USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

William H Slater

Michael R Williams

Kimberly M Cipolla

Steven E Crocker

Michael J Kroger

Ahmed S Zaki

Brian K Amaral

Robert F Cutler, Iii

John G Miskimins

Ronald R Smalley

Jason R Bernier

Michael A Bergeron

Joseph A Carreiro

Ryan Amaral

Brian W Duarte

Amarilis Blankenship

Ernest J Briggs

Christopher C Moll

Daniel R Nashold

Mark R Grden

A method is provided to measure the complex sensitivity of hydrophone data channels across a range of frequencies by using a water-filled tank with proximate boundaries. A hydrophone array and reference hydrophone are helically affixed to a test fixture resting on a rotation platform. When the test fixture is submerged in the tank; the platform rotates about a contour of the platform in intervals for a predetermined time interval before indexing to the next angle. Signals transmitted by an acoustic projector in the tank are received on the hydrophones of the line array and the calibrated reference hydrophone. Electrical signals from the reference hydrophone are transmitted over an electrical cable and received by the acoustic data processor for use in calibrating the hydrophone line array. Electrical signals from the hydrophones of the hydrophone line array are also transmitted to the data processor.

System and method for the calibration of a hydrophone line array in a water-filled tank

A tension sensor includes a planar tab having a first and second side, first and second end sections and an aperture through each of the end sections. A first strain gage is attached to the first side of the tab. The first strain gage has a tension grid aligned to a longitudinal axis of the tab and a cross-tension grid perpendicular to the tension grid. A second strain gage is attached to the second side of the tab. The second strain gage has a tension grid aligned to the longitudinal axis of the tab and a cross-tension grid perpendicular to the tension grid. The first strain gage and second strain gage are wired in a Wheatstone bridge in which the tension grid and the cross-tension grid of the first strain gage form one side and the tension grid and the cross-tension grid of the second strain gage form another side.

Thinline towed array tension sensor

A method for reducing bias drift in electrical-mechanical systems sensor such as an accelerometer is provided. The method includes the steps of arranging at least one accelerometer in a chamber and initiating a plurality of temperature cycle sets. Each temperature cycle set has a minimum temperature, a maximum temperature, and a ramp rate. The conditioning method monitors the accelerometers until a bias drift is stabilized within a desired bias drift range. The minimum temperature and the maximum temperature limit a temperature range in which the accelerometer is cycled. Use of temperature limiting can quickly accelerate stabilization of the bias drift while also reducing degradation.

Method for reducing bias drift in a microelectromechanical systems sensor

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New Bedford, MA, United States of America

William H Slater