US Patent 7408842 Sonar dome

The Invention is a reinforced plastic sonar dome having a low acoustical insertion loss combined with sufficient mechanical strength. Acoustical and structural fibers are stochastically mixed and formed into a blended yarn. The blended yarn is woven into a blended fabric. The blended fabric is ordered into a stack having multiple layers of blended fabric. The blended fabric is incorporated into a polymer resin while the polymer resin is in liquid form using a vacuum assist. The acoustical fibers and the vacuum assist modify the acoustical properties of the resulting composite sonar dome.