शशत/औददगगक पगरयदजनन पपरगशकण

पपरगतवव दन
Winter/Industrial Project Training
Report
On

Implementation of SONAR
Equations in MATLAB

May-July, 2019

(Two Months)

Submitted by:

Name : Mridul Mahindra

Enrollment no.: 101715087
Course : B.Tech (Electronics and Computer Engineering)
University : Thapar Institute of Engineering And Technology

Under the supervision of

Name : Sourabh Jaiswal Name : Archana Meena

Designation : Scientist 'E' Designation : Scientist ‘B’
Office : ISSA Office : ISSA

पदगत अधययन एवव गवशलव षण सवसथनन

Institute for Systems Studies and Analyses

रकन अननसवधनन एवव गवकनस सवगठन

 Defence R& D Organisation

रकन मवतरप नलय/Ministry of Defence

मव टकनफ भवन, गदललश / Metcalfe House, Delhi-110054

DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work which is being presented by me in this project/study
entitled “Implementation of SONAR Equations in MATLAB” is an authentic record of my
own work carried out during the period from 20 th May 2019 to 23th July 2019 under the
supervision of Mr. Sourabh Jaiswal, Scientist ‘E’, & Ms. Archana Meena, Scientist ‘B’
Institute of Systems Studies and Analyses, Defence R&D Organisation, Ministry of
Defence, Metcalfe House, Delhi 110054.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to Director, ISSA and Head of HRD for providing me the opportunity to carry
out my project at this esteemed organization. I wish to express my deep gratitude to Sourabh
Jaiswal, Scientist ‘E’ & Archana Meena, Scientist ‘B’, ISSA, DRDO for providing guidance
and support so far in the project work. I would also like to thank all other scientists, the
technical staff and my fellow trainees. They were always there at the need of the hour and
provided with all the help and facilities, which I required for the completion of my project.
 About the Institute for System Studies and Analyses (ISSA)

Institute for System Studies and Analyses (ISSA) is a premier institution involved in systems
analysis of Defence Systems. It provides analysis support to the top echelons of the three
services, SA to RM, and DRDO HQs for scientific decision making. It also provides systems
analysis support to sister labs and other institutions under the Ministry of Defence. ISSA is
primarily devoted to systems analysis and specializes in modeling and simulation in wide
range of applications.

ISSA adopts state-of-the-art info-technologies such as Computer Networking, Software

Engineering, Distributed Database, Distributed Simulation, Web Technologies, Situational
Awareness and Soft-Computing Techniques in development of complex simulation products.
 About the Defence Research and Development Organization

DRDO was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning
Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of
Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organization
(DSO). Today, DRDO is having more than 50 labs, engaged in developing Defence
Technologies covering various disciplines like aeronautics, armaments, electronics,
combat vehicles, engineering systems, instrumentation, missiles, advanced computing
and simulation, special materials, naval systems, life sciences, training, information
systems and agriculture. DRDO is backed by over 5000 scientists and about 25,000
other scientific, technical and supporting personnel.

Vision
Make India prosperous by establishing world-class science and technology base and
provide our Defence Services decisive edge by equipping them with internationally
competitive systems and solutions.

Mission
 Design, develop and lead to production state-of-the-art sensors, weapon systems,
platforms and allied equipment for our Defence Services.
 Provide technological solutions to the Defence Services to optimise combat
effectiveness and to promote well-being of the troops.
 Develop infrastructure and committed quality manpower and build strong
technology base.

Core Competence
 Deptt of Defence Research and Development (R&D) is working for indigenous

development of weapons, sensors & platforms required by the three wings of the
Armed Forces. To fulfill this mandate, Deptt of Defence Research and
Development (R&D), is closely working with academic institutions, Research and
Development (R&D) Centers and production agencies of Science and Technology
(S&T) Ministries/Deptts in Public & Civil Sector including Defence Public Sector
 Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 7-9
1.1 History of SONAR 7
1.2 How SONAR Works? 7
1.3 Why isn't radar used underwater instead of SONAR if radio waves are faster than sound
waves? 8
1.4 SONAR Equations Background 9
Chapter 2: Factors affecting SONAR & Underwater Sound Propagation 10-15
2.1 Factors affecting the performance of a SONAR. 10
2.2 Factors affecting underwater acoustics propagation in the ocean. 11
Chapter 3: Principles of SONAR 16-20
3.1 Types of SONAR 16
3.2 Components involved in the signal processing for active SONAR. 17
3.2.1 Transmitter 17
3.2.2 Transducer Array 17
3.2.3 Beamforming Processor 18
3.2.4 Duplexer 18
3.2.5 Synchronizer 19
3.2.6 Receiver 19
3.2.7 Display 19
3.3 Signal Processing 20
Chapter 4: SONAR Equations 21-25
4.1 Background 21
4.2 Masking 21
4.3 SONAR Parameter 21
4.4 SONAR Equations 24
4.5 Transmission Loss 24
4.6 Projector Source Level 25
4.6a Transmission Directivity Index 25
Chapter 5: Detection Threshold 26-30
5.1 Definition 26
5.2 Detection Probability & False Alarm Probability 27
5.3 The Threshold Concept 27
5.4 Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) 28
5.5 Detection Threshold Cases 28
5.6 Limitations of SONAR Equations 30
MATLAB Codes 31
References 32
List of Figures

