Underwater Acoustic Reflection from Surfaces and Shapes

This text is a magnificent collection of studies of underwater acoustic reflection and scattering from varied shapes and surfaces. These experimental studies were carried out by the Acoustics Division at the Naval Research Laboratory during the period from 1958 through 1978. The driving force for this research, of course, addressed the improvement of understanding of sonar’s sound interacting with submarine targets, the ultimate goal being to improve detection of submarines by sonars or to improve their invisibility. Accordingly, the varied shapes and surfaces addressed in these studies were related to sections of a submarine: cylinders, spheres, spheroids, ellipsoids and flat surfaces.

This book has 23 chapters, each a different study. Depending on the purposes of each individual study, the shapes and surfaces were of varied geometries and materials; their shells of diverse cross sections, elasticities and rigidities; and their internal volumes, completely solid to void. Within these studies, echo reduction effectiveness of absorbing and non-absorbing surfaces was measured and analyzed. The varied targets were “painted” by steady state or transient acoustic signals determined by the purpose of each study.

The studies in this book can provide systems engineers, underwater acousticians and modelers with invaluable qualitative and quantitative insights on the underwater reflections and scattering which constitute submarine Target Strength. The results and conclusions of each of the studies are succinctly encapsulated in an easy-to-understand section at the end of each chapter.