相控阵多普勒计程仪的相控波束形成

多普勒计程仪采用相控阵进行声波信号的发射和接收,不仅能够大大缩小换能器的体积,提高计程仪的适装性,还能依托相控阵本身的物理特性,无需进行声速补偿,所以在低频段获得了较多的应用。首先介绍了一维线阵波束形成的基本原理,然后分析了一维线阵的波束形成,获取多普勒计程仪发射波束及接收波束的方法,最后利用自制平面相控阵的水池测试结果与理论计算进行对比,结果表明,自制的相控阵满足多普勒计程仪的使用需求,为宽带大深度多普勒计程仪的制作奠定了基础。     

宽带多普勒测速技术中跨周期模糊问题的研究

宽带声学多普勒流速剖面仪,利用伪随机编码调制发射脉冲信号以及复相关算法计算各水层反射回波的多普勒频移,进而达到测速的目的。复相关算法中,在排除模糊速度干扰的情况下,测速精度与脉冲信号的长度存在正比的关系。而脉冲宽度越长,所用来调制发射脉冲信号的编码阶数也越高,随之带来的便是速度模糊的问题。在复相关测频算法的基础上,针对长编码脉冲信号出现的周期性测频模糊情况,利用短编码脉冲信号的测频结果作为判别标准,选取恰当的周期性频偏作为计算结果,既提高了测速精度,又解决了精度提高所带来的周期性速度模糊问题,并且在实际应用中,提高了低信噪比条件下的测速精度。     

改进的相控阵多普勒计程仪波束形成技术

目前相控阵式多普勒计程仪的基阵体积比活塞式多普勒计程仪已经缩减了很多,该技术只需通过一个收发共用的平面基阵实现信号的发射和接收,可以同时形成4个方向的波束,大大减小了基阵的尺寸,同时还消除了声速变化对测速的影响。但在中深度和大深度多普勒计程仪设备中,换能器基阵的体积仍然限制了其适装的载体种类。以多普勒计程仪小型化思想为核心,分析了密排相控阵多普勒计程仪波束形成技术,对多普勒计程仪进行集成化、小型化设计。针对密排相控阵波束形成技术,比较其发射指向性、声源级、信噪比、系统复杂度与稀疏相控阵的差异。分析表明,在相同频率、相同发射功率以及相同尺寸的条件下,密排相控阵的收发联合响应较稀疏相控阵提高近6 dB。同时在相同测速作用距离的条件下,利用密排相控阵技术可以减少换能器阵元数,从而减小换能器尺寸,达到小型化的目的。     

国产宽带相控阵声学多普勒海流剖面仪

自从提出用多普勒技术测量海流的原理后，海洋科学工作者一直把它作为高新技术进行研究。声学多普勒海流剖面仪的问世被认为是海洋测流技术的重大突破。本文介绍了我国自行研制的宽带相控阵声学多普勒海流剖面仪(BBPAADCP)的测流原理、组成和目前取得的效果。     

声学多普勒海流剖面仪误差源分析

介绍了声学多普勒海流剖面仪的测速原理．推导了多普勒海流剖面仪的速度解算方法．同时指出测量中存在的误差源并对其进行分析．研究了消除或减小误差的方法．为提高多普勒海流剖面仪的测量精度提供了理论依据和可行的方法。     

宽带声学多普勒流量剖面仪的系统仿真

90年代初发展起来的宽带声学多普勒流量剖面仪克服了传统窄带ADCP存在距离分辨力与速度分辨力之间的矛盾，从而解决了低速浅水河流流量(流速)精确测量的问题，是一种有着广泛应用前景的先进水文遥测仪器。文章中着重分析了BBADCP(宽带声学多普勒流量剖面仪)如何通过时间选通采样从河流不同深度返回的后向散射回波，实现测距离的目的；如何测量回波的多普勒频移，实现测流速的目的。文中从二维信号矢量的角度分析了多普勒频移调制和解调的过程，推导出提取速度信息的信号处理方法。文中最后采取等效基带仿真方法，运用匹配滤波器理论设计了一个BBADCP系统模型，通过仿真手段验证了文中对BBADCP的分析结果。     

国内相控阵ADCP技术的开发研究

声学多普勒海流剖面仪（ADCP）是海洋勘测领域的一项高新技术,ADCP的相控阵技术在换能器阵体积重量不增大的条件下进一步提高了测量范围和测速精度。本文着重介绍我们开发相控阵ADCP的情况及实时处理的湖上试验结果。试验表明相控阵ADCP测流原理是可行的,测量精度可达到1cm/s。     