Figure 1.1 – SONAR Working

Figure 2.1 – Spherical Spread

Figure 2.2 – Cylindrical Spread

Figure 2.3 – Snell’s Law

Figure 2.4 – Ray trace of sound in an upwards refracting environment

Figure 2.5 – Reflection in the sea-air interface

Figure 2.6 – Sound Scattering

Figure 2.7 – Random variability in the ocean

Figure 3.1 – Active SONAR

Figure 3.2 – Passive SONAR

Figure 3.3 – Active SONAR System

Figure 3.4 – Block Diagram of SONAR Transmitter

Figure 3.5 –Vertical beam of typical cylindrical transducer array

Figure 3.6 –Active Beamforming

Figure 3.7 – Block Diagram of SONAR receiver

Figure 3.8 – A-scan Display

Figure 3.9 – PIP Display

Figure 4.1 – Directivity of Projector

Figure 4.2 – Plots of the function SL = 171.5 +10 log P +DIT relating source level, power

output, and transmitting directivity index

Figure 5.1 – Elements of receiving system

Figure 5.2 – Binary Decision Matrix

Figure 5.3 –Probability-density distributions of noise and signal plus noise

Figure 5.4 – Signal and Noise at two threshold settings T1 & T2

Figure 5.5 – A sample ROC

 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The word "SONAR" is an abbreviation for "Sound, Navigation, and Ranging". This is a
technology that was developed as a means of tracking enemy submarines during World War
II. Although this was the main aim at that period of time this technology has taken a different
shape in today’s world. We use modern SONAR systems for many purposes such as
detection, identification and location of submarines, in acoustic homing torpedoes, in acoustic
explosive mines and in mine detection, in finding schools of fish, in depth sounding
applications, to map the seabed, for navigation purposes and in locating submerged wrecks
and also for echo detection to maximize the range at which submarines can be detected and
tracked and for many other applications. This report highlights the basic concepts and
principles of SONAR, its modern-day uses and possible future applications. It also discusses
the way we see fish and harmful effects of SONAR systems while providing a brief
description of the factors that affect the performance of a good SONAR system.

1.1 History of SONAR

It was nature itself that invented "sonic radar," or SONAR, well before humans did.
For example, bats fly in the dark with poor sight without hitting obstacles and locate
prey by means of sound pulses humans cannot hear.
In 1906, American naval architect Lewis Nixon invented the first SONAR-like
listening device to detect icebergs. During World War I (1914-18), a need to detect
submarines increased interest in SONAR. French physicist Paul Langévin constructed
the first SONAR set to detect submarines in 1915. At first, these SONAR sets could
only "listen" to returning signals. By 1918, Britain and the United States had built
SONAR sets that could send out, as well as receive, sound signals. The U.S. military
began using the term "SONAR" during World War II. As with radar, new military
applications for SONAR are constantly being developed. For example, in the early
2000's, the U.S. Navy introduced a SONAR system to help clear military mines.

1.2 How SONAR Works?

A SONAR consists of a transmitter, transducer, receiver, and display. In the simplest
terms, an electrical impulse from a transmitter (such as a very short burst of electrical
energy generated by an electronic “power pack”) is converted into a sound wave
(which is also a very short burst of high frequency sound energy) by the transducer
and sent into the water. When this wave strikes an object, it rebounds. This echo
strikes the transducer, which converts it back into an electric signal, which is
amplified by the receiver and sent to the display. The time variation is displayed on
the read out of the SONAR screen device by means of flashing lights, Liquid Crystal
Display (LCD) or Cathode Ray Tube (CRT or TV screen). Since the speed of sound in
water is constant (approximately 1440 meters per second), the time lapse between the
transmitted signal and the received echo can be measured and the distance to the
object determined. Example: Let’s assume that the time variation is 3 seconds and

7
 that the speed of sound in water is 1440 m/s the distance to the object would be: (1440
m/s * 3 seconds)/2 = 2160m.

The SONAR unit sends and receives signals, then “prints” the echo on the display.
Since this happens many times per second, a continuous line is drawn across the
display, showing the bottom signal. By knowing the speed of sound through water and
the time it takes for the echo to be received, the unit can show the depth of the water
and any fish in the water.

