Ford, B; Robinson, S; Ablitt, J (2021) A study of the stability exhibited by hydrophones when exposed to variation in temperature and hydrostatic pressure. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 44 (1). 070024

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Abstract

Inter-laboratory testing is often undertaken between different National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) by comparison exercises with laboratories calibrating the same hydrophones. The expectation is that results will be within a small tolerance with each other, and therefore ensure consistency among the different laboratories.

Hydrophone performance can vary when devices are exposed to different temperatures and hydrostatic pressures, and the degree of variance is different for each model. This can result in sensitivity discrepancies in the data being measured from different NMIs if the environmental conditions are not controlled.

NPL has a long history of calibrating a wide variety of hydrophones, in addition to this NPL operates a number of facilities where the temperature and pressure can be controlled, resulting in an ability to calibrate hydrophones at a range of environmental conditions. In this paper the methodology for characterizing a hydrophones response at different temperatures and pressure is explained. In addition to this a study has been undertaken looking at the stability of a range of commercially available hydrophones with the intention to determine which hydrophones are stable when transferred between different environments.

It was found that some hydrophones exhibit significantly better stability against variations of temperature and pressure than others. In particular, devices constructed with a simple sensor element that consists of a sphere of ceramic seem to exhibit higher stability on average than more complex designs.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Underwater Acoustics stability hydrostatic pressure temperature reciprocity coupler acoustic pressure vessel
Subjects:	Acoustics > Underwater Acoustics
Divisions:	Medical, Marine & Nuclear
Identification number/DOI:	10.1121/2.0001491
Last Modified:	21 Jul 2023 08:15
URI:	https://eprintspublications.npl.co.uk/id/eprint/9791