Kongsberg SBP 29 Sub-bottom Profiler Product Description

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Kongsberg SBP 29

Sub-bottom Profiler

Product Description

Doc No: 447542

Revision: A

Status: Issued for use

Kongsberg Maritime AS PUBLIC

KONGSBERG PROPRIETARY – see Statement of Proprietary Information

447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 2 of 38

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Copyright

© Copyright Kongsberg Maritime AS

The information contained in this document remains the sole property of Kongsberg

Maritime AS. No part of this document may be copied or reproduced in any form or by

any means, and the information contained within it is not to be communicated to a third

party, without the prior written consent of Kongsberg Maritime AS. The document, or

any part of it, may not be translated to any other language without the written approval

from Kongsberg Maritime AS.

Disclaimer

Kongsberg Maritime AS endeavours to ensure that all information in this document is

correct and fairly stated, but does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.

Warning

The equipment to which this manual applies must only be used for the purpose for

which it was designed. Improper use or maintenance may cause damage to the

equipment and/or injury to personnel. All users must be familiar with the contents of the

appropriate manuals before attempting to install, operate, maintain or in any other way

work on the equipment.

Kongsberg Maritime AS disclaims any responsibility for damage or injury caused by

improper installation, use or maintenance of the equipment.

Support information

If you require maintenance or repair, contact your local dealer. You can also contact us

using the following address: [email protected]. If you need

information about our other products, visit http://www.km.kongsberg.com.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.km.kongsberg.com/



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 3 of 38

Table of contents

1 Kongsberg SBP 29 .................................................................................................. 5

1.1 System description ................................................................................................... 6

1.2 Key specifications .................................................................................................... 7

1.3 System diagram ........................................................................................................ 9

1.4 Transducer description ........................................................................................... 10

1.5 Transceiver unit (TRU) .......................................................................................... 11

1.6 Operator Station ..................................................................................................... 11

1.7 Support information ............................................................................................... 12

2 Performance.......................................................................................................... 13

2.1 Penetration.............................................................................................................. 14

2.1.1 Examples of achieved penetration ........................................................... 14

2.2 Beam steering ......................................................................................................... 17

2.2.1 Stabilisation of pitch and roll ................................................................... 17

2.2.2 Multiple simultaneous beams .................................................................. 17

2.2.3 Active beam steering in sloping terrain ................................................... 18

2.3 Ping rate ................................................................................................................. 22

2.4 Steering of acquisition window .............................................................................. 22

2.5 Operating modes .................................................................................................... 22

2.6 Data logging and real-time processing ................................................................... 24

2.7 The transmit array .................................................................................................. 24

3 Installation ............................................................................................................ 25

3.1 Operator station ...................................................................................................... 25

3.2 K-Rem remote control............................................................................................ 25

3.3 Electronic cabinets ................................................................................................. 25

3.4 Transducer arrays ................................................................................................... 25

3.5 Ice Protection Windows ......................................................................................... 26

4 Scope of supply ..................................................................................................... 27

4.1 Standard supply ...................................................................................................... 27



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 4 of 38

4.2 Optional supply ...................................................................................................... 27

4.3 System integration .................................................................................................. 27

5 Operation .............................................................................................................. 28

5.1 System control ........................................................................................................ 28

5.2 Operating system .................................................................................................... 28

5.3 Parameter settings .................................................................................................. 29

6 Technical specifications ....................................................................................... 30

6.1 System performance (3/6/12 deg) .......................................................................... 30

6.2 List of units and sub-units ...................................................................................... 31

6.3 Interfaces ................................................................................................................ 31

6.4 Physical specifications ........................................................................................... 32

6.5 Power requirements ................................................................................................ 33

6.6 Restriction for use .................................................................................................. 34

6.7 Operating and storage temperature ........................................................................ 34

6.8 Surface finish ......................................................................................................... 34

6.9 Environmental specifications ................................................................................. 34

6.10 Transceiver Unit outline dimensions ..................................................................... 35

7 Customer support ................................................................................................ 36

7.1 Installation .............................................................................................................. 36

7.2 Documentation and training ................................................................................... 36

7.3 Service .................................................................................................................... 37

7.4 FEMME ................................................................................................................. 37

7.5 Warranty and maintenance contract ....................................................................... 37

8 KM Sub-bottom profilers .................................................................................... 38



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 5 of 38

1 Kongsberg SBP 29

Topics System description on page 6

Key specifications on page 7

System diagram on page 9

Transducer description on page 10

Transceiver unit (TRU) on page 11

Operator Station on page 11

Support information on page 12



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 6 of 38

1.1 System description

The SBP 29 is the next generation narrow beam, multibeam sub-bottom profiler, and is

the successor of the SBP 120 and SBP 300. The system has new and improved

technology, wider bandwidth 2 – 9 kHz and accordingly improved range resolution.

