Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

In-Situ Far-Field Calibration Of Multibeam Sonar Arrays For Precise Backscatter Imagery, Larry Fusillo, Christian De Moustier, John H. Satriano, Stanley Zietz

Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping

Calibration of large hull-mounted sonar transducer arrays is usually done by measuring the performance of individual components in a test tank. Multiple transducer element beam patterns are superimposed and combined with window attenuation and other partial measurements to give an approximation of the total beam pattern. This process often ignores or fails to accurately model factors such as mounting hardware, array misalignment, reflections from the hull structure and other real world absorbers, reflectors and attenuators which can have significant effect on the actual beam pattern. This paper describes an application of a novel technique for in-situ measurement of the far-field …