The flow noise calculation for an axisymmetric body in a complex underwater environment

Abstract

The flow noise of a sonar platform is one of the main background interferences for sonar applications. This paper focuses on the flow noise of an axisymmetric body in a complex oceanic environment. Under the condition of a constant stream velocity which comes from the axial direction, an analytical method for computing the flow noise power spectrum in the transition region of the axisymmetric body is given in detail. The flow noise power spectrum computed by the analytical method is in agreement with the numerical simulation result. Then the flow noise physical features of the axisymmetric body in different incoming stream directions and velocity states caused by the complex oceanic environment are computed and analyzed by the numerical method. The results show that as the incoming stream direction changes, the transition region will migrate and the flow noise radiation direction of the axisymmetric body will also rotate at an angle which equals the stream direction variation. The flow noise energy generated by other directional incoming streams is slightly larger than that generated by the stream coming from an axial direction. When the incoming stream velocity is time-varying, the vorticity change on the axisymmetric body surface is obviously stronger than that under a constant stream, and the generated flow noise energy is also significantly larger. In addition, it indicates that there is a significant correlation between the intensity of flow noise energy and the magnitude of flow velocity.