the stage of acceleration and deceleration are captured by the high-speed camera. The processes of cavitation inception, development and collapse are also simulated with the business software FLUENT, and the results are in good agreement with experiment. There is about 20-30% energy loss during the launching processes, the mechanism of energy loss is also preliminary investigated by measuring the energy of the incident bar and the projectile. (authors)

Validation of simulations of an underwater acoustic communication channel characterized by wind-generated surface waves and bubbles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dol, H.S.; Colin, M.E.G.D.; Ainlie, M.A.; Gerdes, F.; Schäfke, A.; Özkan Sertlekc, H.

2013-01-01

This paper shows that it is possible to simulate realistic shallow-water acoustic communication channels using available acoustic propagation models. Key factor is the incorporation of realistic time-dependent sea surface conditions, including both waves and bubbles due to wind.

Data extraction system for underwater particle holography

Science.gov (United States)

Nebrensky, J. J.; Craig, Gary; Hobson, Peter R.; Lampitt, R. S.; Nareid, Helge; Pescetto, A.; Trucco, Andrea; Watson, John

2000-08-01

Pulsed laser holography in an extremely powerful technique for the study of particle fields as it allows instantaneous, non-invasive high- resolution recording of substantial volumes. By relaying the real image one can obtain the size, shape, position and - if multiple exposures are made - velocity of every object in the recorded field. Manual analysis of large volumes containing thousands of particles is, however, an enormous and time-consuming task, with operator fatigue an unpredictable source of errors. Clearly the value of holographic measurements also depends crucially on the quality of the reconstructed image: not only will poor resolution degrade the size and shape measurements, but aberrations such as coma and astigmatism can change the perceived centroid of a particle, affecting position and velocity measurements. For large-scale applications of particle field holography, specifically the in situ recording of marine plankton with Holocam, we have developed an automated data extraction system that can be readily switched between the in-line and off-axis geometries and provides optimised reconstruction from holograms recorded underwater. As a videocamera is automatically stepped through the 200 by 200 by 1000mm sample volume, image processing and object tracking routines locate and extract particle images for further classification by a separate software module.

Application of gas-coupled laser acoustic detection to gelatins and underwater sensing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caron, James N.; Kunapareddy, Pratima

2014-01-01

Gas-coupled Laser Acoustic Detection (GCLAD) has been used as a method to sense ultrasound waves in materials without contact of the material surface. To sense the waveform, a laser beam is directed parallel to the material surface and displaced or deflected when the radiated waveform traverses the beam. We present recent tests that demonstrate the potential of using this technique for detecting ultrasound in gelatin phantoms and in water. As opposed to interferometric detection, GCLAD operates independently of the optical surface properties of the material. This allows the technique to be used in cases where the material is transparent or semi-transparent. We present results on sensing ultrasound in gelatin phantoms that are used to mimic biological materials. As with air-coupled transducers, the frequency response of GCLAD at high frequencies is limited by the high attenuation of ultrasound in air. In contrast, water has a much lower attenuation. Here we demonstrate the use of a GCLAD-like system in water, measuring the directivity response at 1 MHz and sensing waveforms with higher frequency content

Directional radiation pattern in structural-acoustic coupled system

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Hee-Seon; Kim, Yang-Hann

2005-07-01

In this paper we demonstrate the possibility of designing a radiator using structural-acoustic interaction by predicting the pressure distribution and radiation pattern of a structural-acoustic coupling system that is composed by a wall and two spaces. If a wall separates spaces, then the wall's role in transporting the acoustic characteristics of the spaces is important. The spaces can be categorized as bounded finite space and unbounded infinite space. The wall considered in this study composes two plates and an opening, and the wall separates one space that is highly reverberant and the other that is unbounded without any reflection. This rather hypothetical circumstance is selected to study the general coupling problem between the finite and infinite acoustic domains. We developed an equation that predicts the energy distribution and energy flow in the two spaces separated by a wall, and its computational examples are presented. Three typical radiation patterns that include steered, focused, and omnidirected are presented. A designed radiation pattern is also presented by using the optimal design algorithm.

