Submarine Sonar Baffle Integration on Thin Hulls
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of sonar reception antennas on submarines with thick hulls is complex and costly, and these designs are not compatible with thin hulls due to their heterogeneity and thickness, limiting their implementation on thin shells.
Innovation Solution
A submarine structure featuring a thin external hull with sonar reception antennas and acoustic baffles, where the antennas are mounted on the outer surface and the baffles are fixed to the inner surface, comprising a composite structure with a metal plate hard reflector and a soft acoustic barrier, distributed between stiffeners, and attached using clamping or adhesive means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a thick internal hull with hard reflector and soft reflector is used for sonar antenna integration, then acoustic performance is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the thick internal hull structure from the design. Instead of using a complex multi-layer structure with hard reflector and soft reflector on a thick hull, the patent integrates the acoustic baffle directly on the thin external hull, removing the unnecessary thick internal hull while maintaining acoustic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the acoustic baffle function directly with the thin external hull structure. The hard reflector plate and soft reflector are integrated as a combined acoustic baffle assembly that is mounted on the thin hull, eliminating the need for separate thick internal hull structures.
2Reliability
If a thick internal hull structure with heterogeneity is used, then acoustic performance is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates due to high manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the expensive thick internal hull structure and its associated heterogeneous materials. The acoustic baffle is instead mounted on the existing thin external hull, dramatically simplifying manufacturing while maintaining acoustic functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameter from a thick internal hull to a thin external hull with mounted acoustic baffle. This parameter change maintains acoustic performance while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity and cost.
3Reliability
If a thick internal hull design is used, then acoustic performance is improved, but adaptability to thin hulls deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of mounting the acoustic baffle on a thick internal hull as in conventional designs, the invention inverts the approach by mounting it directly on the thin external hull. This inversion makes the design adaptable to thin-hulled submarines while maintaining acoustic performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The acoustic baffle design becomes universal and can be applied to both thin-hulled and thick-hulled submarines. The modular assembly of hard reflector plate and soft reflector can be mounted on any submarine hull type, increasing design versatility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design simplifies the integration and reduces manufacturing costs, minimizes additional mass, maintains hydrodynamic integrity, and ensures effective acoustic performance without external protuberances, allowing for integration on thin hulls.
Implementation Method 1
a plate (6) forming a hard reflector
Implementation Method 2
an acoustic barrier (7) forming a soft reflector
Implementation Method 3
the plate (6) forming a hard reflector comprises a layer of viscoelastic material
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a submarine structure (1) comprising a thick inner shell (2) and a thin outer shell (3), with sonar receiving antenna means being placed on the sides of said structure. The structure is characterised in that the sonar receiving antenna means comprise receiver means (4) secured to the outer surface of the thin shell (3) and sound baffle means (5) secured to the inner surface of the thin shell (3) opposite the receiver means (4).