T-AGS 60 class bubble sweepdown diverter fence design

Author

Tutton, Robert L. ; Gates, Timothy A. ; Forgach, Kenneth M.

Author_Institution

Sonar Self-Noise & Structureborne Signatures Assessment Branch, Naval Surface Warfare Center, West Bethesda, MD, USA

Volume

2

fYear

2001

fDate

2001

Firstpage

1233

Abstract

Describes the design and model testing of the bubble sweepdown diverter fence, which has been installed on all T-AGS 60 (USNS PATHFINDER) class ships to date. The bubble fence, as it has become known, redirects the flow of water that transports bubble sweepdown above the hull´s chine. This flow realignment prevents the bubbles from traveling into beam patterns of the hull mounted multibeam EM-121A sonar systems that collect bathymetric data, the primary mission of the T-AGS 60 class ships. The bubble fence installation has resulted in improvements in sonar swath width and bathymetric survey speed

Keywords

bubbles; oceanographic equipment; ships; sonar; EM-121A sonar; T-AGS 60 class ships; USNS PATHFINDER; bathymetric data; bathymetric survey speed; beam patterns; bubble sweepdown diverter fence design; flow realignment; hull; hull mounted multibeam sonar systems; model testing; onar swath width; Acoustic testing; Degradation; Marine vehicles; Oceanographic techniques; Power engineering and energy; Sea surface; Sonar; Surface resistance; System performance; Systems engineering and theory;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

OCEANS, 2001. MTS/IEEE Conference and Exhibition

Conference_Location

Honolulu, HI

Print_ISBN

0-933957-28-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/OCEANS.2001.968287

Filename

968287