FIG. 1.1 - SONAR Working

1.3 Why isn't radar used underwater instead of SONAR if radio

waves are faster than sound waves?
Radar works by emitting pulses of electromagnetic waves toward a target and
detecting a small portion of those waves that are reflected back to the receiving
antenna. The transmission and reception are usually done by the same dish-shaped
antenna. The time between transmission and reception is used to calculate the distance
to the target by multiplying one-half the round-trip time by the speed of light to get an
answer in terms of length.
SONAR works in a manner similar to radar, except SONAR uses pulses of sound
waves underwater to find the distance to a sound-reflecting target. Since the speed of
sound is about 196,000 times slower than light (in sea water), the response time for
SONAR is proportionately longer.
Radar uses radio waves in the microwave frequency range, or approximately one
centimeter in wavelength. This wavelength range is used because it is easier to direct
the waves with small antennas in narrow beams. Unfortunately, Microwaves are

8
 strongly absorbed by sea water within feet of their transmission. This renders radar
unusable underwater.
The reason is mainly because radar has a harder time penetrating large volume of
water. Contacts made by submarines are often dozens of miles away, and radar would
have to be EXTREMELY powerful to reach that far in water, while sound (a
mechanical wave) can make it that far.
Also, radar is only an active system allowing for your detection by passive sensors.
Whereas SONAR can be both passive and active.

1.4 SONAR Equations Background

The SONAR equations are the working relationships that tie together the effects of
the medium, the target, and the equipment; they are among the design and prediction
tools available to the engineer for under- water sound applications.
The SONAR equations were first formulated during World War II as the logical basis
for calculations of the maximum range of SONAR equipment's. In recent years, they
have seen increasing use in the optimum design of SONAR’s for new applications.

9
 CHAPTER 2: Factors affecting SONAR & Underwater
Sound Propagation

2.1 Factors affecting the performance of a SONAR

a) Transmittance

This enables the user to get a return echo under deep or poor water conditions and
also lets the user to see a fine detail, such as baitfish and structures.

b) Transduction

This element is responsible for converting the electronic energy from transmitter to
high frequency sound, which is sent down through the water. When it strikes an
object, it bounces back. When these echoes reach the transducer, it converts them into
electric signals once again, which are then amplified by the receiver and passed onto
the display. Therefore, the transducer is quite often referred to as the “antenna” of the
SONAR. The transducer should not only be able to withstand the high transmitter
power impulses, converting as much of the impulses into sound energy as possible,
but it also has to convert them with little loss in signal strength and has to be able to
detect the smallest of echoes returning from deep water or tiny bait fish.

c) Reception

This has an extremely wide range of signals it has to deal with. It should dampen the
extremely high transmit signal and amplify the small signals returning from the
transducer. During amplification the strength of the signals is increase to the point that
they can be used to light a neon bulb, Light Emitting Diode, or to activate a pixel on
an LCD. The location of the flashes on a dial or the location of the pixels on the
display can then be used to indicate the range, or distance, from the transducer to the
object (bottom) or objects (fish) which have bounced back the echoes. It also has to
separate targets that are close together into distinct and separate impulses for the
display. This process repeats itself many times per second.

d) Resolution

This must have high resolution (vertical pixels) and good contrast to be able to show
all of the detail sharply and clearly. This allows fish arches and fine details to be
shown. All these facets together are called “Total System Performance”. All of the
parts of this system must be designed to work together, under any weather condition
and extreme temperatures.

2.2 Factors affecting underwater acoustics propagation in the

ocean
Loss and attenuation, refraction, scattering and noise.

10
A. Spreading

 Spherical Spread

Spherical spreading describes the decrease in level when a sound wave

propagates away from a source uniformly in all directions. This situation
occurs for a sound source at mid-depth in the ocean, for example. One can
picture the crests and troughs of the sound waves as spheres cantered on the
source location.

FIG. 2.1 - Sound generated by a sound source (shown as a white dot) at

mid-depth in the ocean is radiated equally in all directions. Sound
levels are therefore constant on spherical surfaces surrounding the
sound source. Sound levels decrease rapidly as sound spreads out from
a sphere with a radius of r0 to a larger sphere with a radius r.

The rate at which intensity decreases for spherical spreading can be obtained
using the definition of intensity and the principle of the conservation of
energy. Intensity is the average amount of sound energy transmitted per unit
time through a unit area in a specified direction. The amount of energy per unit
time is power, and intensity is therefore the amount of power transmitted
through a unit area in a specified direction. (For simplicity, the magnitude of
the intensity is often referred to as the intensity, without specifying the
direction in which the sound is traveling.) If the acoustic power generated by
the source is radiated equally in all directions, it must be distributed equally
over the surface of any sphere surrounding the source. The total power
crossing any sphere surrounding the source therefore equals the intensity times
the area of the sphere:

In this expression P is the total power, r is the radius of the sphere, and I is the
intensity. If there is no sound absorption in the medium, then the total power
crossing all such spheres is the same:

11
 Solving for I give:

 Cylindrical Spread

Sound cannot propagate uniformly in all directions from a source in the ocean
forever. Beyond some range the sound will hit the sea surface or sea floor. A
simple approximation for spreading loss in a medium with upper and lower
boundaries can be obtained by assuming that the sound is distributed
uniformly over the surface of a cylinder having a radius equal to the range r
and a height H equal to the depth of the ocean.

