Sound sources are generally devices that generate acoustic energy. One use of sound sources is in marine seismic surveying in which the sound sources may be employed to generate acoustic energy that travels downwardly through water and into subsurface formations. After interacting with the subsurface formations, some of the acoustic energy may be returned toward the water surface and detected by specialized sensors, such as hydrophones or geophones. The detected energy may be used to infer certain properties of the subsurface formations, such as structure, mineral composition and fluid content, thereby providing information useful in the recovery of hydrocarbons.
One type of sound source that may be used in marine seismic surveying may be a marine acoustic vibrator. Increasing the acoustic output of marine acoustic vibrators may require an increase in input power that may result in an increase in heat generation. “Moving-coil,” also referred to as “voice-coil” transducers, may be employed in marine acoustic vibrators, for example, to provide the ability to generate very large acoustic amplitude. However, while some marine acoustic vibrators may exhibit comparatively high sound pressure levels versus previous sound sources, these marine acoustic vibrators may exhibit various challenges with thermal management, for example. One such challenge may include design of the coil element, which should be able to withstand high power densities while maintaining contact with the acoustic load (e.g., vibrating shell, etc.). These constraints may result in induced thermal strain within the marine acoustic vibrator and/or within the coil element itself.