On the Flow-Induced Structural Noise of a Ship’s Sonar Dome

A detailed study on the importance of flow-induced structural noise of a ship's sonar dome and its relative contribution to ship's sonar self-noise is presented. Flow-induced dome wall vibration statistics subjected to a turbulent boundary-layer flow are computed using a suitable mathematical model describing the turbulent boundary-layer pressure fluctuations. Various noise and vibration sources contributing to sonar self-noise are experimentally analyzed. The measured hull vibration amplitudes are compared with calculated dome wall vibration amplitudes in order to ascertain the importance of flow-induced dome wall vibration as a contributor to flow-induced structural noise.