An Underwater Image Enhancement Algorithm for Environment Recognition and Robot Navigation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun Xie

2018-03-01

Full Text Available There are many tasks that require clear and easily recognizable images in the field of underwater robotics and marine science, such as underwater target detection and identification of robot navigation and obstacle avoidance. However, water turbidity makes the underwater image quality too low to recognize. This paper proposes the use of the dark channel prior model for underwater environment recognition, in which underwater reflection models are used to obtain enhanced images. The proposed approach achieves very good performance and multi-scene robustness by combining the dark channel prior model with the underwater diffuse model. The experimental results are given to show the effectiveness of the dark channel prior model in underwater scenarios.

Topologically protected bound states in one-dimensional Floquet acoustic waveguide systems

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Yu-Gui; Geng, Zhi-Guo; Zhu, Xue-Feng

2018-03-01

Topological manipulation of sound has recently been a hot spot in acoustics due to the fascinating property of defect immune transport. To the best of our knowledge, the studies on one-dimensional (1D) topological acoustic systems hitherto mainly focus on the case of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. Here, we show that topologically protected bound states may also exist in 1D periodically modulated acoustic waveguide systems, viz., 1D Floquet topological insulators. The results show that tuning the coupling strength in a waveguide lattice could trigger topological phase transition, which gives rise to topologically protected interface states as we put together two waveguide lattices featured with different topological phases or winding numbers. However, for the combined lattice, input at the waveguides other than the interfacial ones will excite bulk states. We have further verified the robustness of interface bound states against the variation of coupling strengths between the two distinct waveguide lattices. This work extends the scope of topological acoustics and may promote potential applications for acoustic devices with topological functionalities.

Diffusion-Based Trajectory Observers with Variance Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alcocer, Alex; Jouffroy, Jerome; Oliveira, Paulo

Diffusion-based trajectory observers have been recently proposed as a simple and efficient framework to solve diverse smoothing problems in underwater navigation. For instance, to obtain estimates of the trajectories of an underwater vehicle given position fixes from an acoustic positioning system...... of smoothing and is determined by resorting to trial and error. This paper presents a methodology to choose the observer gain by taking into account a priori information on the variance of the position measurement errors. Experimental results with data from an acoustic positioning system are presented...

Probability-Based Recognition Framework for Underwater Landmarks Using Sonar Images †.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yeongjun; Choi, Jinwoo; Ko, Nak Yong; Choi, Hyun-Taek

2017-08-24

This paper proposes a probability-based framework for recognizing underwater landmarks using sonar images. Current recognition methods use a single image, which does not provide reliable results because of weaknesses of the sonar image such as unstable acoustic source, many speckle noises, low resolution images, single channel image, and so on. However, using consecutive sonar images, if the status-i.e., the existence and identity (or name)-of an object is continuously evaluated by a stochastic method, the result of the recognition method is available for calculating the uncertainty, and it is more suitable for various applications. Our proposed framework consists of three steps: (1) candidate selection, (2) continuity evaluation, and (3) Bayesian feature estimation. Two probability methods-particle filtering and Bayesian feature estimation-are used to repeatedly estimate the continuity and feature of objects in consecutive images. Thus, the status of the object is repeatedly predicted and updated by a stochastic method. Furthermore, we develop an artificial landmark to increase detectability by an imaging sonar, which we apply to the characteristics of acoustic waves, such as instability and reflection depending on the roughness of the reflector surface. The proposed method is verified by conducting basin experiments, and the results are presented.

Development of underwater robot for taking off marine life

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirai, Harumi; Wakamatsu, Kazuhiko; Ueda, Ryohei; Edahiro, Kyosuke; Hayashi, Shunichi.

