Zhang Yu

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Last Name
Zhang
First Name
Yu
ORCID
0000-0001-6183-0612

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Article
    Physical modeling and validation of porpoises' directional emission via hybrid metamaterials
    (Oxford University Press, 2019-07-22) Dong, Erqian ; Zhang, Yu ; Song, Zhongchang ; Zhang, Tianye ; Cai, Chen ; Fang, Nicholas X.
    In wave physics and engineering, directional emission sets a fundamental limitation on conventional simple sources as their sizes should be sufficiently larger than their wavelength. Artificial metamaterial and animal biosonar both show potential in overcoming this limitation. Existing metamaterials arranged in periodic microstructures face great challenges in realizing complex and multiphase biosonar structures. Here, we proposed a physical directional emission model to bridge the gap between porpoises’ biosonar and artificial metamaterial. Inspired by the anatomical and physical properties of the porpoise's biosonar transmission system, we fabricated a hybrid metamaterial system composed of multiple composite structures. We validated that the hybrid metamaterial significantly increased directivity and main lobe energy over a broad bandwidth both numerically and experimentally. The device displayed efficiency in detecting underwater target and suppressing false target jamming. The metamaterial-based physical model may be helpful to achieve the physical mechanisms of porpoise biosonar detection and has diverse applications in underwater acoustic sensing, ultrasound scanning, and medical ultrasonography.
  • Article
    Numerical-modeling-based investigation of sound transmission and reception in the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
    (Acoustical Society of America, 2021-07-12) Song, Zhongchang ; Zhang, Jinhu ; Ou, Wenzhan ; Zhang, Chuang ; Dong, Lijun ; Dong, Jianchen ; Li, Songhai ; Zhang, Yu
    The sound-transmission, beam-formation, and sound-reception processes of a short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) were investigated using computed tomography (CT) scanning and numerical simulation. The results showed that sound propagations in the forehead were modulated by the upper jaw, air components, and soft tissues, which attributed to the beam formation in the external acoustic field. These structures owned different acoustic impedance and formed a multiphasic sound transmission system that can modulate sounds into a beam. The reception pathways composed of the solid mandible and acoustic fats in the lower head conducted sounds into the tympano-periotic complex. In the simulations, sounds were emitted in the forehead transmission system and propagated into water to interrogate a steel cylinder. The resulting echoes can be interpreted from multiple perspectives, including amplitude, waveform, and spectrum, to obtain the acoustic cues of the steel cylinder. By taking the short-finned pilot whale as an example, this study provides meaningful information to further deepen our understanding of biosonar system operations, and may expand sound-reception theory in odontocetes.
  • Article
    Sound pressure and particle motion components of the snaps produced by two snapping shrimp species (Alpheus heterochaelis and Alpheus angulosus)
    (Acoustical Society of America, 2021-11-03) Song, Zhongchang ; Salas, Andria K. ; Montie, Eric W. ; Laferriere, Alison Beth ; Zhang, Yu ; Mooney, T. Aran
    Snapping shrimps are pervasive generators of underwater sound in temperate and tropical coastal seas across oceans of the world. Shrimp snaps can act as signals to conspecifics and provide acoustic information to other species and even to humans for habitat monitoring. Despite this, there are few controlled measurements of the acoustic parameters of these abundant acoustic stimuli. Here, the characteristics of snaps produced by 35 individuals of two species, Alpheus heterochaelis and Alpheus angulosus, are examined to evaluate the variability within and between the species. Animals were collected from the wild and the sound pressure and particle acceleration were measured at 0.2, 0.5, and 1 m from individual shrimp in controlled laboratory conditions to address the snap properties at communication-relevant distances. The source and sound exposure levels (at 1 m) were not significantly different between these two species. The frequency spectra were broadband with peak frequencies consistently below 10 kHz. The particle acceleration, the sound component likely detectable by shrimp, was measured across three axes. The directional amplitude variation suggests that the particle motion of snaps could act as a localization cue. The amplitudes of the snap pressure and acceleration decreased with distance, yet the levels remained sufficient for the predicted detection range by nearby conspecifics.
  • Preprint
    Investigation on acoustic reception pathways in finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri) with insight into an alternative pathway
    ( 2018-10) Song, Zhongchang ; Zhang, Yu ; Mooney, T. Aran ; Wang, Xianyan ; Smith, Adam B. ; Xu, Xiaohui
    Sound transmission and reception are both vital components to odontocete echolocation and daily life. Here, we combine computed tomography (CT) scanning and Finite Element Modeling to investigate the acoustic propagation of finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaorientalis sunameri) echolocation pulses. The CT scanning and FEM wave propagation model results support the well-accepted jaw-hearing pathway hypothesis and suggest an additional alternative auditory pathway composed of structures, mandible (lower jaw) and internal mandibular fat, with different acoustic impedances, which may also conduct sounds to the ear complexes. The internal mandibular fat is attached to the ear complex and encased by the mandibles laterally and anteriorly. The simulations show signals in this pathway initially propagate along the solid mandibles and are transmitted to the acoustically coupled soft tissue of the internal mandibular fat which conducts the stimuli posteriorly as it eventually arrives at ear complexes. While supporting traditional theories, this new bone-tissue-conduction pathway might be meaningful to understand the hearing and sound reception processes in a wide variety of odontocetes species.
  • Article
    Biosonar signal propagation in the harbor porpoise's (Phocoena phocoena) head : the role of various structures in the formation of the vertical beam
    (Acoustical Society of America, 2017-06-07) Wei, Chong ; Au, Whitlow W. L. ; Ketten, Darlene R. ; Song, Zhongchang ; Zhang, Yu
    Harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) use narrow band echolocation signals for detecting and locating prey and for spatial orientation. In this study, acoustic impedance values of tissues in the porpoise's head were calculated from computer tomography (CT) scan and the corresponding Hounsfield Units. A two-dimensional finite element model of the acoustic impedance was constructed based on CT scan data to simulate the acoustic propagation through the animal's head. The far field transmission beam pattern in the vertical plane and the waveforms of the receiving points around the forehead were compared with prior measurement results, the simulation results were qualitatively consistent with the measurement results. The role of the main structures in the head such as the air sacs, melon and skull in the acoustic propagation was investigated. The results showed that air sacs and skull are the major components to form the vertical beam. Additionally, both beam patterns and sound pressure of the sound waves through four positions deep inside the melon were demonstrated to show the role of the melon in the biosonar sound propagation processes in the vertical plane.