On the Application of Genetic Algorithms in Underwater Explosive Charges Optimization

Mine strings are sets of submarine mines aligned in one direction, usually built to prevent ships and submarines to pass through an area near the coast (implying that the depths considered are limited). They can be activated either by contact (contact mines) or by acoustic, magnetic, or pressure influence (or their combination). In the first kind, a set of horns is assembled in the mine, which will be activated if one or more of these horns are broken (which only happens by contact), and in the other types a proximity fuse generally senses changes in the respective field and, depending on the processing of these variations, the device can be activated. The interesting thing in proximity mines is that, as the signals captured by the sensors are processed, intelligence can be added to them and they can be set to be activated by certain types of targets only—or even by one specific individual target (in this case, all that is necessary is to have a previously obtained pattern available to be compared during ...