河流截面流量与速度水位关系的拟合研究

基于声学多普勒流速剖面仪测得的不同水位河流截面的平均流速,研究了走航式宽带声学多普勒流量测量系统中,流量与速度水位关系的拟合表达式。采用窄深矩形截面和梯形截面流速分布模型,结合声学多普勒流速剖面仪求得不同水位下的平均流速值,在MATLAB平台下,对两种不同截面中流量与速度水位关系进行了拟合,并求得均方根误差检验拟合的精度。仿真结果表明:通过走航式宽带声学多普勒流量测量算法求得的河流截面流量,与由流速分布模型求得的流量真值间的误差,满足单次流量测验允许的误差要求,表明给出的流量与速度水位关系拟合公式能够较好地表现河流截面的流量变化趋势。对于天然明渠流量推算具有重要的参考价值。     

基于频偏应答的ADCP流速现场校准方法研究

针对声学多普勒流速剖面仪(ADCP)现场校准困难的问题,介绍了一种基于频偏应答的ADCP流速现场校准方法。通过声信号应答器,设置回发信号相对于发射信号的频偏实现速度矢量的模拟,并以频率为溯源量,对ADCP发射的信号及应答器回发频偏信号进行频率校准,进而实现ADCP流速参数的现场校准。研制了一套基于频偏应答的ADCP流速现场校准装置,在实验室消声水池条件下,以四波束300kHz ADCP为校准对象,开展了1～2m/s的流速校准实验,进行不确定度分析。结果表明,该装置对流速校准的不确定度达到1％模拟流速＋7mm/s,验证了该校准方法的可行性。     

基于编码激励超声流速剖面测量的实验研究

相比常规的声学流速剖面仪,用于人体血流速度剖面测量的超声系统需要更高的信噪比增益和空间分辨率.为此,首先采用编码激励技术来改进传统的测量硬件系统,构造出一种具有"零相关窗"的互补码序列激励换能器发射声波,其优良的距离选通特性能提取出每个分辨单元的速度信息,同时大幅度提高回波信噪比.然后分析提取的分辨单元回波信号的特征,提出基于二维频谱图的邻帧差分法来消除相邻单元的干扰,对预处理后的信号进行高分辨率的速度参数估计,从而得到整个血管区域的速度剖面.通过搭建模拟人体血流测量实验装置进行仿血流的流速剖面测量实验.实验结果表明,采用此方法,在发射换能器的中心频率为5 MHz时,能达到0.3 mm的纵向分辨率,取得良好的测量效果.     

A split-aperture transmit beamforming technique with phase coherence grating lobe suppression

A small element-to-element pitch (~.5λ) is conventionally required for phased array ultrasound transducers to avoid large grating lobes. This constraint can introduce many fabrication difficulties, particularly in the development of highfrequency phased arrays at operating frequencies greater than 30 MHz. In this paper, a new transmit beamforming technique along with sign coherence factor (SCF) receive beamforming is proposed to suppress grating lobes in large-pitch phased-array transducers. It is based on splitting the transmit aperture (N elements) into N/K transmit elements and receive beamforming on all N elements to reduce the temporal length of the transmit grating lobe signal. Therefore, the use of synthetic aperture beamforming, which can introduce relative phase distortions between the echoes received over many transmit events, can be avoided. After each transmit-receive event, the received signals are weighted by the calculated SCF to suppress the grating lobes. After pulsing all sub-apertures, the RF signals are added to generate one line of the image. Simulated 2-way radiation patterns for different K values show that grating lobes can be suppressed significantly at different steering angles. Grating lobes can be suppressed by approximately 20 dB with K = 2 at steering angles greater than 25° and an element pitch greater than 0.75λ. A technique for determining the optimal transmit sub-apertures has been developed.     

Digital phased array beamforming using single-bit delta-sigma conversion with non-uniform oversampling

Digital beamforming based on oversampled delta-sigma (ΔΣ) analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion can reduce the overall cost, size, and power consumption of phased array front-end processing. The signal resampling involved in dynamic ΔΣ beamforming, however, disrupts synchronization between the modulators and demodulator, causing significant degradation in the signal-to-noise ratio. As a solution to this, we have explored a new digital beamforming approach based on non-uniform oversampling ΔΣ A/D conversion. Using this approach, the echo signals received by the transducer array are sampled at time instants determined by the beamforming timing and then digitized by single-bit ΔΣ A/D conversion prior to the coherent beam summation. The timing information involves a nonuniform sampling scheme employing different clocks at each array channel. The ΔΣ coded beamsums obtained by adding the delayed 1-bit coded RF echo signals are then processed through a decimation filter to produce final beamforming outputs. The performance and validity of the proposed beamforming approach are assessed by means of emulations using experimental raw RF data     

Real-time 3-D ultrasound imaging using sparse synthetic aperture beamforming

A method for real-time three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound imaging using a mechanically scanned linear phased array is proposed. The high frame rate necessary for real-time volumetric imaging is achieved using a sparse synthetic aperture beamforming technique utilizing only a few transmit pulses for each image. Grating lobes in the two-way radiation pattern are avoided by adjusting the transmit element spacing and the receive aperture functions to account for the missing transmit elements. The signal loss associated with fewer transmit pulses is minimized by increasing the power delivered to each transmit element and by using multiple transmit elements for each transmit pulse. By mechanically rocking the array, in a way similar to what is done with an annular array, a 3-D set of images can be collected in the time normally required for a single image.     

