Abstract:
A theoretical model was developed to evaluate the acoustic plane-wave reception by a velocity sensor placed near an air-voided elastomer baffle layer backed by an elastic plate. The air-voided elastomeric baffle layer is designed to reduce the noise generated by the motion of the elastic plate and enhance the acoustic wave received by a velocity sensor with its axis perpendicular to the layer. The plate is perfectly bonded to the elastomeric baffle. The outer surfaces of the elastic plate and the elastomer baffle are in contact with air and water, respectively. The analysis for modeling is based on the theory of elasticity and pertinent boundary conditions. Computations were made using different properties for the elastomer. These computations show that by proper material and thickness selection the acoustic reception may be varied significantly as a function of frequency. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research, Code 321SS.]