Underwater Acoustics
Underwater acoustics covers a wide range of applications, including transducer design, sonar technology, and noise propagation and mitigation. The Acoustics Module offers a comprehensive set of tools for modeling phenomena that span multiple length scales, frequency ranges, and multiphysics effects.
Full electroacoustic modeling capabilities as well as piezoelectric multiphysics capabilities are essential for modeling underwater transducers. Sound propagation over large distances can be modeled with the Ray Acoustics interface. The rays can propagate in graded media (depth-dependent material properties), which is necessary in underwater acoustics applications, and a dedicated ocean attenuation material model is available to capture attenuation when propagating over large distances and at high frequencies. Additionally, the module features integrated couplings that make it possible to transition from wave-based simulation results to ray tracing, enabling the realistic modeling of sources, such as a vibrating ship hull or underwater piling noise, based on both near-field and far-field computations. Moreover, use of the BEM or Kirchhoff–Helmholtz formulation in the software is essential for analyzing the acoustic signature, like target strength (TS), of underwater objects.