EP0473480B1 - Elektroakustischer Wandler zur Verwendung unter Wasser mit einem System zur automatischen Kompensation des hydrostatischen Drucks - Google Patents

Elektroakustischer Wandler zur Verwendung unter Wasser mit einem System zur automatischen Kompensation des hydrostatischen Drucks Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0473480B1
EP0473480B1 EP19910402172 EP91402172A EP0473480B1 EP 0473480 B1 EP0473480 B1 EP 0473480B1 EP 19910402172 EP19910402172 EP 19910402172 EP 91402172 A EP91402172 A EP 91402172A EP 0473480 B1 EP0473480 B1 EP 0473480B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
casing
transducer
counterweight
gas cushion
gas
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19910402172
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English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0473480A1 (de
Inventor
Noel Begnis
Gilbert Oddoart
Henri Ferrazza
Eric Sernit
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Thales SA
Original Assignee
Thomson CSF SA
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B06—GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS IN GENERAL
    • B06B—METHODS OR APPARATUS FOR GENERATING OR TRANSMITTING MECHANICAL VIBRATIONS OF INFRASONIC, SONIC, OR ULTRASONIC FREQUENCY, e.g. FOR PERFORMING MECHANICAL WORK IN GENERAL
    • B06B1/00—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency
    • B06B1/02—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy
    • B06B1/06—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction
    • B06B1/0607—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements
    • B06B1/0611—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements in a pile
    • B06B1/0618—Methods or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic, or ultrasonic frequency making use of electrical energy operating with piezoelectric effect or with electrostriction using multiple elements in a pile of piezo- and non-piezoelectric elements, e.g. 'Tonpilz'

