Methodologies for resolving anomalous position information in torpedo range tracking using simulation

• Main Author: Kroshl, William M.
• Other Authors: Read, Robert R.
• Language: en_US
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/23303

This thesis investigates the problem of resolving dual path records of torpedoes being tracked on an acoustic range using short baseline arrays. An acoustic signal is sent out by a torpedo at short intervals. This signal is then received by the four hydrophones of a short baseline array. Arrival time differences in the signal are used to determine an estimated position for the torpedo at the time the signal was emitted using spherical equations and acoustic raytracing. In those areas where two arrays can track a target simultaneously, two sets of estimated positions are generated. These estimates usually do not coincide. A simulation of the range is developed using actual range positions and sound velocity data. Deliberate errors are then range introduced into the sound velocity profile data and the timing data. Three methods of resolving the resulting positional ambiguity are presented. Each method is compared to the actual position for idealized (no deliberate error) and the deliberate error models. Keywords: Underwater Acoustics; Raytracing; Simulation; Torpedo; Underwater Range