Global Sound Absorption Prediction for a Composite Coating Laid on an Underwater Submersible in Debonding States

Abstract

To address the problem that anechoic coatings frequently fall off from modern submersible hulls and are detrimental to the realization of underwater acoustic stealth, this paper focuses on the broadband sound absorbing of acoustic coverings in debonding states from fully bonded span to fully shedded conditions. Based on the non-uniform waveguide theory, subdomain splitting approach, and wave propagation theory in layered media, a global transfer matrix method (TMM) is developed for predicting the sound absorption of a composite overburden with periodic cavities in all peeling situations. Meanwhile, the corresponding acoustic-structure fully coupled finite element (FE) simulation and hydroacoustic impedance tube-based absorption experiment are sequentially performed for the lining in a semi-bonded state to comprehensively verify the accuracy and reliability of the present analytical methodology. Then, the influence laws of debonding states, material properties, and geometric parameters on the global absorption performance are investigated in depth to reveal the multiple energy dissipation mechanisms. The results show that the shedding state primarily affects the sound absorption characteristics of anechoic coatings in the low- to mid-frequency band below 7 kHz.