Validation and Optimization of Vessel Underwater Radiated Noise Prediction Using Measurements in United States Waters

Details

• Creators:
  ZoBell, Vanessa M. ; Flynn, Dan F.B. ; Frasier, Kaitlin E.
• Corporate Creators:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Acoustic Radiation Fluid Dynamics Marine Transit Noise Optimization Underwater Radiated Noise Underwater Sound Water Transportation
• Publication/ Report Number:
  MPL TM 675
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)
• Abstract:
  This research aimed to improve the accuracy of predicting vessel underwater radiated noise (URN) in U.S. waters by validating and optimizing the current JOMOPANS-ECHO (J-E) source level model using a vast dataset of 25,129 usable measurements from Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico. By integrating these measurements into the USDOT Volpe Center MARINE-T decision support tool, researchers addressed substantial unpredicted variations in the original model, which was primarily trained on vessels in British Columbia. Using a derivative-free global search algorithm to iteratively tune five key model coefficients., the study achieved an average reduction in Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 4.5 dB across various vessel classes. While optimization significantly improved fit for large vessels like bulkers and tankers—particularly at low-frequency energy peaks—discrepancies remained for smaller or underrepresented categories like tugs, where operational modes (e.g., transiting versus active towing) drastically alter acoustic signatures. The findings underscore the necessity of expanding regional datasets and adopting multi-output modeling approaches to better capture the complex spectral characteristics of diverse global shipping fleets.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  Volpe Center
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c8cf246df80fc6d874a5d62d5c0c8d8edbf1fe852a620e89d70736d65ee1e84c02ccd57fb693d6ce27eda135df8ec10512853a1b5ea4f2ddb5ccacc461ea468a
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/88803/dot_88803_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.85 MB ]