A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology

Abstract

The application provides a ship cleaning system based on an ultrasonic phased array technology, and relates to the technical field of ship cleaning.The ship cleaning system is characterized in that it comprises a main control and driving module, a phased array transducer array module and a coded excitation and signal processing module; a multi-channel ultrasonic driving system is used for generating multiple independent and phase-controllable ultrasonic driving signals; and the phased array transducer array is electrically connected with the main control and driving module and is used for emitting ultrasonic waves in water according to the received driving signals.The application has the following advantages: the ultrasonic phased array technology is used to support three cleaning modes of a conventional mode, a point-like focusing mode and a line-like focusing mode, to flexibly adapt to different dirt forms and to realize accurate and efficient cleaning; the Golay coded excitation is used to improve a signal-to-noise ratio and suppress a sidelobe, thereby improving energy utilization under the condition of not increasing power; and a high-tolerance matching design effectively solves the problem of inconsistent transducer parameters, thereby ensuring the stability and reliability of the system.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ship cleaning technology, and in particular to a ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology. Background Technology

[0002] During navigation, marine organisms and rust accumulate on the underwater parts of a ship's hull, increasing drag and fuel consumption, and accelerating corrosion. Traditional cleaning methods rely mainly on manual underwater scraping or high-pressure water jets, which are inefficient, costly, unsafe, and may damage the ship's paint.

[0003] Currently, although conventional ultrasonic cleaning technology can be used for cleaning, its sound field energy distribution is fixed and uniform, which cannot specifically enhance the energy of areas with thick dirt, nor can it avoid unnecessary effects on clean or sensitive areas, resulting in insufficient cleaning efficiency and intelligence.

[0004] Ultrasonic phased array technology, by controlling the phase of the signals emitted by each transducer in the array, can achieve flexible deflection and focusing of the sound beam, and has been successfully applied in medical imaging and non-destructive testing. However, applying it to ship cleaning faces a series of technical challenges, such as multi-channel high-power drive, precise sound field control in complex aquatic environments, and suppression of error sidelobe energy. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology. This system can achieve flexible and precise control of the cleaning energy on the ship's hull surface, improve the cleaning efficiency of stubborn dirt, and reduce damage to non-target areas of the ship's hull.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the technical solution adopted by this invention is as follows: A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology includes: a main control and drive module, a phased array transducer array module, and an encoded excitation and signal processing module; a multi-channel ultrasonic drive system for generating multiple independent, phase-controllable ultrasonic drive signals; a phased array transducer array electrically connected to the main control and drive module for emitting ultrasonic waves in water according to the received drive signals, the array comprising multiple transducer elements arranged in a predetermined matrix; and a control unit communicatively connected to the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system for executing a phased array control algorithm.

[0007] As an improvement, the main control unit is configured to: receive the target cleaning position and cleaning mode instructions; calculate the phase delay parameters required to drive each element in the ultrasonic transducer array according to the phased array control algorithm, so as to realize the spatial control of the acoustic energy; and send the phase delay parameters to the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system to generate corresponding multi-channel drive signals.

[0008] As an improvement, the ship cleaning system has three cleaning modes: Conventional cleaning mode: Applying a drive signal of the same phase to all transducer array elements to achieve wide-area uniform cleaning of the hull surface; Point-focused cleaning mode: By calculating and applying a specific phase delay to each array element, the sound wave energy is focused at the target point; Linear cleaning mode: By calculating and applying a linearly varying phase delay to each array element, the sound wave energy forms a focused linear energy band on the hull surface.

[0009] As an improvement, the phased array control algorithm is based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle. For the point-focused cleaning mode, the delay value t of the nth array element... n Calculated based on the target focus coordinates and array element position coordinates; For the linear cleaning mode, linear energy focusing is achieved by applying a linearly varying delay rule to the array elements.

[0010] As an improvement, the main control unit also supports a conventional cleaning mode, in which the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system is controlled to apply in-phase drive signals to all transducer array elements.

[0011] As an improvement, the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system adopts a phase-shifted full-bridge topology, and the main control unit is integrated into a system-on-a-chip containing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0012] As an improvement, the FPGA is configured to generate multi-path pulse width modulation signals with nanosecond-level delay resolution to drive the phase-shifted full-bridge circuit.

[0013] As an improvement, the channel ultrasonic drive system uses a high-tolerance matching method to solve the problem of inconsistent transducer parameters.

[0014] As an improvement, the system further includes an encoding excitation module, integrated into the main control unit or the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system; the encoding excitation module is configured to use a positive intercomplementary Golay code sequence with a code length of 16 to encode and modulate the multi-channel ultrasonic drive signals, so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the drive signals and suppress the sound field sidelobes.

[0015] As an improvement, the encoding excitation module is specifically configured to generate a fundamental signal; The positively complementary Golay code and Golay-B code are modulated with the fundamental wave signal to obtain a two-phase coded excitation signal; the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system is controlled to transmit the two-phase coded excitation signal in a time-division manner; on the signal processing side, the response signals corresponding to the two-phase transmission are vector-superimposed to cancel the sidelobe energy.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are: it adopts phased array technology, supports three cleaning modes, can flexibly adapt to dirt of different shapes, meet the cleaning needs of complex scenarios, and significantly improves cleaning efficiency.