1983-01-01

Fouling by marine life growths in the cooling water system at seaside power generating stations is a major problem in the maintenance of a safe and efficient operation. Ingress of released growths into the condensers and coolers often jeopardizes their tube life and performance by clogging and/or tube corrosion. Many stations are obliged to remove periodically the growths manually after drying-out the system or by divers at considerable expenditure in time and money. A new remote-controlled underwater robot is developed for brushing marine life off cooling water intake channels of thermal and nuclear power generation plants. This robot consists of an underwater working unit, a power supply system, hydraulic hose take-up unit and controlling equipment. The full hydraulically powered robot, which can be used for both open and closed conduits, permits cleaning under water intake servicing condition. It drastically reduces both time and cost. (author)

Experimental Measurements of Temporal Dispersion for Underwater Laser Communications and Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Cochenour, Brandon Michael

) at which multiple scattering and temporal dispersion are observed, while finer details of the scattering phase function shape are related to the amount of temporal dispersion that occurs. 3. Consistent with intuition, temporal dispersion is increased while increasing the receiver field-of-view when observing the light field at the beam axis. This is due to the collection of non-scattered, minimally scattered, and multiply scattered light. Observation of the light field far from the beam axis also results in increased temporal dispersion relative to on-axis observation, as only multiply scattered light is collected. However, no additional temporal dispersion is induced by widening the receiver field-of-view at these off-axis locations. This is contrary to the current conventional understanding, and illustrates the interdependence of geometry, system configuration, and environmental characteristics. 4. The experimental results are used to establish operational limits for underwater optical communication links with regard to sensitivity, dynamic range, and bandwidth. Establishing these bounds, particularly as they relate to channel bandwidth, have typically not be possible due to the previous lack of experimental evidence. 5. The intensity distribution of high frequency modulated light exhibits an effective 'angular narrowing' relative to non-modulated light. This result was theoretically predicted over 40 years ago, and experimentally verified for the first time in this work. This phenomenon is then exploited as a method to improve the resolution of underwater laser imaging systems. These results provide an improved understanding of temporal and spatial dispersion, as well as their relationship to each other. Understanding how both environmental and sensor properties effect spatial and temporal impairments are essential for optimizing the operating range and bandwidth of underwater laser communication links, or the range, resolution, and reliability of underwater laser

Impact of bathymetric system advances on hydrography

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Ranade, G.

undergone unprecedented changes with the advancement in the motion sensor technology. By late 1970 gyro stabilized accelerometer based attitude monitoring systems, computing roll, pitch and heave sensing and came in to existence. Doppler sonar principle...). “Multibeam bathymetric sonar: Sea Beam and Hydrochart”, Mar. Geod., vol. 4, pp.77-93. 4. Urick, R. (1975), “Principles of Underwater Acoustics”, McGraw – Hill. 5. Christian de Moustier, C. (1987). “Online Sea Beam acoustic imaging, Proc. Oceans ‘87...

An adaptive grid to improve the efficiency and accuracy of modelling underwater noise from shipping

Science.gov (United States)

Trigg, Leah; Chen, Feng; Shapiro, Georgy; Ingram, Simon; Embling, Clare

2017-04-01

represents a 2 to 5-fold increase in efficiency. The 5 km grid reduces the number of model executions further to 1024. However, over the first 25 km the 5 km grid produces errors of up to 13.8 dB when compared to the highly accurate but inefficient 1 km grid. The newly developed adaptive grid generates much smaller errors of less than 0.5 dB while demonstrating high computational efficiency. Our results show that the adaptive grid provides the ability to retain the accuracy of noise level predictions and improve the efficiency of the modelling process. This can help safeguard sensitive marine ecosystems from noise pollution by improving the underwater noise predictions that inform management activities. References Shapiro, G., Chen, F., Thain, R., 2014. The Effect of Ocean Fronts on Acoustic Wave Propagation in a Shallow Sea, Journal of Marine System, 139: 217 - 226. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.06.007.