FIG. 2.2 - Sound generated by a source (shown as a white dot) in mid-

ocean cannot continue to spread uniformly in all directions once it
reaches the sea surface or sea floor. Once the sound is trapped between
the top and bottom of the ocean it gradually begins to spread
cylindrically, with sound radiating horizontally away from the source.
Sound levels decrease more slowly as sound spreads from a cylinder
with a radius of r0 to a larger cylinder with radius r compared with the
rate of decrease for spherical spreading.

The total power crossing a cylinder surrounding the source equals the intensity
times the area of the cylinder:

12
 If there is no sound absorption in the medium, then the total power crossing all
such cylinders is the same:

Solving for I give:

B. Absorption

Seawater is a dissipative medium through viscosity and chemical processes. Acoustic

absorption in seawater is frequency dependent, such that lower frequencies will reach
longer than higher frequencies. The frequency relation to absorption is such that the
travelling distance measured in wavelengths has a fixed absorption loss. This is
summarized in Table I.

This shows the absorption coefficient in dB per km for frequencies from 100 Hz to 1
MHz for 4 different temperatures. The absorption coefficient is a function of
temperature, salinity, depth (pressure) and pH in addition to frequency.

C. Refraction
Consider a plane interface between two different media with different sound velocity
c1 and c2. A plane incoming acoustic wave will partly refract where the refraction
angle is equal to the incident angle, and partly refract into the other medium. The
angle of refraction is given by Snell's law.

FIG. 2.3 - Snell's law

The deep-water sound velocity can be divided into four different regions:
• The surface layers
• The seasonal thermocline

13
 • The permanent thermocline
• The deep isothermal layer
Since the sound velocity continuously changes with depth, an acoustic ray will
continuously refract into a new direction. The rate at which the ray changes direction
is directly proportional to the gradient of the sound (according to Snell’s law). For
constant gradient in the sound velocity, the rays become parts of circles.

FIG 2.4 - Ray trace of sound in an upwards refracting environment.

A water–air interface is usually an almost perfect reflector of acoustic waves. It was

found that the interface becomes anomalously transparent and the power flux in the wave
transmitted into air increases dramatically when a compact underwater sound source
approaches the interface within a fraction of wavelength.

FIG. 2.5 - Reflection in the sea-air interface

D. Scattering

Scattering of acoustic waves can be of two categories in the ocean:

1. Surface scattering from the sea surface or from the seafloor.
2. Volume scattering from ocean fluctuations, marine life or objects.

Surface scattering from a smooth surface compared to the acoustic wavelength will
mainly give specular reflection. If the surface is rough, some part of the reradiated
Acoustic energy will be scattered diffusely in random directions. The rougher the surface
is the more acoustic energy will be scattered diffusely. For non-normal incident waves,
such that specular reflection cannot reach the observer, the surface has to be rough in

14
order to facilitate any observed scattered signals. The scattered field is dependent on the
roughness of the surface (relative to the wavelength) and the characteristic impedance

FIG. 2.6 Upper: Sound scattering from a smooth surface.

Lower: Sound scattering from a rough surface.
E. Ocean fluctuations

In coastal areas and in the upper layer, random variability will affect acoustic
propagation. These effects are ocean turbulence, currents, internal waves (gravity waves
in density variations below the sea surface), the sea surface and micro bubbles. Ocean
acoustics can be used to monitor and estimate these variations. This is called acoustical
oceanography.

FIG. 2.7 Random variability in the ocean.

15
 CHAPTER 3: PRINCIPLES OF SONAR

3.1 Types of SONAR

There are two types of SONAR: -

a) Active SONAR

The SONAR itself transmits an acoustic signal, which again propagates to a reflector (or
target), which again reflects the signal back to the SONAR receiver (see Fig. 3.1).

16
 FIG. 3.1 - Active SONAR
b) Passive SONAR

Passive SONAR where an acoustic noise source is radiated by the target, and the SONAR
only receives the acoustic signals (see Fig. 3.2).

FIG. 3.2 - Passive SONAR

3.2 Components involved in the signal processing for active

SONAR: -

17
 FIG. 3.3 - Active SONAR System.

1) Transmitter:
The transmitter generates the outgoing pulse. It determines pulse width, PRF,
modulation (optional), and carrier frequency. The output power can be controlled
by the operator. The source level may be limited for several reasons. If the
transducers are driven with too much power, they can cavitate (drop the pressure
so low that the water boils). This is called quenching, and it can destroy the
transducer since the normal backpressure is removed when bubbles form on its
surface. Since the normal restoring force is gone, the surface of the transducer can
travel too far (over-range) and damage itself. The quenching power limit increases
with depth due to the increased ambient pressure.

