Integrated curved vector hydrophone

Abstract

This invention provides an integrated curved vector hydrophone in the field of vector hydrophone technology, comprising a scalar channel structure, a vector channel structure, and a support structure. The scalar channel structure includes a scalar channel piezoelectric element and a scalar channel metallic sensing element. The vector channel structure includes a vector channel piezoelectric element and a vector channel metallic sensing element. The support structure includes an annular support column and an annular end cap. This invention uses a series-connected triple-layer plate as its basic structure. The scalar channel consists of two internally series-connected triple-layer plates connected in parallel, and the vector channel consists of four internally series-connected triple-layer plates connected in parallel. Both channels share a common frame as the support structure. The base serves as both the metallic base for the triple-layer plates in the scalar channel and the outer shell of the accelerometer in the vector channel, achieving a reduction in the size of the vector hydrophone and meeting the increasingly urgent need for miniaturization of vector hydrophones.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of vector hydrophone technology, and more specifically, to an integrated curved vector hydrophone. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of underwater acoustic measurement, scalar hydrophones can convert scalar sound pressure signals into corresponding electrical signals. This conversion capability has kept them in a dominant position, but some problems have become increasingly apparent, such as the inability to accurately determine the port and starboard sides of a towed linear array. A complete sound field includes not only scalar sound pressure performance parameters but also vector information such as underwater particle velocity, acceleration, and sound pressure gradient. Therefore, by the mid-20th century, research on acoustic vector fields gradually emerged, and vector hydrophones capable of obtaining sound field vector information have broader practical research significance. In the field of underwater acoustics, vector hydrophones are typically developed by combining sound pressure sensors and vector sensors, capable of simultaneously measuring scalar (sound pressure) information and vector (particle velocity, acceleration, sound pressure gradient, etc.) information in the underwater sound field. Compared with traditional scalar hydrophones, vector hydrophones can simultaneously obtain more performance parameters of the underwater sound field, providing important basis for subsequent signal processing. They also have significant advantages in suppressing isotropic noise, target localization, and low-frequency directivity, providing many new methods and ideas for solving problems in the field of underwater acoustics. Today, vector hydrophone technology has become one of the most promising directions in the field of underwater acoustic measurement technology.

[0003] Compared to scalar hydrophones, vector hydrophones offer advantages such as high low-frequency sensitivity and good directivity, leading to their widespread application in various fields of underwater acoustic engineering. In particular, with the continuous development of vector hydrophone array technology, their advantages in long-range underwater detection are becoming increasingly prominent. Currently, vector hydrophones are mostly used in vector arrays such as area arrays and linear arrays. Furthermore, with the development of multipole array technology, their array apertures are becoming smaller and smaller, thus making the miniaturization of vector hydrophones increasingly urgent.

[0004] A search of existing technologies revealed that Chinese Utility Model Patent Publication No. CN214200363U discloses a high-sensitivity intermediate-frequency vector hydrophone, comprising a circuit board, a watertight layer, and five curved disc oscillators. The circuit board is cross-shaped, and the five curved disc oscillators consist of a central curved disc oscillator and four surrounding curved disc oscillators. Each curved disc oscillator is composed of piezoelectric ceramic sheet A, piezoelectric ceramic sheet B, and a backing plate. Piezoelectric ceramic sheets A and B, with the same polarization direction, are connected in series by wires. Every two curved disc oscillators are welded together through the circuit board to form a vector channel, and the sound pressure channel is formed by the central curved disc oscillator.

[0005] The sound pressure channel in that invention also adopts a structure based on a curved disk, but its vector channel is essentially a differential pressure hydrophone that uses the sound pressure gradient as a vector signal. In contrast, the present invention uses a co-vibration vector hydrophone, and the vector channel is a crossbeam accelerometer, which is different in principle from the present application. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide an integrated curved vector hydrophone.

[0007] An integrated curved vector hydrophone according to the present invention includes a scalar channel structure, a vector channel structure, and a support structure;

[0008] The scalar channel structure includes a scalar channel piezoelectric element and a scalar channel metal sensing element. The scalar channel piezoelectric element is connected in series at both ends of the scalar channel metal sensing element to form a triple-layer structure. Multiple triple-layer structures are connected in parallel to form the scalar channel structure.