The integrated satellite-acoustic telemetry (iSAT) system for tracking marine megafauna

KAUST Repository

De la Torre, Pedro

2012-10-06

This document describes the integrated satellite-acoustic telemetry (iSAT) system: an autonomous modular system for tracking the movements of large pelagic fish using acoustic telemetry and satellite communications. The sensor platform is described along with the propulsion and navigation systems. An application for tracking the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Red Sea is included along with a discussion of the technical difficulties that such a system faces.

The integrated satellite-acoustic telemetry (iSAT) system for tracking marine megafauna

KAUST Repository

De la Torre, Pedro; Berumen, Michael L.; Salama, Khaled N.; Smith, E. Lloyd

2012-01-01

This document describes the integrated satellite-acoustic telemetry (iSAT) system: an autonomous modular system for tracking the movements of large pelagic fish using acoustic telemetry and satellite communications. The sensor platform is described along with the propulsion and navigation systems. An application for tracking the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) in the Red Sea is included along with a discussion of the technical difficulties that such a system faces.

MECHANICAL DESIGN OF AN AUTONOMOUS MARINE ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR INTERACTION WITH DIVERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikola Stilinović

2016-09-01

Full Text Available SCUBA diving, professional or recreational, remains one of the most hazardous activities known by man, mostly due to the fact that the human survival in the underwater environment requires use of technical equipment such as breathing regulators. Loss of breathing gas supply, burst eardrum, decompression sickness and nitrogen narcosis are just a few problems which can occur during an ordinary dive and result in injuries, long-term illnesses or even death. Most common way to reduce the risk of diving is to dive in pairs, thus allowing divers to cooperate with each other and react when uncommon situation occurs. Having the ability to react before an unwanted situation happens would improve diver safety. This paper describes an autonomous marine robotic system that replaces a human dive buddy. Such a robotic system, developed within an FP7 project “CADDY – Cognitive Autonomous Diving Buddy” provides a symbiotic link between robots and human divers in the underwater. The proposed concept consists of a diver, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV Buddy and an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV PlaDyPos, acting within a cooperative network linked via an acoustic communication channel. This is a first time that an underwater human-robot system of such a scale has ever been developed. In this paper, focus is put on mechanical characteristics of the robotic vehicles.

Reliability considerations of electronics components for the deep underwater muon and neutrino detection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leskovar, B.

1980-02-01

The reliability of some electronics components for the Deep Underwater Muon and Neutrino Detection (DUMAND) System is discussed. An introductory overview of engineering concepts and technique for reliability assessment is given. Component reliability is discussed in the contest of major factors causing failures, particularly with respect to physical and chemical causes, process technology and testing, and screening procedures. Failure rates are presented for discrete devices and for integrated circuits as well as for basic electronics components. Furthermore, the military reliability specifications and standards for semiconductor devices are reviewed

Development of maintenance technology with underwater TIG welding for spent fuel storage pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obana, Takeshi; Hamada, Yasumitsu; Ooeda, Kaoru; Katou, Masahide; Ootsuka, Toshihiro; Toyoda, Seiichi; Hosogane, Atsushi

2007-01-01

The core technology of underwater TIG welding process has been developed and welding equipment system has been manufactured, for application to the maintenance of the spent fuel storage pool of Rokkasho reprocessing plant. Basic experiments for understanding the conditions of dry area and the range of welding conditions was performed, and mock examination for simulation of real environment by using the developed welding equipment was also carried out to judge the applicability of the system. For the purpose that can be selected water removing method for different spatial conditions of the parts to be maintained in underwater, two kinds of welding equipment systems of Chamber type and Partition type were developed and manufactured. On the basis of fundamental experiments, the conditions of dry area formation and welding parameters range for high-reliability weld were discussed. Thus the proper condition in this process was able to be established. With the welding equipment systems of the Chamber type and Partition type, the practical use examination of underwater TIG welding process was executed by mock examination for simulating the real environment. As a result, it was confirmed that the underwater TIG welding could obtain the same reliability as a usual in-air TIG welding, and the operation and the control at remote distance were also possible. And the reliability of the patch-plate fillet weld could be evaluated by remote inspection with the expansion visual test. (author)

