Continuous Scan Imaging with Moveable Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current imaging techniques for three-dimensional scanning of aeroacoustic sources like jet engines require a large number of sensors, making them inefficient and impractical for full-scale jet engines due to the complexity of characterizing acoustic source characteristics such as size, intensity, directivity, and distribution.
Innovation Solution
A method using moveable and reference sensors that continuously acquire data on attributes like sound energy while moving along a path, constructing transfer functions to produce a visual representation of the attribute around the test subject, employing finite-element-type basis functions and canonical coherence-based partial field estimation to reduce the number of sensors needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a large number of sensors are used to fully characterize the acoustic field around jet plume, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic scanning approach where a smaller array of sensors is moved through multiple positions and orientations to collect acoustic field data. This temporal-multiplexed scanning strategy replaces the need for a large static sensor array, achieving complete acoustic field characterization through sequential measurements at different locations and attitudes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-calculates and stores transfer functions that map acoustic field values at one location to values at other locations. These pre-computed transfer functions enable the system to reconstruct the complete acoustic field from measurements taken at a reduced number of sensor positions, effectively preparing the computational framework before actual measurements are taken.
2Measurement precision
If traditional scan-based techniques are used to decompose noise sources into partial fields, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous scanning where the sensor array moves without interruption through a defined path, continuously acquiring acoustic data at multiple positions and orientations. This continuous measurement approach eliminates the discrete stop-start nature of traditional scanning, maintaining useful measurement action throughout the entire scan cycle and reducing total measurement time while preserving noise source decomposition accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-computes transfer functions that encode the spatial relationships between sensor positions and the acoustic field. These pre-calculated transfer functions enable rapid reconstruction of noise source partial fields from the continuous scan data without requiring time-consuming real-time computations during the scanning process, thus reducing the overall time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
A continuous scanning method employs one or more moveable sensors and one or more reference sensors deployed in the environment around a test subject. Each sensor is configured to sense an attribute of the test subject (e.g., sound energy, infrared energy, etc.) while continuously moving along a path and recording the sensed attribute, the position, and the orientation of each of the moveable sensors and each of the reference sensors. The system then constructs a set of transfer functions corresponding to points in space between the moveable sensors, wherein each of the transfer functions relates the test data of the moveable sensors to the test data of the reference sensors. In this way, a graphical representation of the attribute in the vicinity of test subject can be produced.