Hunting Red October with echolocation

A submarine lies in wait and stands still under water at a depth of d = 200 m d = 200\text{ m} to track down an enemy espionage submarine, which is at the same depth. Our submarine has two hydrophones installed at the bow and the stern of the ship at points A and B, which are l = 130 m l = 130\text{ m} apart from each other. The engine of the enemy submarine emits a short and high sound at regular intervals, which is detected by hydrophones. The recorded sound signals for two of these sounds are shown below.

What is the speed of the enemy submarine in m / s ? \si[per-mode=symbol]{\meter\per\second}?

Assume the speed of sound c = 1500 m/s . c = 1500 \text{ m/s}.

Hint: Find out why, in addition to the primary signal, there is another signal that follows the primary signal 60 to 80 milliseconds later.


The answer is 6.99.

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1 solution

Markus Michelmann
Nov 17, 2017

The secondary signal is the echo reflected from the water surface. Therefore, the signals corresponds to different path length s s and s = s 2 + 4 d 2 s' = \sqrt{s^2 + 4 d^2} and arrive at different times t t and t t' at the hydrophone with t = s c + t 0 t = s 2 + 4 d 2 c + t 0 c ( t t ) = s 2 + 4 d 2 s ( c ( t t ) + s ) 2 = s 2 + 4 d 2 c 2 ( t t ) 2 + 2 s c ( t t ) = 4 d 2 s = 4 d 2 δ 2 2 δ \begin{aligned} & & t &= \frac{s}{c} + t_0 \\ & & t' &= \frac{\sqrt{s^2 + 4 d^2}}{c} + t_0 \\ \Rightarrow & & c(t' - t) &= \sqrt{s^2 + 4 d^2} - s \\ \Rightarrow & & (c(t'- t) + s)^2 &= s^2 + 4 d^2 \\ \Rightarrow & & c^2(t'- t)^2 + 2 s c(t'- t) &= 4 d^2 \\ \Rightarrow & & s &= \frac{4 d^2 - \delta^2}{2 \delta} \end{aligned} with the path difference δ = c ( t t ) \delta = c(t' - t) . Therefore, we can estimate the distances s A , 1 840.8 m s B , 1 850.1 m s A , 2 689.0 m s B , 2 646.8 m \begin{aligned} s_{A,1} &\approx 840.8\,\text{m}\\ s_{B,1} &\approx 850.1\,\text{m}\\ s_{A,2} &\approx 689.0\,\text{m}\\ s_{B,2} &\approx 646.8\,\text{m} \end{aligned} between the hydrophones A A and B B and the sound source. With the help of triangulation we can estimate the ( x , y x,y ) coordinates of the enemy submarine: s A 2 = x 2 + y 2 s B 2 = ( x l ) 2 + y 2 s A 2 s B 2 = 2 x l l 2 x = s A 2 s B 2 + l 2 2 l y = s A 2 x 2 \begin{aligned} & & s_A^2 &= x^2 + y^2 \\ & & s_B^2 & = (x - l)^2 + y^2 \\ \Rightarrow & & s_A^2 - s_B^2 &= 2 x l - l^2 \\ \Rightarrow & & x &= \frac{ s_A^2 - s_B^2 + l^2}{2l} \\ \Rightarrow & & y &= \sqrt{s_A^2 - x^2} \end{aligned} Numerical evalution results the coordinates ( x 1 , y 1 ) ( 4 , 841 ) m ( x 2 , y 2 ) ( 282 , 629 ) m \begin{aligned} (x_1,y_1) &\approx (4, 841) \,\text{m} \\ (x_2,y_2) &\approx (282, 629) \,\text{m} \end{aligned} With a time difference of Δ t 50 s \Delta t \approx 50 \,\text{s} between both events we can estimate a velocity v = ( x 2 x 1 ) 2 + ( y 2 y 1 ) 2 Δ t 6.99 m s v = \frac{\sqrt{(x_2 - x_1)^2 + (y_2 - y_1)^2} }{\Delta t} \approx 6.99 \,\frac{\text{m}}{\text{s}}

We can do better than simply estimate the time difference as 50 50 seconds between signals. Since we know the distance from the submarine to both hydrophones, we can calculate at what time the sound was emitted from the enemy sub each time. The times for hydrophones A and B are consistent, and give a time difference of 50 50 seconds accurate to 3 3 SF.

Mark Hennings - 3 years, 6 months ago

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Ve have to do better

Maharoof Veradiyil - 3 years, 5 months ago

Another possible answer is 29.91 m/s, if the enemy ship travels from one side to the other side; that is, y 1 y_1 and y 2 y_2 have opposite signs.

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 3 years, 6 months ago

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Yes, but... This would imply the moving sub travelled more or less right over the top of the stationery listening sub. And also its speed would be circa 40 m/s and that also is unlikely.

Ed Sirett - 3 years, 5 months ago

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It would be 30 m/s, or 75 mph. That is indeed a bit fast for a sub.

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 3 years, 5 months ago

Note also that is s A , 1 = 840.8 s_{A,1} = 840.8 and s B , 1 = 850.1 s_{B,1} = 850.1 , then the time difference between the direct signals should be Δ t = 850.1 840.8 1500 = 6.2 ms . \Delta t = \frac{850.1 - 840.8}{1500} = \SI{6.2}{ms}. However, the measured difference is 6.7 ms \SI{6.7}{ms} . This could be explained from a difference in height between the ships, and would require a slight adjustment in the calculated horizontal distance.

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 3 years, 6 months ago

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Agreed! I calculated times according to the enemy submarine's clock based on distances from the two hydrophones. (The two hydrophones give mutually consistent answers, of course.)

Tony Solomonides - 3 years, 5 months ago

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