Underwater hearing in the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Kirstin Anderson; Larsen, Ole Næsbye; Wahlberg, Magnus

2016-01-01

The underwater hearing threshold of a great cormorant (Phalacrocroax carbo sinensis) was measured at 2 kHz using psychophysical methods. Previous in-air and underwater testing suggests that cormorants have rather poor in-air hearing compared to other birds of similar size (Johansen, 2016). Prelim......The underwater hearing threshold of a great cormorant (Phalacrocroax carbo sinensis) was measured at 2 kHz using psychophysical methods. Previous in-air and underwater testing suggests that cormorants have rather poor in-air hearing compared to other birds of similar size (Johansen, 2016...

A highly sensitive underwater video system for use in turbid aquaculture ponds.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Chin-Chang; Tsao, Shih-Chieh; Huang, Kuo-Hao; Jang, Jia-Pu; Chang, Hsu-Kuang; Dobbs, Fred C

2016-08-24

The turbid, low-light waters characteristic of aquaculture ponds have made it difficult or impossible for previous video cameras to provide clear imagery of the ponds' benthic habitat. We developed a highly sensitive, underwater video system (UVS) for this particular application and tested it in shrimp ponds having turbidities typical of those in southern Taiwan. The system's high-quality video stream and images, together with its camera capacity (up to nine cameras), permit in situ observations of shrimp feeding behavior, shrimp size and internal anatomy, and organic matter residues on pond sediments. The UVS can operate continuously and be focused remotely, a convenience to shrimp farmers. The observations possible with the UVS provide aquaculturists with information critical to provision of feed with minimal waste; determining whether the accumulation of organic-matter residues dictates exchange of pond water; and management decisions concerning shrimp health.

Numerical computation of underwater explosions due to fuel-coolant interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, J.H.S.; Frost, D.L.; Knystautas, R.; Teodorczyk, A.; Ciccarelli, G.; Thibault, P.; Penrose, J.

1989-03-01

If coarse molten material is released into a coolant the possibility exists for a violent steam explosion. A detailed quantitative description of the processes involved in steam explosions is currently beyond the capabilities of the scientific community. However, a conservative estimate of the pressure transients resulting from a steam explosion can be obtained by studying the dynamics of the shock associated with the expansion of a high-pressure vapour bubble. In this study, the hydrodynamic equations governing the shock propagation of an expanding bubble were integrated numerically using the Flux Corrected Transport code. Simpler acoustic models based on experience with underwater explosions were also developed and used to estimate pressure transients and to calculate the peak pressures for benchmark cases. The results were found to be an order of magnitude higher than the corresponding pressures obtained using a complex model developed by Henry. A simplified version of the Henry model was developed by neglecting the complex description of the two-phase flow inside the ruptured tube and the arbitrarily assumed heat transfer and condensation rates. Results from the simplified model were found to be generally similar to, but had higher peak pressures than those obtained using the Henry model. It is concluded that the results produced by simple acoustic models, or by a simplified Henry model, are more conservative than the corresponding results obtained with the original Henry model

Autonomous underwater handling system for service, measurement and cutting tasks for the decommissioning of nuclear facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahn, M.; Haferkamp, H.; Bach, W.; Rose, N.

1992-01-01

For about 10 years the Institute for Material Science at the Hanover University has worked on projects of underwater cutting and welding. Increasing tasks to be done in nuclear facilities led to the development of special handling systems to support and handle the cutting tools. Also sensors and computers for extensive and complex tasks were integrated. A small sized freediving handling system, equipped with 2 video cameras, ultrasonic and radiation sensors and a plasma cutting torch for inspection and decommissioning tasks in nuclear facilities is described in this paper. (Author)

Impacts of an underwater high voltage DC power cable on fish migration movements in the San Francisco Bay.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyman, M. T.; Kavet, R.; Klimley, A. P.