The primary application of the SBP 29 is to do sub-bottom imaging of sediment layers

and buried objects. The data can be stored as raw or in SEG-Y format.

Key features of the SBP 29 are:

High source level. Can be reduced by 30 dB in steps of 1 dB.

Narrow beams giving improved penetration, cleaner data, and good angular

resolution.

Wider beams can be made when desired.

A swath of beams can be generated per ping, offering acrosstrack slope

robustness. This swath is also useful for detection of buried objects and studies

of backscatter.

Transmit modes for use when narrow beams are unfavourable:

o Cyclic variation of beam width

o Cyclic variation of alongtrack beam tilt (volume scanning)

Typically operated in parallel with the EM system, either synchronized or

unsynchronized.

Burst and multi-pulse modes to maintain a high ping rate in deep water

The array geometry of the SBP 29 is the same as that used by the EM multibeam echo

sounders. For reception, it uses the wideband receive antenna of the EM system. With

much narrower beam widths than conventional sub-bottom profilers, the SBP 29

provides superior specular return to backscatter ratio and thereby improved penetration

and less cluttered imaging. SBP 29 comes as 3, 6 or 12 degrees transmitting array

system.

For the three-degree transmitter, the frequency dependent source level is above 224 dB

re 1 μPa @ 1m between 3.5 kHz and 6.5 kHz.

The SBP 29 beams are electronically stabilized for roll and pitch, and the data are heave

compensated. The system has several advantages when encountering sloping sediments

compared to other systems:

For each ping a swath of beams can be made that cover the across track footprint

of the transmitter, making the system tolerant to across track slopes.

It is possible to operate with wider beams, trading slope robustness for signal

quality.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 7 of 38

In addition, two transmit modes are implemented as tools when sloping sediments is a

problem:

One transmit mode allows cyclic variation of the beam widths. In this manner

echograms imaging the sub-bottom with narrow and wide beams can be

collected in a single pass. When sloping sediments are missing in the narrow

beam echogram, this information can be found in the wide beam.

The other transmit mode offers volume scanning with narrow beams. By

combining information from all beams in a scan, a composite echogram can be

made with the slope robustness of a wide beam system and the data quality of a

narrow beam system.

1.2 Key specifications

The SBP 29 has significantly reduced beam widths compared to conventional sub-

bottom profilers. This is obtained by one linear transmitter array mounted along the

vessel keel, and one linear hydrophone array (shared with the EM 124/304) mounted

orthogonal to the keel. The footprint of the transmitter array is wide acrosstrack and

narrow alongtrack, whereas the opposite is the case for the receiver array. The

combined beam pattern of the two arrays is a narrow beam.

Some of the consequences of using large arrays are:

The larger the transmitter array, the more power can be injected (without risking

cavitation). This implies an increased source level.

The directivity of the transmitter also increases with the size of the transmitter,

which implies a further increase of the source level.

The reverberation volume is greatly reduced with reduced beam widths. (The

reverberation volume roughly increases with the square of the beamwidth.)

The increased directivity of the SBP 29 receiver array compared to smaller

receivers improves the suppression of acoustic noise.

Because the transmit beam is wide acrosstrack and all hydrophones are sampled

individually, the SBP 29 can make a fan of narrow beams acrosstrack per ping. This

multibeam capability of the SBP 29 is useful for:

Finding the specular return(s) in rough terrain despite the narrow beams.

Resolving lateral specular returns in rough terrain

Detecting buried objects

Obtaining information about the sloping angle of sediments (which sometimes

changes with range and may be completely different from that of the sea floor)



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 8 of 38

The normal transmit waveform is a linear chirp. The outer limits for the start and stop

frequencies of the chirp are 2 to 9 kHz, providing a maximum vertical resolution of

approximately 0.2 milliseconds. In addition to linear chirps, the transmitter offers CW

pulses, hyperbolic chirps and Ricker pulses.

The transmit array of the SBP 29 is offered in three, six or twelve degree versions. The

frequency dependent source level of a three-degree transmitter is typically above 220

dB re 1 μPa @ 1 m. The peak electrical power consumption is less than 14 kW for the

largest system.

Normally the SBP 29 transmit antenna is matched with a receive antenna of similar

physical size, but it is possible to combine any SBP 29 transmit antenna with any EM

124/304 receiver antenna.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 9 of 38

1.3 System diagram



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1.4 Transducer description

A transducer is a device that converts one form of energy to another. In a sub-bottom

profiler system, the transducer converts between electric energy and sound.