Another common phenomenon that limits the maximum source level

is reverberation, which is an echo from the immediate surrounding volume of
water. The reverberation level (RL) increases with the source level (SL). At some
point the reverberation exceeds the noise level (NL) and will dominate the return
signal. Since reverberation always comes back from the same direction you are
projecting, the reduction in background noise, quantified by the directivity index
(DI) does not apply. When
RL > NL - DI,
the system is said to be reverberation-limited.

FIG. 3.4 – Block Diagram of SONAR transmitter

2) Transducer array:
The individual transducers are simple elements with little or no directionality.
They are arranged in an array to improve the directivity index, which improves the
figure-of-merit by noise reduction. The array of transducers reduces the beam-
width in the horizontal (or azimuthal) direction, and is usually circular in order to
give more or less complete coverage, with the exception of the region directly
behind the array (where the ship is). The array is protected from noise by own ship

18
by discontinuing the array in the after regions, and also by putting in sound
attenuating material. This region aft of a hull-mounted array, from which the
SONAR system cannot detect is called the baffles.
The array is also configured to reduce the beam-width in the vertical direction.
Normally a hull-mounted array should only receive sound from the downward
direction, not directly ahead, since the noise from the ocean's surface would
destroy the SONAR's performance.

FIG. 3.5 - Vertical beam of typical

cylindrical transducer array.
3) Beamforming processor:
The input/output of each transducer is put through a beamforming processor,
which applies time delays or phase shifts to each of the signals in such a way as to
create a narrow beam in a particular direction.

FIG. 3.6 - Active beamforming.

The width of the beam formed by the beamforming processor will determine the
bearing accuracy of the system when searching. In an identical manner to dual-
beam tracking systems, SONAR tracking systems can improve on this accuracy
tremendously, at the expense of the signal-to-noise ratio.

4) Duplexer:
The duplexer performs the same function in an active SONAR as in a radar
system, namely to protect the receiver from the full transmitter power while the

19
pulse is going out. It can be thought of a switch that toggles between the
transmitter and receiver.

5) Synchronizer:
Performs same role as the synchronizer in radar. Provides overall coordination and
timing for the system. Reset the display for each new pulse in order to make range
measurements.

6) Receiver:
Collects the received energy. The receiver compares the power level to noise with
a threshold SNR (DT) in order to determine if the signal will be displayed in a
particular beam. If the DT is set too low, there will many false alarms. If it is too
light, some detection capability will be lost. The receiver may also demodulate the
return if frequency modulation is used on transmission. SONAR systems often use
pulse compression techniques to improve range resolution.

`
FIG. 3.7 – Block Diagram of SONAR receiver
7) Display:
Puts all of the detection information into a visual format.
There are several types:
A-scan: the signal along a single beam for a portion of the listening cycle. A target
appears as a raised section if it is in the beam.

FIG. 3.8 - A-scan display.

PPI: plan position indicator. A top-down (geographic view). The SONAR system
must sequentially search individual beams which are displayed in their true or
relative form. The strength of the return is represented by the intensity on the
display.

20
 FIG. 3.9 - PPI display.

3.3 Signal processing

Active SONAR signal processing can be divided into a number of different stages.
With reference to Fig. 22 these are
• Preprocessing: filtering and applying time variable gain (TVG)
• Pulse compression: matched filtering in range (convert the time spread coded
pulses to \delta functions).
• Beam forming: direction estimation (or matched _l-filtering in azimuth). This
is to convert element data in an array into directional beams (array signal
processing).
• Detection: Detection of potential targets (i.e. a fish, a submarine).
• Parameter estimation: Estimation of position and velocity of the detected
object.
• Classification: target recognition, pattern recognition.

FIG. 3.7 - Active SONAR signal processing chain

CHAPTER 4: SONAR Equations

21
4.1 Background
The essentially simple SONAR equations serve two important practical functions.

1) Prediction of performance of SONAR equipment's of known or existing

design

The design characteristics of the SONAR set are known or assumed, and
What is desired is an estimate of performance in some meaningful terms such
as detection probability or search rate. This is achieved in the SONAR
equations by a prediction of range through the parameter transmission loss.
The equations are solved for transmission loss, which is then converted to
range through some assumption concerning the propagation characteristics of
the medium.

2) SONAR Design
The equation is solved for the particular troublesome parameter whose
practical realization is likely to cause difficulty. An example would be the
directivity required, along with other probable values of SONAR parameters,
to yield a desired range of detection in a detection SONAR or the range of
actuation by a passing ship of an acoustic mine mechanism. After the
directivity needed to obtain the desired range has been found, the design
continues through the "trade-offs" between directivity index and other
parameters. The design is finally completed through several computations
using the equations and the design engineer's intuition and experience.

