Modeling and Characterization of Bio-Inspired Hydro-Acoustic Sensor

A biomimetic miniature underwater acoustic sensor is proposed and analyzed for the measurement of directivity of underwater sound propagation. Unlike a hydrophone array, which detects propagation direction by the arrival time of sound waves, this novel sensor is based on a mechanically coupled mechanism, which amplifies the time delay of the arriving sound wave. In this paper, a mathematical model of the sensor is developed based on the finite element (FE) modeling technique, and it is used to study performance characteristics of the sensor. Effects of the fluid-structure interaction are examined through simulation of the sensor model and the results are compared with those obtained by a full scale FE model developed in a commercial software package.