Comparison of the shallow water acoustic scattering from a submarine-shaped object with that from canonical shapes

The scattering from an arbitrary-shaped object like a submarine is a complex process. In practice, for detection studies, canonical shapes such as a cylinder have been widely used to emulate a submarine-shaped object. However, the validity of this approximation is not easily quantified. In a previous paper [Chee K. Lim, ‘‘Integration of numerical scattering functions with the ocean wave-guide,’’ 139th ASA, Nov. 2000], the approach to integrating scattering functions computed using commercial codes with a propagation code was presented. The approach allows convenient calculation of scattering from very complex elastic objects. This presentation will compare the acoustic scattered field of eight different targets—a rigid sphere, rigid cylinder, rigid cone, rigid submarine-shaped object, elastic cylinder, stiffened elastic cylinder, stiffened elastic cone and, lastly, a stiffened elastic submarine-shaped object. Five aspects source angles (0, 45, 90, 135 and 180 deg) and their corresponding forward- and backward-scattered field will be compared using the results of the submarine-shaped object as the reference solution. The results would provide useful insights for future underwater acoustic scattering modeling and model-based signal processing.