Direction finding method via acoustic vector sensor array with fluctuating misorientation

•The AVSA model with fluctuating misorientation is formulated by introducing unknown deviation parameters into multiple sub-data at different time segments.•A covariance matrix focusing technique is formulated to transform different sub-data segments with fluctuating misorientation into the desired data segments, and the weighted covariance matrix fitting method is presented to determine the DOA.•Numerical examples and experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method under fluctuating misorientation via an AVSA.