The SBP 29 transmit transducer has a physical width of 80 cm, a depth of 35 cm and a

length depending on the requested beamwidth. The 3º, 6º, and 12º SBP 29 transmit

arrays are 7.5, 3.8 and 1.9 meters long, respectively.

The transmit array is mounted in parallel with the vessel’s keel, normally side by side

with the multibeam echo sounder’s transmit array. For a “best performance” SBP 29

system one should always select a three-degree transmitter, but normally it will be

inconvenient to have an SBP transmitter much longer than the EM transmitter.

The lengths of the 0.5º, 1º and 2º EM 124 transmitter are 15.2, 7.8 and 4 meters,

respectively.

The lengths of the 0.5º, 1º and 2º EM 304 transmitter are 6.0, 3.0 and 1.5 meters,

respectively.

The rows of the following table show what is expected to be the most common

combinations of EM 124/304 and SBP 29 system sizes. Since the two systems share

receiver array there is a fixed relation between RX opening angles. In the table are listed

combinations of “best match” for the lengths of the EM and SBP transmitters.

EM SBP 29

TX x RX TX x RX

EM 124

0.5° x 1° 3° x 3°

1° x 1° 3° x 3°

1° x 2° 3° x 6°

2° x 2° 6° x 6°

2° x 4° 6° x 12°

EM 304

0.5° x 1° 3° x 7°

1° x 1° 6° x 7°

1° x 2° 6° x 14°

2° x 2° 12° x 14°



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1.5 Transceiver unit (TRU)

The electronic circuitry required for the SBP 29 Sub-bottom profiler is housed in a

separate cabinet called the transceiver unit (TRU). The TRU holds all transmit and

receive electronics for the SBP 29 TX, like power amplifiers, power supply, capacitor

battery and Ethernet interface.

The Transceiver Unit is a wall-mounted steel cabinet with integrated shock and

vibration absorbers, designed for bulkhead mounting. Two 19-inch sub-racks are

contained in the cabinet. The number of circuit boards in the sub-racks will depend

upon the chosen system configuration.

A fibre cable is used for sending an SBP TX active signal from the SBP 29 to the EM

124/304 Receiver Unit.

The TRU receives ships attitude, and has interfaces for synchronization with the EM

124/304 and K-Sync.

Ethernet is used for data communication with the Operator Station.

The Transmitter Units are normally located in a "sonar room" close to the transducer

arrays

1.6 Operator Station

A Windows Work Station is the Operator Station for the SBP 29.

A dedicated maritime computer is provided

with the SBP 29 Sub-bottom profiler

system. It is set up with all necessary

software.

The Work Station is based on the

Microsoft® operating system, and is

prepared to run on Windows 10.

The Hydrographic Work Station is normally

mounted near the operator work space.



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1.7 Support information

Should you need technical support for your SBP 29 please contact a Kongsberg

Maritime office. A list of all our offices is provided on our website. You can also

contact our main support office in Norway.

Company name: Kongsberg Maritime AS

Address: Strandpromenaden 50, 3190 Horten, Norway

Telephone (24h support): +47 33 03 24 07

Website: https://www.km.kongsberg.com

E-mail address: [email protected]

https://www.km.kongsberg.com/

mailto:[email protected]



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 13 of 38

2 Performance

Topics Penetration on page 14

Beam steering on page 17

Ping rate on page 22

Steering of acquisition window on page 22

Operating modes on page 22

Data logging and real-time processing on page 24

The transmit array on page 24



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2.1 Penetration

How deep into the bottom we can image sediments is of course highly dependent on the

nature of the sediments. A large change in acoustic impedance between layers should

give strong specular returns. A small change in acoustic impedance will give weaker

specular returns, but the signal will propagate further into the sediments. Another and

perhaps more important factor is absorption within the sediments: This absorption is

known to be highly dependent on frequency. In addition to limiting the penetration,

absorption will degrade resolution with increasing penetration.

Data has been collected at varying depths ranging from just a few metres to more than

7000 metres. Based on our experience it seems like typical values of penetration is up to

100 milliseconds. This is the two-way travel time. Using a conservative estimate for the

sound velocity in the sediments (1500 m/s), we find that this corresponds to 75 metres

of penetration.

2.1.1 Examples of achieved penetration

Figure 1 Example of penetration – 60 to 90 m WD

A sandy bank at the continental shelf

Horizontal distance: 3.75 km

Vertically 10 ms /div (approx. 7.5m/div)

Bedrock imaged through ~ 25 m of sand

Data by courtesy SHOM



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 15 of 38

Figure 2 Example of penetration - 1750 to 2000m WD

SBP 120 - 3° system

Up to 260 ms penetration

limited by trace length!

