Direction-of-Arrival Estimation of Bottom-Mounted Horizontal Linear Array Based on the Weighted Phase Velocity

The direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation of an underwater bottom-mounted horizontal linear array (HLA) based on weighted phase velocity has been proposed in this paper. The directional response is mainly affected by differences in the modal phase velocities and the sound speed of the water column. Based on the mode theory, the acoustic intensity distribution characteristics and beam deviation were analyzed. The beamforming result obtained provides a distinguishing feature of bearing deviation when the measured sound speed was used. By applying the modal weighted phase velocity instead, source bearing can be well estimated. Particularly, in the presence of a thermocline, the propagating modes can be selected on the basis of the mode trapping theory. Both surface and submerged sources were taken into account based on the experimental data, and the deviation was well explained and reduced. For a source near the end-fire direction, the bearing estimation error was reduced from several degrees to tenths of degrees.