[0017] The encoding excitation module improves the effective sound pressure level and suppresses sidelobes by using positive interactive Golay code modulation without increasing hardware power, thus improving energy utilization.

[0018] The high-tolerance impedance matching module adapts to the differences in transducer parameters, ensuring that the drive waveforms at both ends of the 16 transducers are all standard sine waves, reducing the distortion rate and solving the error caused by parameter inconsistency. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of the phased array transducer array in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To make the content of this invention easier to understand, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Identical components are represented by the same reference numerals. It should be noted that the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "up," and "down" used in the following description refer to directions in the accompanying drawings, while the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a specific component, respectively.

[0022] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, a ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology includes: a main control and drive module, a phased array transducer array module, and an encoded excitation and signal processing module; a multi-channel ultrasonic drive system for generating multiple independent, phase-controllable ultrasonic drive signals; a phased array transducer array electrically connected to the main control and drive module for emitting ultrasonic waves in water according to the received drive signals, the array comprising multiple transducer elements arranged in a predetermined matrix; and a control unit communicatively connected to the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system for executing a phased array control algorithm.

[0023] The main control and drive module can execute at least two cleaning modes: point-focused cleaning mode and linear cleaning mode. By setting the parameters, ultrasonic energy can be precisely guided to the dirt points or dirt bands that need cleaning, achieving targeted cleaning that "targets the problem".

[0024] The encoding excitation and signal processing module uses positive intercomplement Golay code to encode the transmitted signal, which effectively suppresses the sound field sidelobe at the signal level and improves the signal-to-noise ratio and energy concentration in the target area. Thus, without changing the hardware power, it achieves better cleaning effect and further protects the ship paint.

[0025] The multi-channel ultrasonic driver in the main control and drive module adopts a phase-shifting full-bridge structure, combined with a high-tolerance impedance matching network, which solves the problem of parameter inconsistency in the transducer array caused by the manufacturing process, and ensures that the waveforms of each channel are pure and the phase control is precise.

[0026] like Figure 2 As shown, the main control unit is configured to: receive the target cleaning position and cleaning mode instructions; calculate the phase delay parameters required to drive each element in the ultrasonic transducer array according to the phased array control algorithm, so as to realize the spatial control of the sound wave energy; and send the phase delay parameters to the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system to generate corresponding multi-channel drive signals.

[0027] In addition, the control unit executes the phased array phase delay calculation algorithm. After the operator selects the cleaning mode and inputs the target coordinates through the human-machine interface, the control unit starts the internal algorithm process. The ARM processor is responsible for parsing the task instructions and planning the cleaning path, while the phase calculation module in the FPGA calculates the precise phase delay parameters required for each element in the phased array transducer array according to the preset cleaning mode.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, the ship cleaning system has three cleaning modes: conventional cleaning mode: applying a driving signal of the same phase to all transducer array elements to achieve wide-area uniform cleaning of the hull surface; point-focused cleaning mode: by calculating and applying a specific phase delay to each array element, the sound wave energy is focused at the target point; and linear cleaning mode: by calculating and applying a linearly varying phase delay to each array element, the sound wave energy forms a focused linear energy band on the hull surface.

[0029] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, the phased array control algorithm is based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle. For the point-focused cleaning mode, the delay value t of the nth array element is... n The coordinates are calculated based on the target focus coordinates and the array element position coordinates. For the linear cleaning mode, linear energy focusing is achieved by applying a linearly varying delay rule to the array elements. The main control unit also supports a conventional cleaning mode, in which the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system applies in-phase drive signals to all transducer array elements. The multi-channel ultrasonic drive system adopts a phase-shifted full-bridge topology, and the main control unit is integrated into a system-on-a-chip containing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

[0030] Furthermore, the transducer array, serving as the energy conversion execution unit, consists of 16 ultrasonic transducers arranged in a 4×4 matrix. When the high-voltage sinusoidal wave signal output by the drive system is applied to both ends of the transducer, the piezoelectric material generates mechanical vibration under the inverse piezoelectric effect, converting electrical energy into acoustic energy and radiating sound wave signals. Due to the precisely controlled phase relationship of the drive signal received by each transducer, the sound waves radiated by each array element produce an interference effect as they propagate in space: in the point-focusing mode, the sound waves are superimposed in phase at the target point, forming a high sound pressure focus; in the linear clear mode, the sound waves form a high-intensity sound beam along a preset path; and in the conventional cleaning mode, the sound field is uniformly distributed.