Blocked element compensation in phased array imaging

In clinical applications using large apertures, a significant number of phased array elements may be blocked due to discontinuous acoustic windows into the body. These blocked elements produce undesired beamforming artifacts, degrading spatial and contrast resolution. To minimize these artifacts, an algorithm using multiple receive beams and the total-least-squares method is proposed. Simulations and experimental results show that this algorithm can effectively reduce imperfections in the point spread function of the imager. Combined with first-and second-order scatterer statistics derived from multiple receive beams, the algorithm is modified for blocked element compensation on distributed scattering sources. Results also indicate that compensated images are comparable to full array images, and that even full array images can be improved by removing undesired sidelobe contributions. This method, therefore, can enhance detection of low contrast lesions using large phased-array apertures.     

MVDR自适应波束形成技术在水声中的研究进展

高分辨波束形成器比常规波束形成具有更好的方位分辨力与干扰抑制能力。该波束形成器能够提高阵列输出信干噪比,从而提高声呐的探测性能。与多重信号分类、旋转不变子空间等方法相比,最小方差无畸变响应(Minimum Variance Distortionless Response,MVDR)波束形成器输出真实反映了观察方向的信号功率,同时可提供波束时间序列做后置处理,在水声阵列处理领域得到了快速发展和深入研究。对高分辨MVDR技术在水声阵列处理中的研究进展进行了回顾,重点介绍了其宽带处理、稳健性、运动补偿、解相干等国内外的研究热点和最新成果,同时给出其在各种水声阵列处理领域的应用前景。     

Synthetic receive aperture imaging with phase correction for motion and for tissue inhomogeneities. I. Basic principles

The use of a synthetic receive aperture (SRA) system to increase the resolution, of a phased-array imaging system severalfold, by utilizing the available number of parallel receiver channels to address a larger number of transducer elements through a multiplexer system, is considered. Recent studies indicate that transducers with a very large number of elements will improve the detectability of small or low contrast targets when adaptive focusing is used to compensate for the effects of acoustic velocity inhomogeneities in tissue. With the effectively increased transducer element count afforded by an SRA system, a 1-by-N phased array could be split into an M-by-N array in order to improve resolution in the elevation dimension. Simulation results illustrate the lateral resolution achievable with several types of imaging systems: SRA, synthetic focus, and conventional phased array. Simulated images demonstrate the improvement in contrast resolution achievable using SRA. Experimental results show the improvement in beam width achieved by an experimental SRA system.     

Real-time angular scatter imaging system for improved tissuecontrast in diagnostic ultrasound images

A new type of real-time ultrasound imaging system has been developed. In contrast to conventional systems, which process only echoes scattered directly back from tissue to form an image, this system images tissue by displaying energy scattered at other angles. In its present form, the system uses one 32 element, 2.4 MHz phased array transducer in transmit and a second, spatially separate 32 element, 2.4 MHz phased array transducer in receive, to detect sound which is scattered away from the transmit transducer. In order to form an image line, the transmit transducer sends into the body a steered pulse, which is tracked dynamically from the side by the receive transducer. The signal detected by the receive transducer is processed in the same manner as in a standard B-mode phased array system. The final display format is a gray scale sector originating from the transmit transducer. Real-time angular scatter images of phantom and in vivo targets have been formed and compared to standard backscatter B-mode images of the same targets     

Synthetic aperture imaging for small scale systems

Multi-element synthetic aperture imaging methods suitable for applications with severe cost and size limitations are explored. Array apertures are synthesized using an active multi-element receive subaperture and a multi-element transmit subaperture defocused to emulate a single-element spatial response with high acoustic power. Echo signals are recorded independently by individual elements of the receive subaperture. Each method uses different spatial frequencies and acquisition strategies for imaging, and therefore different sets of active transmit/receive element combinations. Following acquisition, image points are reconstructed using the complete data set with full dynamic focus on both transmit and receive. Various factors affecting image quality have been evaluated and compared to conventional imagers through measurements with a 3.5 MHz, 128-element transducer array on different gel phantoms. Multielement synthetic aperture methods achieve higher electronic signal to noise ratio and better contrast resolution than conventional synthetic aperture techniques, approaching conventional phased array performance