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to electroacoustic transducers, in particular of the "Tonpilz" type, intended to be immersed in water to receive acoustic signals and which comprise a pneumatic compensation system for the immersion pressure intended to maintain constant with the pressure their electroacoustic characteristics.
  • These transducers are more particularly used in underwater acoustic tracking devices known as sonars.
  • This transducer comprises , according to the characteristics of the "Tonpilz" system, a pillar 101 formed of a set of piezoelectric ceramic discs. This pillar excites at one end a pavilion-transmitter 102 by leaning at its other end on a countermass 103. A threaded rod 104 connects the pavilion to the countermass and makes it possible to exert a prestress on the pillar 101.
  • a casing 105 encloses these parts while leaving the front and side faces of the roof in contact with the ambient environment, water when it is immersed.
  • the end of the casing situated opposite the rear face of the roof is parallel to the latter in order to leave an air gap 106.
  • Connecting pieces 107, 108 and 109 make it possible to maintain the casing relative to the other members of the transducer.
  • These parts have dynamic and static guiding functions, impact resistance, and sealing against the outside environment. Therefore, they must present minimum mechanical and acoustic stiffness so as not to disturb the operation of the Tonpilz.
  • one of the known technological solutions consists in choosing, as the material constituting these parts, materials with a low Young's modulus which a priori has good sealing characteristics, such as rubber or various polymers. They are generally in the form of a ring similar to an O-ring.
  • the thickness of the air gap 106 greatly influences the characteristics of the transducer, and it is essential to keep it as constant as possible.
  • the so-called "bellows" solution described in the patent cited above consists in using a chamber 110 external to the casing, obtained for example by fixing on it an elastic membrane 111. This chamber feeds through the orifices 114, 115 and 116 drilled in the casing the air gap 106 and the volumes 112 and 113 delimited by the connecting pieces 108 and 109.
  • the chamber is initially inflated with a gas such as air under a pressure equal to that of maximum immersion. As the transducer sinks into the water, the volume of the chamber decreases and those of the blade and the spaces 112 and 113 remain substantially constant.
  • This known device has a number of drawbacks.
  • the volume of air to be compensated constituted by the blade 106 and the spaces 112 and 113 is relatively large.
  • the compensation chamber must contain a large quantity of gas at an initial pressure which corresponds to the hydraulic pressure at working immersion. This pressure thus reaches 30.105 Pa (30 bars) for 300 m, which is considerable.
  • There is thus a need for a compensation chamber which has a large size compared to the properly active elements of the transducer and which requires a thick membrane to withstand the pressure, without however being certain that this membrane will not have a certain porosity requiring periodic verification of the inflation pressure.
  • the connecting pieces which must be made with a sufficiently flexible material, constitute weak points in the assembly because such a material has poor qualities in dynamic operation and in fatigue.
  • the strong hydrostatic pressures exerted on these parts further accentuate the mediocrity of these materials.
  • the connecting pieces therefore only eventually exhibit a low barrier to the external environment, which can lead to a breakdown following the introduction of water into volumes 106, 112 and 113. The contact of this water with the pillar 101 ceramics then proved to be catastrophic.
  • the invention proposes an electroacoustic transducer with pneumatic compensation for large immersion, of the type comprising a transmitting horn connected to a countermass by a ceramic pillar, and a casing enveloping these members to delimit between the rear face of the horn and it -even a gas blade of substantially constant thickness, a compensation chamber located outside the housing and delimited by an elastic membrane communicating at least with the gas blade, mainly characterized in that it comprises between the housing and at least the ceramic pillar a volume of uncompensated gas which is not connected to the compensation chamber.
  • the volumes to be compensated have been limited to the gas blade 106 and the blade 213, the latter corresponding to the volume 113 but limited to the rear face of the countermass 103 by a connecting piece 209 located at the rear end of the side face of this countermass.
  • the connecting pieces 207, 208 and 209 correspond to the pieces 107, 108 and 109 in FIG. 1.
  • the connecting piece 208 has been moved forward as much as possible to limit the dimensions of the gas blade 106 to what is strictly necessary .
  • This blade 106 is then supplied by the orifice 114, and the blade 213 by a pneumatic connection member, which is in the example shown a pipe 216 connecting the volume 110 to the blade 213. It would be possible to use two tanks separate gases to each supply one of the gas blades, respectively.
  • the space 212 can simply contain air at atmospheric pressure trapped during assembly, or possibly a gas with better characteristics dielectric than air and improving the breakdown resistance of the ceramic pillar.
  • the housing 105 can withstand the hydrostatic pressure corresponding to the maximum immersion depth.
  • the connecting parts 208 and 209 must undergo this pressure without leaking and without moving.
  • FIG. 3 represents substantially the same view as FIG. 2 with the same members, except, however, the connecting pieces which are very schematically represented by members 307, 308 and 309.
  • An enlarged view of the end of the casing and of the pavilion carrying the gas slide 106 and parts 307 and 308 is shown in Figure 4.
  • This structure is formed of '' a metal blade 321 having the general shape of a torus cut to keep only an outer crown for parts 307 and 309 and an inner crown for part 308.
  • This part is obtained for example from a metal blade elongated rolled up to form a cylinder and then shaped by any known method. An appropriate heat treatment then makes it possible to remove the stresses due to shaping and to restore the necessary elasticity to it.
  • the connecting piece 508 which has the shape of a diaphragm comprising a part 521 in slightly circular conical crown shape to be parallel to the rear face of the pavilion.
  • This crown is extended by a cylindrical part of low height, which is fixed on the edges of the internal hole of the crown 521.
  • This diaphragm is relatively, thick which allows it by working in bending to support the force not compensated for. back of the countermass and keep the transducer assembly centered in the housing 105.
  • a thinner diaphragm can be used while maintaining a smaller gas gap 213 obtained by a connecting piece 309 of more restricted dimensions, which therefore connects the casing to the countermass closer to the axis of the transducer.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Transducers For Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)

Claims (5)

