ECHO SOUNDER

Echo sounder

PRINCIPLE:
Measuring the time taken by a sound wave to travel
from the ship to the sea bed and back again
Sound vibrations transmitted at the rate of -600 per
minute. Beam width of 12-25 degrees
D= V x t/2
V=velocity of sound wave in sea water = approx
1500m/sec
 Echo Sounder

Transmission frequency used in echo sounders is

generally between 30 to 55 Khz which is termed as
ultra sonic frequency.
PRF: pulse repetition freq – no. of pulses
transmitted per second.
This determines the max depth which can be
measured.
 Echo sounder

PULSE LENGTH:
The duration of the pulse determines the resolution of the
equipment. Between 0.2ms and 2ms,
Discrimination (D) between echoes is D=V x L in mtrs.
1500 x 0.5 x 10-3mtrs = 0.75mtrs
1500 x 2 x 10-3mtrs = 3 mtrs
Short pulse length is superior when the objects to be
displayed are close together in water.
The pulse length varies with range scale and for shallow
depth short pulse is used while for greater depth long pulse
is used.
 Echo sounder

Propagation Characteristics of Acoustic wave

Velocity of acoustic wave in sea water affected by
temperature, salinity and pressure.
V= 1505m/sec at 16degs C and 3.4% salinity
Depth indicated in fresh water is about 3% higher than sea
water.
Reflective surface of the sea bed
Frequency of transmission: Higher the freq, greater attenuation
Beam width- Larger beam width, attenuation is more
Attenuation: depends on various factors
Angle of incidence: Energy is more when vertical transmission
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TRANSDUCER: convert electrical energy to acoustic

energy during transmission and to convert “vice
versa” during reception.
Large ships have two transducers – fwd and aft.
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Electrostricitive transducer-(piezostrictive) works on

the basic principle of piezo electric effect- When an
alternating voltage is applied , the crystal starts
vibrating or oscillating.
Generally only one transducer is used for
transmission and reception of signals and is always
mounted as pierced hull.
 Echo sounder

Magnetostrictive transducer: -works on principle of

magnetostriction. When a bar of Ferro-magnetic material
(Nickel) is wound with a coil in which an alternating
current is applied, the length of the material will always
contract irrespective of the direction of the current and it
comes back to its original length when current becomes to
zero.
This transducer is fitted in a water tank. The vibrations are
transmitted to the seabed through the ship’s hull plate and
echoes received through the hull plate. Two transducers
are used for Tx and Rx. It is fitted as internal installation.
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Comparison: Internal installation over pierced hull:

Advantages:
Ship’s hull is not cut hence continuity of hull is
maintained.
The transducer can be fitted and repaired without
dry-docking.
Choice of frequency is not limited.
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Disadvantages:
Only 15% of the power output is passed through tis ship’s hull.
The losses occurs twice per sounding hence many times
amplification required
To measure shallow depths, two transducers are required as
the energy absorbed by the hull plate during transmission
persists for certain period of time and when the echoes from
shallow depth return, they are effected by this persisting
vibrations.
When transmitting, some of the energy is reflected back by the
hull plate. The thickness of the hull plate in relation to the
wavelength is critical and the choice of frequency becomes
limited.
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Echometer depth indication by neon lamp flash

Echograph: depth recorded by stylus on paper.
Stylus rotating with a constant speed.
Advantages: permanent recording, rate of change of
depth visible,
All echoes visible.
LED Display of depth with repeaters.
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Depth Recording

RANGING: Stylus speed is reduced for higher

ranges.
PHASING: stylus speed is constant but transmission
point is advanced. Different sensors for different
range scales.
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Controls:
On-Off Switch, Range Selector, Paper speed control,
Gain Control, Draught Setting, Fix Marker,
Transducer selection, Shallow depth Alarm setting.
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ERRORS:
Velocity of propagation- Changes in temperature,
salinity or pressure.
Stylus Speed Error – supply voltage fluctuation
Thermal and Density Layers – a faint line will appear
between zero and actual depth.
Pythagoras error – more in shallow depth
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CROSS NOISE: Gain/sensitivity too high

AERATION: Due to air bubbles, turbulence.- astern,
alteration etc
Zero Line Adjustment error-
Multiple Echoes- first echo is the correct depth. Start
with lower scale when phasing facility is provided
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AERATION: Air bubbles in the water are caused by

the vibration and echoes caused by these air bubbles
appear as dots. This is called aeration. The density
of air bubbles varies at different parts of the ship.
The echoes before reaching the receiver can suffer
tremendous loss and thereby no echoes appear
because the acoustic energy has to pass twice
through this layer of air bubbles. Sometimes the
aeration is so high when ship is going astern, drastic
and sudden alteration of course etc.
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CROSS NOISE: If the sensitivity of the amplifier is high, just

after the zero marking a narrow line along with several
irregular dots and dashes appear and this is called cross noise.
This is caused as part of the transmitted energy is picked up
directly by transducer. In addition when aeration is present,
the reflection from these air bubbles may also result in cross
noise. If the intensity of the cross noise is high, it will
completely mask the shallow water depths. To avoid this, the
amplification should be less immediately after transmission
and increase gradually so that the weak echoes returning from
the deep water should e marked with sufficient clarity. It is
done automatically by swept gain control circuit.
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Velocity of propagation
The velocity of sound changes when temperature,
pressure and salinity changes. The change in
pressure has very little effect whereas change in
temperature and salinity influence more on the
velocity of the acoustic wave. The depth can be
corrected to true depth from the Tables of the
velocity of Sound in pure water and sea water- refer
NP 139(HD 282).
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Stylus Speed Error –

The stylus is rotating with a certain constant speed
and the speed of the stylus is such that the time
taken for the stylus to travel from top to bottom is
exactly equal to that for a acoustic pulse to travel
twice the distance of the range selected. Due to
supply voltage fluctuation, the speed of the stylus
motor changes and the depth recorded will be
inaccurate. It should be checked periodically and
adjusted as per the instruction given in the manual.
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Thermal and Density Layers

The density of water varies with temperature and
salinity which will tend to form different layers. It is
possible for echoes to return from the surface of
these layers and a faint line will appear between zero
and actual depth.
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Zero Line Adjustment error
If the zero adjustment is not correct, the depth
recorded will not be correct.
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Multiple Echoes
The echo may be reflected a number of times between
the keel and the sea bed, thereby giving multiple
depth marks on the record, in such a case, the first
echo is the correct depth. The correct range has to be
selected to get the actual depth. A higher range could
indicate the depth due to the multiple echoes and
mislead the user with dangerous consequences.
Hence, the Echo sounder must be started at minimum
range scale when phasing facility is provided
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Pythagoras error –
The error is found when two transducers are used-
one for transmission and one for reception. The error
can be determined by the formula
e= d-√(d2 – x2 /4) where d is recorded depth and x is
spacing between two transducers. The error is more
dangerous in shallow depth. The error is negligible
when one transducer is used because the speed of the
ship is much less than the speed of the acoustic wave.
Echo sounder
Echo sounder