4.2 Masking
The term “masking” implies that not all the background interferes with the signal, but
only a portion of it (usually that portion lying in the frequency band of the signal).
The word “masking” is borrowed from the theory of audition, where it refers to that
part of a broadband noise background that masks out a pure tone or a narrow-band
signal presented to a human listener.

Masking occurs when a loud sound drowns out a softer sound or when noise is at the
same frequency as a sound signal.

If the signal is imagined to be slowly increasing in a constant background, the desired

purpose will be accomplished when the signal level equals the level of the
background which just masks it.

4.3 SONAR Parameters

The parameters are determined by three things: -
A. Parameters Determined by the Equipment

22
  Projector Source Level (SL):
The projector source level specifies the amount of sound radiated by the
projector. It is defined as the intensity of the radiated sound at a distance of
1 meter from the source, where intensity is the amount of
sound power transmitted through a unit area in a specified direction.
SL = 10 log (intensity of source/reference intensity)
 Self-Noise Level (NL):
Self-Noise is a particular kind of background noise occurring in SONARs
installed on a noisy vehicle. Self-Noise depends greatly upon the
directivity of the hydrophone, it’s mounting & it’s location on the vehicle.

NL = 10 log (noise intensity/reference intensity)

 Receiving Directivity Index (DI):

When the signal is a unidirectional plane wave and is therefore perfectly
coherent, and when the noise is isotropic, that is, when the noise power per
unit solid angle is the same in all directions, the array gain reduces to the
quantity call Directivity Index.
DI = 10 log (noise power generated by an equivalent nondirectional
hydrophone/noise power generated by actual hydrophone)

 Detection Threshold (DT):

In order to decide if a signal is present, the SONAR operator or designer
sets a detection threshold such that when the ratio of the signal level to
the noise level at the receiver exceeds this threshold, the decision “signal
present” is made. The decision “signal absent” is made when the signal-to-
noise (SNR) ratio is below the detection threshold.

DT = 10 log (signal power to just perform a certain function /noise

power at hydrophone terminals)

B. Parameters Determined by the Medium

 Transmission Loss (TL):
The accumulated decrease in acoustic intensity as an acoustic pressure
wave propagates outwards from a source.

TL = 10 log (signal intensity at 1 yd/signal intensity at target)

 Reverberation Level (RL):

This is the level of the axially incident plane wave which produces the
same hydrophone voltage across the hydrophone terminals as that
produced by the received reverberation.

23
 RL = 10 log (reverberation power at hydrophone terminals /power
generated by signal of reference intensity)

 Ambient-Noise Level (NL):

It is the intensity, in decibels, of the ambient background measured with a
nondirectional hydrophone a referred to the intensity of a plane wave
having a rms pressure of 1μPa.

NL = 10 log (noise intensity/reference intensity)

C. Parameters Determined by the Target

 Target Strength (TS):
When an active SONAR pulse is transmitted into the water, some of the
sound reflects off of the target. The ratio of the intensity of the reflected
wave at a distance of 1 yard to the incident sound wave (in decibels) is the
target strength.

TS = 10 log (echo intensity at 1yd from target/incident intensity)

 Target Source Level (SL):

Target Source Level is the amount of sound radiated by the target.

These parameters are arbitrary and those employed here are the ones conventionally
used in underwater sound. The units of the parameters are decibels, and they are
added together in forming the SONAR equations.

Let us assume, a transducer produces (by some means) a source level of SL decibels
at a unit distance (1 yd) on its axis. When the radiated sound reaches the target (if the
axis of the sound source points toward the target), its level will be reduced by the
transmission loss, and becomes SL - TL. On reflection or scattering by the target of
target strength TS, the reflected or backscattered level will be SL - TL + TS at a
distance of 1 yd from the acoustic center of the target in the direction back toward the
source. In traveling back towards the source, this level is again attenuated by the
transmission loss and becomes SL - 2TL + TS. This is the echo level at the
transducer. Turning now to the background and assuming it to be isotropic noise
rather than reverberation, we find that the background level is simply NL. This level
is reduced by the directivity index of the transducer acting as a receiver or
hydrophone so that at the terminals of the transducer the relative noise power is NL -
Dl. Since the axis of the transducer is pointing in the direction from which the echo is
coming, the relative echo power is unaffected by the transducer directivity. At the
transducer terminals, therefore, the echo-to-noise ratio is SL - 2TL + TS - (NL - DI).