(195 m @ 1500 m/s)

FM pulse / 2.5 - 6.5 kHz / 30 ms

Figure 3 Example of penetration - Ocean depths ~2500m

SBP 120 – 3°

300 ms penetration (225 m @ 1500 m/s)

FM pulse / 2.5 - 6.5 kHz / 30 ms



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 16 of 38

Figure 4 Example of penetration - 4780 to 4830 m WD

SBP 120 – 3° data collected during EM 122 survey

Observed penetration 70 – 100 milliseconds

corresponding to 50 – 75 meters @1500 m/s

FM pulse / 2.5–7 kHz / 5 ms

Unsynchronized, burst mode

Figure 5 Example of penetration - 6770 to 6600 m WD

Varying penetration up to about 50 meters

FM pulse / 2.5–7 kHz / 5 ms

SBP 120 – 3° system

Vessel speed ~ 8 knots

Unsynchronized, burst mode



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 17 of 38

Water depth 7400 meters

FM pulse / 2.5 – 7 kHz / 20 ms

Penetration exceeding 100 ms

SBP 120 – 3° system operated in burst mode synchronized with the EM 122

2.2 Beam steering

2.2.1 Stabilisation of pitch and roll

The SBP 29 makes use of beamforming on both transmission and reception, similar to a

multibeam echo sounder. The transmit beam is stabilised for vessel pitch, and the

receive beams are stabilised for vessel roll.

Stabilisation for vessel yaw is not required due to the narrow swath that can be obtained.

2.2.2 Multiple simultaneous beams

The transmit beam is about 30 degrees wide across. Using the beam steering, it is

possible to produce several simultaneous receive beams for each ping. This is useful

when the sub-bottom structure is complex, e.g. when sediment slopes changes with

angle and range within the insonified volume.

9650

9750

9700

9800

9850



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 18 of 38

For detection of buried objects, the fan of receiver beams will, compared to wide-beam

sub-bottom profiler systems, provide angular information about the position of the

buried objects. The likelihood of detection will in general be better in a narrow beam.

The narrower the beam and the less the level of reverberation, the easier it will be to

detect an echo from a weak target. Also, if an object buried in sediments is detected in a

narrow beam with oblique incidence to the sediments, the SBP 29 echo from the buried

object will not have to compete with strong specular returns from the sediments, as it

would in a wide beam system.

The SBP 29 offers up to five beams to each side of the centre beam, with selectable

beam spacing, giving a total of up to 11 beams. Maximum receiver fan width is 30

degrees, matching the across transmit beam width.

2.2.3 Active beam steering in sloping terrain

When the EM 124/304 Multibeam echo sounder is used in combination with the SBP

29, estimates of the local seabed inclination angles of the terrain fore-and-aft and across

are obtained in near real-time.

The SBP 29 allows you to steer the transmit beam and the centre of the fan of receive

beams in the direction where they are perpendicular to the underwater terrain. In this

way, the strength of the specular returns is maximised when the sediment layers are

parallel to the seafloor. This maximises the specular return to backscatter ratio.

Beam steering on transmission is limited to compensate for maximum ±10 degrees of

slope fore-and-aft, while beam steering on reception is limited to compensate for

maximum ±10 degrees of slope across. The slope angles are estimated by the EM

124/304 by a least square fit of data to a plane. A few pings and beams within ±10

degrees measured from the vertical are used. The information about slope angles is

transmitted from the EM 124/304 Operator Station over Ethernet.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 19 of 38

The system has several advantages when encountering sloping sediments compared to

other systems:

• Manual steering of the beams or Automatic bottom slope correction

o Based on input from the EM 124/304

o Should be used with caution

Figure 6 Example of slope correction where depth increase by 335m over 4.5 km. Average slope along ~4deg. SBP

120 3 deg. Data ©SHOM

• It is possible to operate with wider beams, trading slope robustness for signal

quality.

•

Courtesy of SHOM

Figure 7 Operate with increased beam width – trading SNR for improved slope robustness. Data

by courtesy of SHOM



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 20 of 38

• Cycle TX beam width

o Collecting echograms with different beam widths in a single pass

o Alongtrack sampling density is reduced by a factor of 3

3° x 3° 6° x 6° 12° x 12°

Figure 8 Cycling TX beam width. Data collected in transit @ 12 knots



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 21 of 38

• Cycle TX beam tilt

o Collecting echograms with several look angles in a single pass volume

scan

o By combining information from all beams in a scan, a composite

echogram can be made with the slope robustness of a wide beam system

and the data quality of a narrow beam system.

