The development of a low frequency barrel-stave transducer for tomographic applications using finite element and boundary element modelling

Ocean acoustic tomography requires wide bandwidth, compact, and efficient low frequency sources of sound. The paper describes the design process for such a transducer in which the principal objectives are a centre frequency of 400 Hz and a bandwidth of 100 Hz, in as compact a device as possible. A finite element method is used to model the structure, and this is coupled to a boundary element method to predict the performance in water. Quadratic elements are used throughout, and treatment of the piezoelectric properties of the driver is included. Both convex and concave barrel shapes are considered, and the effects of various parameters are determined; these include the thickness and curvature of the staves, the number of staves, and the overall size of the device. A design is presented which theoretically meets the specified objectives