[0031] like Figures 1 to 2 As shown, the FPGA is configured to generate multiple pulse width modulation signals with nanosecond-level delay resolution to drive the phase-shifting full-bridge circuit. The channel ultrasonic drive system uses a high-tolerance matching method to solve the problem of inconsistent transducer parameters. The system also includes an encoding excitation module, integrated into the main control unit or the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system; the encoding excitation module is configured to: use a positively complementary Golay code sequence with a code length of 16 to encode and modulate the multiple ultrasonic drive signals to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the drive signals and suppress acoustic field sidelobes. Specifically, the encoding excitation module is configured to: generate a fundamental signal; modulate the positively complementary Golay code and Golay-B code with the fundamental signal respectively to obtain two-phase encoded excitation signals; control the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system to transmit the two-phase encoded excitation signals in a time-division manner; and on the signal processing side, vector superposition of the corresponding response signals of the two-phase transmissions to cancel sidelobe energy.

[0032] Secondly, the encoding module, integrated within the FPGA, is responsible for optimizing the encoding of the basic signals generated by the control unit. This module uses a 16-bit positive intercomplement Golay code sequence to encode and modulate the multiple ultrasonic drive signals, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the drive signals and suppressing sound field sidelobes.

[0033] The drive system receives signals from the encoding module and amplifies and transforms them. This system employs a multi-channel power drive system based on a phase-shifted full-bridge circuit. First, the drive circuit amplifies the PWM signal output from the FPGA to meet the turn-on requirements of the MOSFETs in the full-bridge circuit. Then, the full-bridge power circuit converts the DC voltage into a high-frequency AC wave. Finally, a high-tolerance LC matching network filters out harmonic components, forming a pure high-voltage sine wave signal and reducing distortion.

[0034] During implementation, the control unit generates signals of different phases according to the cleaning task, the encoding module optimizes the signal structure, the drive system provides sufficient and matched power, and the transducer array converts electrical energy into a controllable sound field. Finally, precise cleaning is achieved in the cleaning medium through cavitation effect. This complete technology chain enables the present invention to achieve a "point-and-shoot" precise cleaning effect that traditional ultrasonic cleaning cannot achieve, while improving energy efficiency and reducing the impact on non-target areas through encoding excitation technology.

[0035] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology, characterized in that, include: Main control and drive module, phased array transducer array module, coding excitation and signal processing module; A multi-channel ultrasonic drive system is used to generate multiple independent, phase-controllable ultrasonic drive signals; A phased array transducer array, electrically connected to the main control and drive module, is used to emit ultrasonic waves in water according to the received drive signal. The array contains multiple transducer elements arranged in a predetermined matrix. The control unit is communicatively connected to the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system and is used to execute the phased array control algorithm.

2. The ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control unit is configured as follows: Receive instructions regarding the target cleaning location and cleaning mode; Based on the phased array control algorithm, the phase delay parameters required to drive each element in the ultrasonic transducer array are calculated to achieve spatial control of acoustic energy. The phase delay parameters are sent to the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system to generate corresponding multi-channel drive signals.

3. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ship cleaning system has three cleaning modes: Conventional cleaning mode: Apply a drive signal of the same phase to all transducer array elements to achieve wide-area uniform cleaning of the hull surface. Point-focused cleaning mode: By calculating and applying a specific phase delay to each array element, the sound wave energy is focused at the target point; Linear cleaning mode: By calculating and applying a linearly varying phase delay to each array element, the acoustic energy forms a focused linear energy band on the hull surface.

4. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 3, characterized in that, The phased array control algorithm is based on the Huygens-Fresnel principle. For the point-focused cleaning mode, the delay value t of the nth array element... n Calculated based on the target focus coordinates and array element position coordinates; For the linear cleaning mode, linear energy focusing is achieved by applying a linearly varying delay rule to the array elements.

5. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 4, characterized in that, The main control unit also supports a conventional cleaning mode, in which the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system is controlled to apply in-phase drive signals to all transducer array elements.

6. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 5, characterized in that, The multi-channel ultrasonic drive system adopts a phase-shifted full-bridge topology, and the main control unit is integrated into a system-on-a-chip containing a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

7. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 6, characterized in that, The FPGA is configured to generate multi-path pulse width modulation signals with nanosecond-level delay resolution to drive the phase-shifted full-bridge circuit.

8. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 6, characterized in that, The aforementioned channel ultrasonic drive system uses a high-tolerance matching method to address the issue of inconsistent transducer parameters.

9. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system also includes an encoding excitation module, which is integrated into the main control unit or the multi-channel ultrasonic drive system; The encoding excitation module is configured to use a positive intercomplementary Golay code sequence with a code length of 16 to encode and modulate the multi-channel ultrasonic driving signal in order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the driving signal and suppress the sound field sidelobe.

10. A ship cleaning system based on ultrasonic phased array technology according to claim 9, characterized in that, The encoding stimulus module is specifically configured as follows: Generate fundamental signal; The positive cross-complement Golay code and Golay-B code are modulated with the fundamental wave signal respectively to obtain a two-phase coded excitation signal; The multi-channel ultrasonic drive system is controlled to transmit the two-phase coded excitation signal in a time-division manner. On the signal processing side, the response signals corresponding to the two phases of transmission are vector-superimposed to cancel out the sidelobe energy.

Images