Figure 9 Collecting echograms with different beam width in a single pass

Starboard

Port

Aft Forward Vertical



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 22 of 38

2.3 Ping rate

In the transmit mode “normal”, the SBP 29 pings once and then waits to collect the

return signal. Maximum ping rate is 20 Hz. In the transmit mode “burst”, the system

allows a number of pulses to be launched into the water before the first return signal. In

the “unsynchronized burst” mode the system is set to ping at a constant rate: The

transmit and receive periods are interlaced so that a high constant ping rate can be

maintained even in deep waters.

The SBP 29 can be synchronized to the EM 124/304 or other external equipment by

selecting external trigger. During synchronized operation, the rule is that the SBP 29

can only ping while waiting for the first bottom return. In transmit mode “burst”, this

means we will achieve a piecewise dense sampling of the bottom which sometimes can

be very useful.

2.4 Steering of acquisition window

The acquisition window is the period in which data is acquired. When properly set, the

acquisition window will contain some of the water column, the bottom return and the

sub-bottom signals. The length of the acquisition window must be set by the operator.

The default maximum of this parameter is 1500 ms.

The acquisition delay is measured from the start of transmission. This parameter may be

adjusted:

1. Manually

2. Automatically, based on internal bottom tracking

3. Automatically, based on EM 124/304 depth measurement

4. Automatically, based on depth measurements from another echo sounder than

the EM 124/304.

2.5 Operating modes

The two main transmit modes are normal and burst. In combination with the option of

running synchronized with other equipment, this gives us a total of four main operating

modes. Synchronized operation is used to reduce and control interference between the

SBP 29 and other equipment.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 23 of 38

The plain way to operate an echo sounder is to ping once and then wait for the return

signal. This is referred to as the normal mode of the SBP 29. Synchronized and

unsynchronized operation in normal mode is almost identical. Note that in synchronized

mode the SBP 29 does not accept a new trigger until it has finished collecting the return

signals specified by the acquisition window parameters. Consequently, the achieved

ping rate might be lower than the external trigger rate.

Figure 10 Transmit mode Normal

The burst mode is somewhat more advanced and it provides us with the possibility of

dense alongtrack probing of the sediments even in deep waters. In this mode, there is a

major difference between synchronized and unsynchronized operation. The goal in the

synchronized mode is to avoid transmissions during reception of bottom returns. This

means that the SBP 29 can transmit several pulses before the first bottom return arrives.

For instance, when the SBP 29 is synchronized with the EM 124/304, the SBP 29 must

keep quiet while the EM 124/304 is in its reception period. This will cause the imaging

of sediments to be piece-wise dense. Still this might be preferred to pinging once per

EM 124/304 ping, because there will be much better correlation between the sediment

echoes within a burst than what is likely to be the case with just one ping per EM

124/304 ping.

Figure 11 Transmit mode Normal - deep waters

Figure 12 Transmit mode Burst



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 24 of 38

2.6 Data logging and real-time processing

The data produced by the SBP 29 are logged in the Topas raw format or in a SEG Y

format allowing post-processing by some seismic processing software.

2.7 The transmit array

The MASSA TR-1447 transducer element is used in the transmit array. This is a

customized version of the TR-1075, a well-recognized and much used transducer

element for sub-bottom profiling with a stated resonance frequency of 4 kHz. All

versions of the SBP 120 transmit array has three elements athwartships, providing a

beamwidth acrosstrack of 30 degrees. In the for-and-aft direction the various versions

have 8, 16 and 32 elements, providing beamwidths alongtrack at 4 kHz of 12, 6 and 3

degrees respectively.

The SBP 29 3 degree transmit electronics has 64 independent channels, while the

corresponding array has 96 elements. A suitable acrosstrack weighting of the array is

obtained by letting the 32 centre elements having separate channels, while the 32 pair of

outer elements (each pair with the same alongship coordinate) share one channel each.

The maximum electrical power delivered by each channel is 200 W. Weighting

alongtrack is applied to reduce the sidelobes of the transmit beam, so the peak power

consumption of a system with a 3-degree transmitter is less than 14 kW.

For the first 12-degree transmitter built, the source level was measured in tank. Based

on those results it was estimated that the source level of the 3-degree transmitter is

higher than 220 dB re 1 uPa @1 m above 3 kHz, and more than 225 dB re 1 uPa @1 m

above 3.5 kHz. Since the properties of the transducer elements changes somewhat from

one batch to another, details of the source level will differ from one installation to

another.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 25 of 38

3 Installation

3.1 Operator station

A Windows Work Station desktop computer model.

