IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, Vol. 22, No. 2, April 1997, pp. 281-291.
Title: Single Mode Excitation in the Shallow Water Channel Using Feedback Control
Authors: John R. Buck, James C. Preisig, Mark Johnson, and Josko Catipovic

The shallow-water acoustic channel supports far-field propagation in a discrete set of modes. Ocean experiments have confirmed the modal nature of acoustic propagation, but no experiment has successfully excited only one of the suite of mid-frequency trapped modes propagating in a coastal environment. The ability to excite a single mode would be a powerful tool for investigating shallow-water ocean processes. A feedback control algorithm incorporating elements of adaptive estimation, underwater acoustics, array processing, and control theory to generate a high-fidelity single mode is presented. This approach also yields a cohesive framework for evaluating the feasibility of generating a single mode with given array geometries, noise characteristics, and source power limitations. Simulations and laboratory waveguide experiments indicate the proposed algorithm holds promise for ocean experiments.

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