This thesis describes the development and testing of the Combustive Sound
Source (CSS), which is a broadband underwater sound source. The CSS is being
developed as a clean, safe, and cost effective replacement to underwater explosive
charges, which exhibit an inherent danger to marine life and researchers using the
charges. The basic operation of the CSS is as follows. A combustible mixture
of gas is held below the surface of the water in a combustion chamber and ignited
with an electric spark. A combustion wave propagates through the mixture
and converts the fuel and oxidizer into a bubble of combustion products, which
expands due to an increase in temperature, and then ultimately collapses to a
smaller volume than before ignition, producing a high intensity, low frequency
acoustic signal. The thesis begins by discussing the background, history, and purpose
of developing the CSS. It continues by describing the current apparatus and
the essential components and convenient features added to the latest mechanical
design. The general operation is discussed along with a description of an experiment
conducted to determine the acoustic output and robustness of the current
CSS. The results of this experiment are presented in terms of the effect of volume,
ignition depth, oxidizing gas, combustion chamber size, and repeatability of
acoustic signatures. Discussion of apparatus robustness is presented to suggest
improvements for future CSS designs. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/ETD-UT-2010-08-1699 |
| Date | 23 December 2010 |
| Creators | McNeese, Andrew Reed |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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