Application of a dynamic antiresonant vibration isolator to minimize the vibration transmission in underwater vehicles

Abstract

Harmonic axial force resulting from a propeller’s first vibration mode is a major cause of tonal sound radiation of an underwater vehicle. To reduce the harmonic force, we employ a dynamic antiresonant vibration isolator (DAVI) in parallel with thrust bearing of the shafting system to attenuate vibration transmitted to the hull. The methods of transfer matrices and substructure synthesis are used to create a semi-analytical dynamic model of the propeller–shaft–hull system with DAVI. In this model, the elastic properties of the propeller and foundation are taken into consideration. The force transmissibility and power flow are then used to evaluate the isolation performance of the DAVI. For the purpose of comparison, a resonance changer (RC) proposed in the published literature is also used to reduce the axial vibration transmission. It is demonstrated numerically that by using DAVI, the vibration and power flow of the underwater vehicle are greatly attenuated at the designed frequency without obviously changing the axial fundamental resonance frequency of the shafting system, which is superior to the RC isolator.