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Low-Profile, Broadband, Shear-Mode SONAR Transducer for Deep Submergence Applications

Description:

OBJECTIVE: Design, build and test a low-profile, high-power, low-frequency, broadband, d36 shear-mode piezocrystal transducer capable of operating at submarine depths. DESCRIPTION: Broadband d36 shear-mode transducers operating across the 1-10 kHz band have been built and tested that are only 2.5 inches high compared with the 20-30 inch height of legacy Tonpilz transducers in the fleet. This innovation, resting on the unique properties of piezocrystals, opens an avenue for undersea vessels to externally mount SONAR arrays that would normally consume space within the hull. This topic will focus on the modeling and assembly technology needed to enable such transducers to operate under high hydrostatic pressure. The performance of the d36 shear-mode design will be compared with that of the classic Tonpilz design made with piezocrystals. This innovation opens up a whole new engineering design space as such transducers could not be made from legacy piezoceramics. Existing devices operate at depths appropriate for mine detection/classification. This project would devise and validate new designs drawing on the d36 shear-mode, but which operate at much greater depths. PHASE I: Design an initial d36-shear-mode transducer targeting device survival/operation under high pressures (that is, at great depths) and provide a credible argument for survivability/operation at the targeted depth (ranging from submarine operating depths to Hadal depths). PHASE II: Design, build and test prototype d36-shear-mode transducers as single elements to verify targeted depth. Assemble and test a small prototype array of such elements to ascertain array interactions. PHASE III: The small business will design, build and test the SONAR transducers and supply them to a systems integrator for incorporation in the submarine or Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV). PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The compact, light-weight, broad-band shear mode transducer will find applications in numerous civilian underwater applications: UUV and tethered ROV guidance, sea floor exploration/profiling, sea floor module mining, oil platform inspection/repair, and the like. The enhanced energy efficiency in untethered applications will dramatically decrease operating cost by extending effective utilization times per mission.
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