2016-02-01

There is an increasingly strong interest on a global scale in offshore renewable energy production and transportation. However, there is concern that the electromagnetic fields (EMF) produced by these underwater cables may alter the behavior and physiology of marine species. Despite this concern, few studies have investigated these effects in free-living species. In 2009, a 85 km long high-voltage DC (HVDC) power cable was placed within the San Francisco Bay, running parallel, then perpendicular to, the migration route of anadromous species moving from the inland river system to the oceans. In this study, we assess the impacts of this HVDC cable on the migration behaviors of EMF-sensitive fish, including juvenile salmonids (Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, and steelhead trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) and adult green sturgeon, Acipenser medirostris. Acoustic telemetry techniques were used to track fish migration movements through the San Francisco Bay both before and after the cable was activated; individuals implanted with acoustic transmitters were detected on cross-channel hydrophone arrays at key locations in the system. Magnetic fields were surveyed and mapped at these locations using a transverse gradiometer, and models of the cable's magnetic field were developed that closely matched the empirically measured values. Here, we present our analyses on the relationships between migration-related behavioral metrics (e.g., percent of successful migrations, duration of migration, time spent near vs. far from cable location, etc.) and environmental parameters, such as cable activation and load level, local magnetic field levels, depth, and currents.

Dismantling of JPDR reactor internals by underwater plasma arc cutting technique using robotic manipulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokota, M.

1988-01-01

The actual dismantling of JPDR started on December 4, 1986. As of now, equipment that surrounds the reactor has mostly been removed to provide working space in reactor containment prior to the dismantling of reactor internals. Some reactor internals have been successfully dismantled using the underwater arc cutting system with a robotic manipulator during the period of January to March 1988. The cutting system is composed of an underwater plasma arc cutting device and a robotic manipulator. The cut off reactor internals were core spray block, feedwater sparger and stabilizers for fuel upper grid tube. The plasma arc cutting device was developed to dismantle the reactor internals underwater. It mainly consists of a plasma torch, power and gas supply systems for the torch, and by-product treatment systems. It has the cutting ability of 130 mm thickness stainless steel underwater. The robotic manipulator has seven degrees of freedom of movement, enabling it to move in almost the same way as the arm of a human being. The arm of the robot is mounted on a supporting device which is suspended by three chains from the support structure set on a service floor. A plasma torch is griped by the robotic hand; its position to the structure to be cut is controlled from a remote control room, about 100 meters outside the reactor containment

Mobile Sinks Assisted Geographic and Opportunistic Routing Based Interference Avoidance for Underwater Wireless Sensor Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Farwa; Wadud, Zahid; Javaid, Nadeem; Alrajeh, Nabil; Alabed, Mohamad Souheil; Qasim, Umar

2018-04-02

The distinctive features of acoustic communication channel-like high propagation delay, multi-path fading, quick attenuation of acoustic signal, etc. limit the utilization of underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs). The immutable selection of forwarder node leads to dramatic death of node resulting in imbalanced energy depletion and void hole creation. To reduce the probability of void occurrence and imbalance energy dissipation, in this paper, we propose mobility assisted geo-opportunistic routing paradigm based on interference avoidance for UWSNs. The network volume is divided into logical small cubes to reduce the interference and to make more informed routing decisions for efficient energy consumption. Additionally, an optimal number of forwarder nodes is elected from each cube based on its proximity with respect to the destination to avoid void occurrence. Moreover, the data packets are recovered from void regions with the help of mobile sinks which also reduce the data traffic on intermediate nodes. Extensive simulations are performed to verify that our proposed work maximizes the network lifetime and packet delivery ratio.