[0009] The vector channel structure includes a vector channel piezoelectric element and a vector channel metal sensitive element. The vector channel piezoelectric element is connected in series at both ends of the vector channel metal sensitive element to form a triple-laminated structure II. Multiple triple-laminated structures II are connected in parallel to form the vector channel structure.

[0010] The support structure includes annular support columns and annular end caps. Multiple annular support columns and multiple annular end caps are arranged around the scalar channel structure and the vector channel structure to fix and support the scalar channel structure and the vector channel structure.

[0011] In some embodiments, the vector channel metal sensing element includes a cubic mass block and elongated metal strips, with multiple elongated metal strips arranged around the cubic mass block, and the vector channel piezoelectric element connected in series at both ends of each elongated metal strip.

[0012] In some embodiments, the scalar channel piezoelectric element includes a piezoelectric disc-shaped scalar channel piezoelectric element.

[0013] In some embodiments, the scalar channel piezoelectric element includes a scalar channel piezoelectric element made of piezoelectric ceramic material, and the vector channel piezoelectric element includes a vector channel piezoelectric element made of piezoelectric ceramic material.

[0014] In some embodiments, the scalar channel piezoelectric element is bonded to both ends of the scalar channel metal sensing element with conductive adhesive, and the vector channel piezoelectric element is bonded to both ends of the vector channel metal sensing element with conductive adhesive.

[0015] In some embodiments, the scalar channel piezoelectric elements at both ends are electrically connected, and the vector channel piezoelectric elements at both ends are electrically connected.

[0016] In some embodiments, the plurality of annular support columns and the plurality of annular end caps are sealed together by O-rings, and the plurality of annular support columns are wrapped with a low-density composite material.

[0017] In some embodiments, the scalar channel structure and the vector channel structure are sealed together by filling with polyurethane.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] The present invention uses a series-connected triple-laminated plate as the basic structure, with the scalar channel consisting of two internally series-connected triple-laminated plates connected in parallel, and the vector channel consisting of four internally series-connected triple-laminated plates connected in parallel.

[0020] Furthermore, the two channels use a shared frame as a support structure. The base is both the metal base of the scalar channel triplex plate and the outer shell of the vector channel accelerometer, which achieves the effect of reducing the size of the vector hydrophone and meets the increasingly urgent need for miniaturization of the vector hydrophone. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the integrated curved vector hydrophone of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a two-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the integrated curved vector hydrophone of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a top view of the scalar channel structure of the integrated curved vector hydrophone of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the vector channel structure of the integrated curved vector hydrophone of the present invention.

[0026] Figure label:

[0027] Scalar channel piezoelectric element 1, annular end cap 6

[0028] Scalar channel metal sensing element 2 Composite material 7

[0029] Vector channel piezoelectric element 3 O-ring 8

[0030] Vector channel metal sensing element 4 polyurethane 9

[0031] Circular support column 5 Detailed Implementation

[0032] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0033] like Figure 1-4 As shown, this invention includes a scalar channel structure, a vector channel structure, and a support structure. The scalar channel structure includes a scalar channel piezoelectric element 1 and a scalar channel metal sensing element 2. The scalar channel piezoelectric element 1 is a piezoelectric disc, and there are two piezoelectric discs from top to bottom in the scalar channel structure of this invention. The two piezoelectric discs, made of piezoelectric ceramic material, are axially polarized in opposite directions and electrically connected in series. They are then bonded to the scalar channel metal sensing element 2 with conductive adhesive, forming a series triple-layer structure. Connecting these two triple-layer structures in parallel constitutes the basic structure of the scalar channel structure of this invention.

[0034] The vector channel structure includes a vector channel piezoelectric element 3 and a vector channel metal sensing element 4. The vector channel piezoelectric element 3 is also made of piezoelectric ceramic material. The vector channel metal sensing element 4 is a whole composed of two regular geometric shapes: a central cubic mass block and four long metal strips around it. A vector channel piezoelectric element 3 with opposite axial polarization is bonded to the top and bottom of each long metal strip with conductive adhesive, forming a series-connected triple-layer structure II. Four triple-layer structures II are combined to form a crossbeam. The four triple-layer structures II are also electrically connected in series, and the four triple-layer structures II are connected in parallel to form the basic structure of the vector channel structure in this invention. The vector channel structure is a crossbeam accelerometer, and the metal shell required around the accelerometer is precisely constructed by the scalar channel structure itself.

