A Simulation Method for an Underwater Wideband Target Echo Based on Spherical Cap Array

The acoustic pressure distribution model of a discrete spherical cap array is introduced. Based on a discrete spherical cap array, a new simulation and implementation method for an underwater wideband target echo is proposed. The simulation system consists of transmission and receiving arrays in an anechoic water tank. The weighted signals are transmitted by the projectors of the discrete spherical cap array according to the highlights backscattering structure model of an underwater wideband target. The simulated target echo with spatial bearing fast changing can be obtained in the rectangular receiving array which is symmetrically located on the center of the equivalent spherical array. This method not only can effectively simulate the echo properties of an underwater wideband dimensional target, but also can simulate more complex multi-target and ambient noise at the same time. It can be applied to the underwater vehicle homing hardware in the loop simulation system, and it also can be used in evaluating target classification performance of a torpedo homing system according to the user´s requirements. Finally, the simulation performance of the proposed method is analyzed