3.2 K-Rem remote control

The Remote Control Unit is called K-Rem. It is prepared for remote control and

interface to an external synchronization system for four Kongsberg echo sounders:

One Sub-bottom profiler (SBP)

Two EM multibeam echo sounders

One EA single beam echo sounder

It has been designed to provide remote on/off switches with light indication and

interface to a remote synchronizing system. K-Rem contains a terminal block and four

switches with lamps mounted in the front.

3.3 Electronic cabinets

The electronic cabinets are preferably installed close to the transducer arrays to reduce

the amount of cabling. In most cases all units are mounted in the same room, but they

may be moved elsewhere to allow easier access.

3.4 Transducer arrays

The transducer arrays should be mounted in the forward part of the vessel, taking into

account hull shape, potential aeration problems and ease of cable installation.

The frames may either be mounted directly on or recessed into the hull, or within sea

chests. The latter solution may be somewhat more expensive, but will ensure that the

transducers are properly mounted within the tolerances required. A fairing will usually

be added around the transducers to ensure a laminar water flow without any aeration

problems. Ice protection windows may be added if required.

A blister or gondola installation will usually help in avoiding air bubble blockage of the

transducers and may contain additional transducers for other systems.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 26 of 38

Figure 13 Transducer array installation example (photo taken prior to mounting of baffle)

3.5 Ice Protection Windows

Two types of acoustic protection windows can be offered with the SBP 29

Light ice class

Ice breaker version

In both cases the protection for the TX array is a reinforced structure which is potted by

a material which is acoustically transparent. For the RX array titanium will be used, but

this is to be supplied with the EM 124/304 system. The difference in strength,

dimensions and cost is however substantial. Unless the vessel is carrying out operations

in significantly ice infested waters, it is recommended not to use any protection on the

outside of the transducer arrays.

Note! All ice protection windows provided by Kongsberg Maritime are pressure

tested and comes with a certificate.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 27 of 38

4 Scope of supply

4.1 Standard supply

A basic SBP 29 Sub-bottom profiler delivery includes:

1. Operator Station with 19” rack mounting

2. 24” LCD monitor

3. Cable Connection Units

4. SBP 29 Transducer Array

5. SBP 29 Transceiver Unit

6. Necessary cables and mounting frames in accordance with chosen system size

7. Signal and control cables between cabinets; standard length is 8 m

8. All system software

9. System manuals covering system installation, operation and maintenance

4.2 Optional supply

System options available include:

1. Ice protection windows

2. Non-standard cable lengths between the transducer and the Transceiver Unit

3. Spare parts

4.3 System integration

The SBP 29 system is prepared for integration with other sensors to form a complete

seabed mapping and inspection system.

Kongsberg Maritime will always supply the SBP 29 as a sub-system for integration with

an EM 124 or an EM 304, but we can offer complete system solutions tailored to the

user’s need.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 28 of 38

5 Operation

5.1 System control

The SBP 29 is controlled from the Operator Station using a graphical user interface. The

system does not require intensive operator intervention during normal operation, as the

bottom track and observation window can be controlled by the EM 124/304.

5.2 Operating system

The SBP 29 Operator Station software is operating under Microsoft Windows 10. The

graphical user interface is therefore well known to most users with familiar use of

menus and dialogue boxes.

A Main menu F Echogram 1

B Tabs menu G Legend 1

C Properties H Echogram 2

D Parameter sheet I Legend 2

E Status J Single trace



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 29 of 38

5.3 Parameter settings

The SBP 29 Operator Station software provides the user with the following system

parameter settings:

• Number of transmit channels

• Number of receiver channels

• Installation angles of the arrays measured in vessel coordinates

• Installation positions of the arrays in vessel coordinates

• Installation position of the motion sensor in vessel coordinates

The following operational parameters may be adjusted:

• Power level

o Pulse form

o Pulse length

o Sweep length

o Start frequency

o Stop frequency

• Transmission mode

• Transmit synchronisation

• Beam width

• Beam steering mode

• Acquisition delay

• Acquisition window length

• Beam spacing and number of receiver beams



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 30 of 38

6 Technical specifications

Note! Kongsberg Maritime is engaged in continuous developments of its products

and reserves the right to alter specifications without prior notice.

