Modeling imaging performance of multistatic acoustic arrays of non-uniform geometries

Unlike the most arrays in acoustical imaging systems, a system based on a dynamically reconfigurable multistatic array would be able to physically adapt to the volume of interest, improving angular coverage of the illuminating array aperture and thus resolution of target images. With such arbitrary distributions of array elements, the extent to which each element contributes to the image reconstruction of targets may change with each imaging cycle. For this reason, the acoustic beamspread and direction of each array element become dominant variables in the resolving capability and data processing of the system. In this paper, non-linear element distributions with specified beamspreads are simulated to image point targets for the purpose of analyzing this relationship and its relevance to spatial bandwidth. MATLAB simulations based on coherent illumination and image reconstruction provide the foundation for this work. By adding the capability to specify beamspread angles and direction for each element, ima...