Research on sound source localization technology based on differential hydrophone array

Traditional pressure hydrophone sonar only utilizes the scalar information of the sound field - sound pressure, while ignoring the vector information of the sound field - vibration velocity. Vector sensors can simultaneously measure the sound pressure and vibration velocity of the sound field, with frequency independent directionality. A single vector sensor can achieve full space and unambiguous orientation of the target, and can be used on platforms such as buoys, towed platforms, and underwater vehicles. Vector hydrophones have various limitations in engineering applications. Under typical target and marine environmental noise spectral characteristics, the spatial directionality of the vibration velocity sensor in vector hydrophones has good isotropic noise suppression ability, which is particularly suitable for lowfrequency target detection on buoy platforms and can greatly reduce the array aperture. However, in the higher frequency range, due to factors such as its own manufacturing process, ship radiation noise, and the distribution characteristics of marine environmental noise, it does not have significant advantages in target detection. This article analyzes and compares the directionality of vector array signals and scalar array spatial differential signals, verifies the equivalence between scalar array differential signals and vector sensor vibration velocity vector signals, verifies the feasibility of using scalar arrays to achieve the same detection effect as vector arrays, improves the influence of vector array frequency band, platform, and flow noise, and studies the complementary advantages of vector hydrophones and traditional hydrophones. Provide a foundation for subsequent related research.