[0035] Two annular support columns 5 and two annular end caps 6 are arranged around the aforementioned scalar channel structure and vector channel structure to fix and clamp the three metal base plates at their edges. O-rings 8 are used for watertight sealing between the support columns and between the support columns and the end caps. A low-density composite material 7 is wrapped around the annular support columns 5. The scalar channel structure and vector channel structure are then encapsulated with polyurethane 9 for watertight sealing. Since the density of this invention is greater than that of water, a layer of low-density glass microspheres needs to be attached and bonded around the invention to adjust the overall density of the invention to approximately 1.

[0036] Working principle

[0037] This invention uses a series-connected triple-layer plate structure as its basic structure. The scalar channel structure consists of two internally series-connected triple-layer plate structures connected in parallel in one phase, while the vector channel structure consists of four internally series-connected triple-layer plate structures connected in parallel in two phases. Both channels share a common frame as their support structure. The scalar channel's metal sensing element uses a metal disk base, which serves as both the base for the scalar channel's triple-layer plate and the outer shell of the vector channel's accelerometer, reducing the size of the vector hydrophone and thus providing technical support for further engineering applications of vector arrays. The scalar channel employs a design consisting of two triple-layer plates, both for structural symmetry to ensure the geometric center aligns with the acoustic center and to reduce impedance for easier subsequent impedance matching.

[0038] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0039] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. An integrated curved vector hydrophone, characterized in that, This includes scalar channel structures, vector channel structures, and support structures; The scalar channel structure includes a scalar channel piezoelectric element (1) and a scalar channel metal sensing element (2). The scalar channel piezoelectric element (1) is connected in series at both ends of the scalar channel metal sensing element (2) to form a triple-layer structure. Multiple triple-layer structures are connected in parallel to form the scalar channel structure. The vector channel structure includes a vector channel piezoelectric element (3) and a vector channel metal sensitive element (4). The vector channel piezoelectric element (3) is connected in series at both ends of the vector channel metal sensitive element (4) to form a triple-laminated structure II. Multiple triple-laminated structures II are connected in parallel to form the vector channel structure. The support structure includes annular support columns (5) and annular end caps (6). Multiple annular support columns (5) and multiple annular end caps (6) are arranged around the scalar channel structure and the vector channel structure to fix and support the scalar channel structure and the vector channel structure. The vector channel metal sensitive element (4) includes a cubic mass block and a long metal strip. Multiple long metal strips are arranged around the cubic mass block, and the vector channel piezoelectric element (3) is connected in series at both ends of each long metal strip. The multiple annular support columns (5) and the multiple annular end caps (6) are sealed together by O-rings (8), and the multiple annular support columns (5) are wrapped with low-density composite material (7).

2. The integrated curved vector hydrophone according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scalar channel piezoelectric element (1) includes a piezoelectric disc-shaped scalar channel piezoelectric element (1).

3. The integrated curved vector hydrophone according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scalar channel piezoelectric element (1) includes a scalar channel piezoelectric element made of piezoelectric ceramic material, and the vector channel piezoelectric element (3) includes a vector channel piezoelectric element made of piezoelectric ceramic material.

4. The integrated curved vector hydrophone according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scalar channel piezoelectric element (1) is bonded to both ends of the scalar channel metal sensing element (2) with conductive adhesive, and the vector channel piezoelectric element (3) is bonded to both ends of the vector channel metal sensing element (4) with conductive adhesive.

5. The integrated curved vector hydrophone according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scalar channel piezoelectric elements (1) at both ends are electrically connected, and the vector channel piezoelectric elements (3) at both ends are electrically connected.

6. The integrated curved vector hydrophone according to claim 1, characterized in that, The scalar channel structure and the vector channel structure are sealed by filling with polyurethane (9).

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