High-sensitivity, fiber-optic, flexural disk hydrophone with reduced acceleration response

Abstract

Abstract A hydrophone consisting of a hollow cylinder whose flexible, circular end plates are bonded to pairs of pat, spiral wound coils of optical fiber is described. When the end plate/disk is deformed due to a pressure difference, the outer and inner fiber coils experience opposite strains resulting in a "push—pull" optical path length difference which is detected in an all-fiber Michelson interferometer. The close proximity of the interferometric fiber coils, separated by the thin thermally conducting end plate, rejects thermal gradient-induced signals. The addition of a second identical end plate and fiber coil pair at the opposite end of the cylinder will double the acoustic sensitivity while canceling acceleration induced signals. The calculated and measured optical strain of a single simply supported plate, single-coil sensor (8.0 cm diameter, 3.0 mm thickness) using static pressure, acoustic pressure, and acceleration are in good agreement and yield a sensitivity of 0.21 rad/Pa (ΔΦ/ΦΔP = -301 dB re I μPa-1) below its resonance frequency of 3 kHz. The calculated and measured strain for a dual clamped disk (4.5 cm diameter, 1.0 mm thickness) acceleration-canceling sensor with four 8-m coils are in good agreement also and yield a sensitivity of 1.0 rad/Pa (ΔΦ/ΦpΔP = -291 dB re 1 μPa−1) below the disk resonance frequency of 4.5 kHz. These are the highest fiber-optic, omnidirectional hydrophone sensitivities reported to date.