  1. Elektroakustischer Wandler mit pneumatischer Kompensation für große Eintauchtiefe, vom Typ mit einem Sendetrichter (102), der durch eine Keramiksäule (101) mit einer Gegenmasse (103) verbunden ist, und mit einem Gehäuse (105), das diese Bestandteile umgibt, um zwischen der Rückseite des Trichters und ihm selbst eine Gasschicht (106) von im wesentlichen konstanter Dicke abzugrenzen, sowie mit einer außerhalb des Gehäuses liegenden und durch eine elastische Membran (111) abgegrenzten Kompensationskammer (110), die wenigstens mit der Gasschicht in Verbindung steht, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß er zwischen dem Gehäuse und wenigstens der Keramiksäule (101) ein nicht kompensiertes Gasvolumen (212) enthält, das nicht mit der Kompensationskammer (110) verbunden ist.
  2. Wandler nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß er zwischen der Rückseite der Gegenmasse (103) und dem Gehäuse (105) ein kompensiertes Volumen enthält, das mit der Kompensationskammer (110) verbunden ist.
  3. Wandler nach Anspruch 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß er zwei Kompensationsvolumen enthält, die mit der Luftschicht (106) bzw. mit dem hinter der Gegenmasse (213) liegenden kompensierten Volumen verbunden sind.
  4. Wandler nach einem der Ansprüche 1 bis 3, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß er Verbindungsteile enthält, die es ermöglichen, wenigstens die Gasschicht (106) abzugrenzen, wobei diese Teile durch eine gekrümmte Metallamelle gebildet sind, die eine zum Inneren der Gasschicht (106) gewendete Konkavität aufweist, die die Form eines ausgehöhlten Torus hat und einerseits mit dem Gehäuse und andererseits mit dem Sendetrichter (102) und gegebenenfalls der Gegenmasse (103) dicht verbunden ist.
  5. Wandler nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß allein die Gasschicht (106) kompensiert ist, und daß er ein Verbindungsteil in Form einer Membran aufweist, das einen Teil (521) in Form eines zur Rückseite des Trichters (102) parallelen Kranzes aufweist, wobei dieser Teil mit dieser Rückseite durch einen zylindrischen Teil (522) verbunden ist, der am inneren Rand des Mittellochs des Kranzes befestigt ist, wobei diese Membran eine Dicke hat, die ausreicht, um den Wandler im Gehäuse zu zentrieren und die nicht kompensierten Kräfte auf der Rückseite der Gegenmasse aufzunehmen.
EP19910402172 1990-08-10 1991-08-02 Elektroakustischer Wandler zur Verwendung unter Wasser mit einem System zur automatischen Kompensation des hydrostatischen Drucks Expired - Lifetime EP0473480B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR9010249A FR2665814B1 (fr) 1990-08-10 1990-08-10 Transducteur electroacoustique destine a etre immerge et comportant un systeme de compensation automatique de la pression d'immersion.
FR9010249 1990-08-10

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0473480A1 EP0473480A1 (de) 1992-03-04
EP0473480B1 true EP0473480B1 (de) 1994-04-13

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EP19910402172 Expired - Lifetime EP0473480B1 (de) 1990-08-10 1991-08-02 Elektroakustischer Wandler zur Verwendung unter Wasser mit einem System zur automatischen Kompensation des hydrostatischen Drucks

Country Status (2)

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EP (1) EP0473480B1 (de)
FR (1) FR2665814B1 (de)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2697711B1 (fr) * 1992-11-05 1994-12-30 France Etat Armement Procédé et transducteur pour émettre des ondes acoustiques basse fréquence dans un liquide en immersion illimitée.
FR2713430B1 (fr) * 1993-12-03 1996-03-08 France Etat Armement Procédé d'émission d'ondes acoustiques très basses fréquences à forte puissance, et transducteurs correspondants.
FR2720589B1 (fr) * 1994-05-27 1996-07-05 France Etat Armement Procédé et transducteur pour émettre des ondes acoustiques à larges bandes et basses fréquences en profondeur d'immersion illimitée.

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3539980A (en) * 1968-11-29 1970-11-10 Dynamics Corp America Underwater electroacoustic transducer which resists intense pressure
FR2290813A1 (fr) * 1974-11-08 1976-06-04 Thomson Csf Transducteur electroacoustique resistant aux pressions elevees
FR2496379A1 (fr) * 1980-12-16 1982-06-18 Tech Radioelect Electro Fs Transducteur electroacoustique de puissance pour immersion profonde

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Publication number Publication date
FR2665814A1 (fr) 1992-02-14
FR2665814B1 (fr) 1993-06-11
EP0473480A1 (de) 1992-03-04

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