Topics

System performance (3/6/12 deg) on page 30

List of units and sub-units on page 31

Interfaces on page 31

Physical specifications on page 32

Power requirements on page 33

Restriction for use on page 34

Operating and storage temperature on page 34

Surface finish on page 34

Environmental specifications on page 34

Transceiver Unit outline dimensions on page 35

6.1 System performance (3/6/12 deg)

Operating frequency 2 to 9 kHz

Number of beams per ping Maximum 11

Beamwidth, 4 kHz (along x across)

o Transmit 3/6/12 x 35 degrees

o Receive (EM124) 80 x 3/6/12 degrees

o Receive (EM304) 120 x 7/14/28 degrees

Beam spacing ≤ 15 degrees

Fan width (RX) ≤30 degrees

Pulse length (FM and CW) 2 ms to 100 ms

Pulse type FM (linear or hyperbolic), Ricker, CW

Range sampling rate 21.0 kHz

Roll stabilization Yes

Pitch stabilization Yes

Heave compensation Yes

Range resolution 0.2 ms

Volume scanning ± 15 degrees

Maximum penetration >225 m (3 deg system, depending on type

of sediment and noise)



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6.2 List of units and sub-units

Operator station

Beamformer Unit

o No physical unit, integrated in the SBP 29 package

Transceiver Unit

Transmit Transducer Array

Remote Control Unit (K-Rem)

o The Remote Control Unit is called K-Rem. It is prepared for remote

control and interface to an external synchronization system for four

Kongsberg echo sounders:

One Sub-bottom profiler (SBP)

Two EM multibeam echo sounders

One EA single beam echo sounder

o It has been designed to provide remote on/off switches with light

indication and interface to a remote synchronizing system. K-Rem

contains a terminal block and four switches with lamps mounted in the

front.

6.3 Interfaces

Operator Station:

Network or serial line interfaces (with operator adjustable baud rate, parity, data length,

and stop bit length) for:

Positions in either Simrad 90, NMEA 0183 GGA and GGK formats.

External clock in NMEA 0183 ZDA format.

Input of depth, bottom slope angles and sound velocity information from EM

124/304 in a native KM datagram format or depth in NMEA DPT format.

Transceiver Unit:

Serial line interface for:

Motion sensor (roll, pitch, heave and optionally heading) in the SIMRAD EM

Attitude format supported by sensors from Applanix, Seatex and TSS.

Digital interfaces for external synchronization:

Trigger inputs (EM and K-Sync)

Trigger output

Ready-to-transmit



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 32 of 38

6.4 Physical specifications

Transmit transducer array

Element

Length: 184 mm

Width: 184 mm

Height: 270 mm

Module weight: 12.5 kg

Cable Connection Unit

Length: 500 mm

Width: 232 mm

Depth: 120 mm

Weight: 35 kg

Frame

Approximate values 3 deg 6 deg 12 deg

Length 7450 mm 3834 mm 1970 mm

Width 800 mm 800 mm 800 mm

Height (incl. elements) 350 mm 350 mm 261 mm

Weight 1150 kg 575 kg 288 kg

Total weight of transmit transducer array

(including elements, cable connector units and frame)

Approximate values 3 deg 6 deg 12 deg

Elements 1200 kg 600 kg 300 kg

Cable connector units 4 x 35

140 kg

2 x 35

70 kg

1 x 35

35 kg

Frame 1150 kg 575 kg 288 kg

Total transducer installation 2500 kg 1245 kg 623 kg



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 33 of 38

Transceiver Unit

Length: 758 mm

Width: 545 mm

Height: 867 mm

Weight: approximately 110 kg

Remote control unit (K-Rem)

Height: 43.6 mm (1U)

Width: 482.6 mm (19” rack)

Depth: 240 mm

Operator station and beam former unit

Width: 338 mm (4U)

Height: 100 mm

Depth: 379 mm

Weight: Approximately 7 kg

Note! Dimensions and weight will depend upon choice of workstation model, thus

the above figures serve as a guideline only.

24” LCD monitor

Width: 601 mm

Height: 408 mm

Depth: 68 mm

Weight: 10 kg

6.5 Power requirements

Operational voltage and frequency

Transceiver Unit

o 220 to 240 VAC

o < 14 kW

o 47 to 63 Hz

Operator station

o 100 to 240 VAC

o < 300 W

o 47 to 63 Hz



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 34 of 38

6.6 Restriction for use

Do not ping in drydock.

6.7 Operating and storage temperature

Transceiver Units: 0 to 45 °C

Operator Station and Beamformer Unit: 0 to 40°C

Storage: -30 to + 70 °C

6.8 Surface finish

All cabinets are painted. System units exposed to salt water must be treated accordingly.

6.9 Environmental specifications

Vibration and shock

Vibration during storage and transport

o Frequency range 5 to 500 Hz

o Excitation level ±0.7 g

o Reference document: IEC publication 68-2-6

Vibration during operation (locations 1, 2, 3 and 4)

o Frequency range 5 to 500 Hz

o Excitation level

5 to 13.2 Hz ±1.5 mm

13.2 to 100 Hz 1 g

o Sweep rate 1 oct/min

o Duration 10 sweeps 5-100-5 Hz

o Reference document: IEC publication 68-2-6 (Test Fc)

Shock during storage and transport, free fall:

o > 500 kg gross weight max 25 mm fall



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6.10 Transceiver Unit outline dimensions



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 36 of 38

7 Customer support

Topics

Installation on page 36

Documentation and training on page 36

Service on page 37

FEMME on page 37

Warranty and maintenance contract on page 37

7.1 Installation

As part of the discussions with the client Kongsberg Maritime will - free of charge and

without any obligations - give advice regarding the practical installation of the SBP 29

system. We will also - upon request - prepare proposals for the supply of complete

instrument packages and/or systems. A project manager will usually be appointed to

supervise the delivery, installation and testing of larger instrumentation systems.

