POWER AMPLIFICATION FOR UNDERWATER ELECTROACOUSTIC TRANSDUCERS

EXPLORATORY DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION OF A COMPACT SWITCHMODE POWER AMPLIFIER FOR UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCERS IS PROPOSED. THIS AMPLIFIER WILL PERMIT THE HIGHLY EFFICIENT EXCITATION OF A HIGH-POWER BROADBAND SONAR PROJECTOR OVER A MINIMUM OCTAVE FREQUENCY BAND AROUND THE MECHANICAL RESONANCE OF THE TRANSDUCER. AT THE SELECTABLE TUNED FREQUENCY SUCH AN AMPLIFIER/TRANSDUCER SYSTEM WILL PRODUCE A HIGH-FIDELITY ACOUSTIC SIGNAL. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PHASE I EXPLORATORY EFFORT ARE: (I) TO DEMONSTRATE FEASIBILITY OF SUCH A POWER AMPLIFIER, (II) TO DETERMINE AN OPTIMUM DESIGN OF A POWER AMPLIFIER FOR HIGH-POWER UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCERS, AND, FINALLY, (III) TO DEMONSTRATE THE VIABILITY OF THE PROPOSED CONCEPTS BY BUILDING AND EVALUATING A SMALL-SCALE PROTOTYPE OF THE PROPOSED POWER AMPLIFIER. A SET OF PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS REFLECTING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE US NAVY WILL FIRST BE DETERMINED. THEN, USING THESE SPECIFICATIONS, THE PROPOSED DESIGN AND TRADE-OFF STUDIES WILL CONSIDERED AND EVALUATED SEVERAL FAMILIES OF A RESONANT POWER AMPLIFIERS. TO DEMONSTRATE THE VIABILITY OF THE PROPOSED OPTIMUM DESIGN, A SMALL-SCALE PROTOTYPE BREADBOARD WILL BE BUILT AND EVALUATED. FINALLY, AFTER AN OPTIMUM AMPLIFIER CONFIGURATION HAS BEEN DETERMINED, A PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF THE POWER AMPLIFIER WILL BE PRESENTED.