Let us now assume that the function that this SONAR is called upon to perform is
detection, that is, that its principal purpose is to give an indication of some sort on its
display whenever an echoing target is present. When the input signal-to-noise ratio is

24
 above a certain detection threshold fulfilling certain probability criteria, a decision
will be made by a human observer that a target is present; when the input signal-to-
noise ratio is less than-the detection threshold, the decision will be made that the
target is absent. When the target is being detected, the signal-to-noise ratio equals the
detection threshold, and we have
SL - 2TL + TS - (NL - Dl) = DT

4.4 SONAR Equations

A condensed statement of the equations is as follows:

Active SONARS (monostatic):

• NOISE BACKGROUND
SL - 2TL + TS = NL – Dl + DT

• REVERBERATION BACKGROUND
SL - 2TL + TS = NL – Dl + DT

Passive SONARS:
SL - TL = NL – Dl + DT

4.5 Transmission Loss

The sea, together with its boundaries, forms a remarkably complex medium for the
propagation of sound. It possesses an internal structure and a peculiar upper and
lower surface which create many diverse effects upon the sound emitted from an
underwater projector. In traveling through the sea, an underwater sound signal
becomes delayed, distorted, and weakened. Transmission loss expresses the
magnitude of one of the many phenomena associated with sound propagation in the
sea. The SONAR parameter transmission loss quantitatively describes the weakening
of sound between a point 1 yd from the source and a point at distance in the sea.
More specifically, if I0 is the intensity at the reference point located 1 yd from the
"acoustic center" of the source (10 log I0 is the source level of the source) and I1 is the
intensity at a distant point, then the transmission loss between the source and the
distant point is

TL = 10 log I0/I1 dB

25
4.6 Projector Source Level
All active SONARs utilize some form of projector to generate acoustic energy,
SONAR projectors normally, but not always, generate sound through a process of
converting electric energy. They usually consist of arrays of individual elements, by
means of which a directional beam is formed to send the generated energy into
directions where it is wanted, in many SONARs, the projector is also used as a
hydrophone in order to save cost, weight, and space. In the SONAR equations, the
parameter source level specifies the amount of sound radiated by a projector. It is
defined as the intensity of the radiated sound in decibels relative to the intensity of a
plane wave of rms pressure 1 µPa, referred to a point 1 yd from the acoustic center of
projector in the direction of the target. Because a directional projector ordinarily
'points' In the direction of the target, the reference point for source level lies along the
axis of the projector's beam pattern.

4.6a Transmission Directivity Index

The transmitting directivity index of a projector is the difference, measured at
a point on the axis of the beam pattern, between the level of the sound
generated by the projector and level that would be produced by a
nondirectional projector radiating the same total amount of acoustic power.
The transmitting directivity index is,

DIT = 10 log ID/INond

FIG. 4.1 – Directivity of Projector

26
 Chapter 5: Detection Threshold

5.1 Definition
Detection Threshold is defined as the ratio in decibel units, of the signal power (or
mean-squared voltage) in the receiver bandwidth to the noise power (or mean-squared
voltage) in a I-Hz band, measured at the receiver terminals, required for detection at
some preassigned level of correctness of the detection decision. If S is the signal
power in the receiver bandwidth at A-A' and N is the noise power in a I-Hz band at A-
A', then

DT = 10 log S/N

FIG. 5.1 - Elements of a receiving system

When a signal is in fact present at the receiver input terminals, two decisions, absent
or present. are possible. When a signal is in fact absent the same two decisions can be
made. In making this binary, forced-choice decision, four possibilities occur, as shown
by the decision matrix

FIG. 5.2 - Binary Decision Matrix

27
5.2 Detection Probability & False Alarm Probability
When a signal is present at the receiver input terminals, two decisions are correct, and
two are incorrect; they appear as the diagonal elements of the matrix. The probability
that if a signal is present, the correct decision, "signal present," is made is called the
detection probability p(D). The probability that if a signal is absent, the incorrect
decision, "signal present," is made is called the false-alarm probability, p(FA).

FIG. 5.3 – Probability-density distributions

of noise and signal plus noise
5.3 The Threshold Concept
The decision process requires the setting of a threshold such that when it is exceeded,
the decision "target present" will be made. An example of such a decision is the
closing of a relay and the sounding of an alarm when the threshold is exceeded. If the
threshold is set too high, however, only strong targets will be detected. If it is set too
low too many "false-alarms” will be sounded. At a high threshold setting both the
probability of target detection and the probability of a false alarm are low; at a low
threshold, both probabilities become high. This effect of threshold setting is illustrated
in Fig. 12.3.

FIG. 5.4 - Signal and Noise at two threshold settings T1 & T2

i. Shows three target signals which, when added to the noise

ii. appear as signal plus noise in

28
 iii. Mn and σn are the mean and standard deviation of the noise

5.4 Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC)

On a plot of detection probability (defined as the probability that a signal, when
present, will be detected) and false-alarm probability (defined as the probability that a
threshold crossing is caused by noise), a curve will be traced out as the threshold
setting is varied. This curve is one of a family of curves call Receiver-operating-
characteristic (ROC) curves.