The installation and final testing of an SBP 29 system should be done according to

Kongsberg Maritime’s documentation. If required, Kongsberg Maritime field engineers

can be made available to:

Supervise the installation

Perform system check-out and final testing

7.2 Documentation and training

The SBP 29 is delivered with complete documentation for installation, operation and

maintenance. If required, the manuals may optionally be modified to reflect the actual

system on the client’s vessel.

Kongsberg Maritime can conduct the training of operators and maintenance personnel

to the extent required by the client. Such training courses can take place on the vessel,

on any of Kongsberg Maritime’s facilities, or any other location decided by the client.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 37 of 38

7.3 Service

The Kongsberg Maritime service department has a 24 hour duty arrangement, and can

thus be contacted by telephone at any time. The service department will assist in solving

all problems that may be encountered during the operation of the system, whether the

problem is caused by finger trouble, insufficient documentation, software bugs or

equipment breakdown.

7.4 FEMME

A forum for users of Kongsberg Maritime’s multibeam echo sounder systems

(FEMME), with the aim of improving communication both between the users and

Kongsberg Maritime, but also between the system users, is arranged at approximately

24 months’ intervals. Close to 100% user participation has been experienced at these

meetings.

7.5 Warranty and maintenance contract

The normal warranty period of the SBP 29 is 24 months after delivery.

A system maintenance contract tailored to fit the needs of the client is available. This

contract can be defined so that it covers repair work only, or complete support for

preventive maintenance, repair work, and system upgrading of both hardware and

software as the system design is improved by Kongsberg Maritime.

The maintenance contract could also include a life-time warranty of transducers,

upgrading of spare parts and documentation, and repeated or additional training courses.



447542 / A / March 2019/ Page 38 of 38

8 KM Sub-bottom profilers Below is an overview of the range of Kongsberg Maritime Sub-bottom profiler systems

along with their key performance parameters.

SYSTEM> KONGSBERG TOPAS

PS120

KONGSBERG TOPAS

PS40

KONGSBERG TOPAS

PS18

KONGSBERG SBP

27/29

Geopulse

Compact

EA 440 light

SBP

Beam width <3° x 4° <3° x 5° <4.5° x 4.5°

3°x7°, 3°x14°

6°x7°, 6°x14°

12°x7, 12°x14°

~25° transmit

~10° receive

Pulse lengths 0.01 - 40 ms 0.05 - 100ms 0.1 - 100ms 2-100 ms

Frequency range 2 kHz to 30 kHz,

adjustable

1 kHz to 10 kHz,

adjustable

0.5 kHz to 6 kHz,

adjustable 2 to 9 kHz, adjustable 2-18 kHz 15 kHz

Sidelobe suppression no sidelobes no sidelobes no sidelobes > 20 dB

Max. Penetration

(depending on sediment)> 50 m > 80 m > 200 m >225 m (3°x3°) ~7-10m

Max ping rate 40 Hz 20 Hz 10 Hz 20 Hz

Operational depths <2 – >500 m <5 – >2,000 m <10 – 11,000 m <10 – 11,000 m Shallow < 300 m

Sediment layer resolution <5 cm <10 cm <15 cm <15 cm 6 cm

Estimated source levels 175 - 213 dB

2 - 30 kHz

188 - 206 dB

2 - 8 kHz

199 - 212 dB

2 - 6 kHz

219/213/207 -

228/222/216 dB 3 - 6 kHz

TX size 3° / 6° / 12°

196 dB

Pulse types

CW

Linear FM

Hyperbolic FM

Ricker

User defined

CW

Linear FM

Hyperbolic FM

Ricker

User defined

CW

Linear FM

Hyperbolic FM

Ricker

User defined

CW

Linear FM

Hyperbolic FM

Ricker

CW

Linear FM

Hyperbolic FM

Ricker

CW

Linear FM

Hyperbolic FM

Transducer weight 30 kg 80 kg 525 kg 2530 kg (3° system)32kg towfish

39 kg hull mount28 kg

Documents

Kongsberg SBP 29 Sub-bottom Profiler Product Description