Ji. Im et Yr. Roh, A FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF AN INTERFEROMETRIC OPTICAL-FIBER HYDROPHONE, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 103(5), 1998, pp. 2425-2431
This paper investigates the influence of structural parameters on the
performance of an optical tiber wound mandrel hydrophone by using the
finite element method (FEM). A hydrophone should exhibit the highest p
ossible sensitivity, the widest possible flat frequency response, and
an omni-directional sensitivity pattern within the frequency range. Th
e parameters studied included the mandrel geometry, the thickness of t
he molding coated over the fiber, and the material properties of the c
onstituent parts of the hydrophone. The analysis results showed that t
he pressure sensitivity of a hydrophone increases in relation to the l
ength of the mandrel and the thickness of the molding. A higher pressu
re-sensitivity also requires a mandrel or molding material with a rela
tively low Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio. On the other hand, the
flat frequency response of a hydrophone increases when either the man
drel length is shortened or the mandrel material is hardened. The omni
-directional characteristic is also improved with a shorter mandrel. T
herefore, a hydrophone with the best performance must balance the trad
eoff between the geometrical and material parameters. The analysis dis
cussion is focused on a representative specification of a frequency ra
nge of up to 5 kHz. (C) 1998 Acoustical Society of America.