FIG. 5.5 – A sample ROC

Detection Index of ROC Curve

The detection index of roc curve is equivalent to the signal-plus-noise to noise ratio of
the envelope of the receiver output at the terminals where the threshold setting T is
established.
d = [M(S+N)-MN]2/σ2

Likelihood ratio
This is the ratio of the probability that a given input amplitude represents signal plus
noise (signal present) to the probability that it represents noise alone a (signal absent).

5.5 Detection Threshold Cases

For a number of cases involving different degrees of knowledge about the signal in a
gaussian noise background, Peterson & Birdsall computed ROC curves and related
the detection index ‘d’ to the input signal-to-noise ratio for an optimum receiver. Two
extreme cases of this knowledge may be called case I & case II.

Case-I: If the signal is known exactly, i.e. one whose waveform is

completely known
d = 2E/N0

where, d = detection index of ROC curves

29
 E = total in out signal energy in receiver band

N0 = noise power in 1-Hz band

If S is the signal power and t is its duration, then E = St

Therefore,

d = 2t (S/N0)

Where, S/N0 is the input signal-to-noise ratio referred to a 1-Hz band of noise.

For this case Detection Threshold becomes.

DT = 10 log S/N0 = 10 log d/2t

For this case of an exactly known signal, the optimum receiver is a cross
correlator, in which signal plus noise is correlated, or multiplied, with a noise-
free replica of known signal: alternatively, the optimum receiver for white
noise is the matched filter whose impulse response is the same as the
waveform of the known signal reverse in time.

Case-II: If the signal is completely unknown in a background of

gaussian noise
Under the conditions of small signal-to-noise ratios (S/N<<1) and large
sample sizes (large bandwidth-time product), Peterson & Birdsall found that
the same ROC curves apply for case II that applied for case I, provided that d
is taken such that,

d = wt (S/N)2

Where,w = bandwidth

S = signal power in bandwidth w

N = noise power in bandwidth w

Solving for S/N and converting to a 1-Hz noise band, we obtain

S/N0 = S*w/N = (d*w/t)1/2

And the detection threshold becomes,

DT = 10 log (S/N0) = 5 log (d*w/t)

The optimum type of processing involves an energy detector preceded by a

filter.

30
 Effect of a Smoothing Filter
Smoothing Filter – It smooths out the fluctuations in the output that are caused
by noise.

When a smoothing filter of integration time ‘T’ is used, the above expressions
hold true only when T equals the signal duration ‘t’. When T > t, too much
smoothing is used; the pulse does not build up to its full value, and the
detection threshold increases, When T < t, insufficient smoothing is used; the
passband ‘1 / T’ of the post-detector filter is excessively wide, and too much
noise reaches the output. The effect of mismatched output filter is to increase
the detection threshold by the amount | 5 log (T / t) |

DT = 5 log (d*w/t) + |5 log (T / t)|

When repeated signals are used for detection, as when a number of successive
echoes in different samples of background are incoherently added before the
detection decision is made, the effect is to lengthen the signal duration t.
Hence, the effect of using n incoherently added signals is to decrease the
detection threshold by ‘5 log n’
DTNEW = DTOLD – 5 log n

5.6 Limitation of SOANR Equations

1) The SONAR equations written in terms of intensities are not, always complete
for some types of SONARs. The short-pulse SONARs require the addition of
another term, the echo duration, to account for the time-stretching produced by
multipath propagation.

2) The second limitation is the correlation loss. In correlation SONARs to account

for the decorrelation of the signal relative to a stored replica; such decorrelation
occurs on bottom reflection and scattering in bottom-bounce SONARs.

3) A limitation of another kind is produced by the nature of the medium in which

SONARs operate. The sea is a moving medium containing inhomogeneities of
various kinds, together with irregular boundaries, one of which is in motion.
Multipath propagation is the rule. As a result, many of the SONAR parameters
fluctuate irregularly with time, while others change because of changes in the
equipment and the platform on which it is mounted. Because of these
fluctuations, a "solution" of the SONAR equations is no more than a best-guess
time average of what is to be expected in a basically stochastic problem.

31
MATLAB Codes

32
References

1. http://www.sal2000.com/ds/ds3/Acoustics

2. https://dosits.org

3. https://www.researchgate.net

4. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org

5. https://fas.org/man/dod-101/navy.htm

6. https://slideplayer.com

7. https://sites.dartmouth.edu

8. https://www.shmoop.com

9. https://www.wikipedia.org/

10. www.comsol.com

11. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

12. https://www.mathworks.com

13. www.sweetwater.com

14. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/sonar

15. R. J. Urick, Principles of Underwater Sound (3rd Edition) (Peninsula Publishing)

(1983)

33