CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.

uk
Provided by Vibroengineering PROCEDIA

Study of the influence of the resonance changer on the

longitudinal vibration of marine propulsion shafting
system
Zhengmin Li1, Lin He2, Hanguo Cui3, Jiangyang He4, Wei Xu5
1, 2, 4, 5Institute
of Noise and Vibration, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan, China
1, 2, 4, 5National
Key Laboratory on Ship Vibration and Noise, Wuhan, China
1, 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Power Engineering,

Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan, China

5Corresponding author

E-mail: 1lizhengm100@163.com, 2linhewh@163.com, 3cuihanguo@163.com, 4hjywuhan@sina.com,

5xuwei216@126.com

(Accepted 28 August 2015)

Abstract. For investigating the characteristics of the resonance changer and its influence on the
longitudinal vibration of marine propulsion shafting system, by the transfer matrix method, the
model of the shafting system, including the resonance changer is established. The influences of
the resonance changer with various designing parameters on the force transmissibility through the
thrust bearing foundation are evaluated. The results show that, the introduction of the resonance
changer eliminates the resonance at original 1st natural frequency and introduces another two
resonance peaks, as well as significantly lowering the maximum response compared with the
original peak. The right one is attributed to the resonance changer, while the other is due to
excitation of the other shafting system components. The 2nd natural frequency moves towards the
high frequency direction and the peak value nearly stay invariable. If the designing parameters of
the resonance changer are well optimized, the objective of reducing the longitudinal vibration
transmission through the shafting system to the hull could be achieved.
Keywords: resonance changer, longitudinal vibration, shafting system, transfer matrix method.

1. Introduction

For marine vessels, when the blade passing frequency of the propeller is equal or close to the
natural frequency of the shaft longitudinal vibration, there will be excessive longitudinal vibration
of the shafting system, which is not only the reason of the fatigue damage of the shaft and the
wear of the thrust bearings, but also the main source for low frequency shipboard noise and
underwater sound radiation from a submarine hull. For reducing the propeller-induced
longitudinal vibration, several methods are presented [1-4], i.e. increasing the number of propeller
blades, moving the thrust bearing further afterward, and adopting new thrusters such as water jet
propulsion device. Such method is difficult to implement and is not always effective. The
resonance changer (also called RC) [4] proposed by GOODWIN is a new option in reducing the
propeller-induced vibration, and since then it has received much more attentions.
Fig. 1 shows a thrust bearing which is a combination of a fluid-equalized thrust bearing [5]
and a RC, and it could help reduce shaft longitudinal vibration. The thrust pads are supported by
pistons which are in turn supported by hydraulic fluids. The piston cylinders are all interconnected
and the supported fluids are connected to an oil reservoir through an oil pipe. The axial load is
carried by the supported fluids and the disturbance forces are transmitted to the oil reservoir
through the oscillatory oil pressure in the oil pipe. In this procedure, the virtual stiffness is
produced by the compression and expansion of the oil in the reservoir, and the virtual mass
and virtual damping are produced by the viscous oil flow in the oil pipe. So, the piston
cylinders, the supported fluids, the oil pipe as well as the oil reservoir work together as a RC. A
replenishment hydraulic fluid system is also provided to compensate for shaft movement due to
fluid leakage and the compression or expansion of the oil in the reservoir. Fig. 2 shows the main
designing parameters of a thrust bearing with a RC, including , , , , , , , , , ,
© JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533 65
 STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE RESONANCE CHANGER ON THE LONGITUDINAL VIBRATION OF MARINE PROPULSION SHAFTING SYSTEM.
ZHENGMIN LI, LIN HE, HANGUO CUI, JIANGYANG HE, WEI XU

which represent the inner radius of pad, the outer radius of pad, the angular of pad, the radius of
supported point, the angular of the supported point, the number of thrust pads and oil cylinders,
the volume of the oil reservoir, the diameter of the piston cylinder, the length and diameter of the
oil pipe, respectively.

Fig. 1. A schematic diagram of a thrust Fig. 2. Specifications of a thrust

bearing with a RC bearing with a RC

2. Model of longitudinal vibration of propulsion shafting system

The main propulsion shafting system of a marine vessel can be simplified into the key features
shown in Fig. 3 as far as the axial vibration is concerned, where , , , represent the
amplitude of displacement and force of component , and superscripts ‘ ’ and ‘ ’ denote the right
end and the left end of component . Subscript ‘ ’ denotes different component. In detail,
‘1’,‘2’,‘3’,‘4’,‘5’ denote the propeller, the stern shaft, the thrust bearing, the intermediate shaft
and the coupling, respectively, and ‘ ’, ‘ℎ, ‘ ’ denote the thrust collar, the RC, the foundation,
respectively. represents the transfer matrix of component .

Fig. 3. A model of longitudinal vibration of propulsion shafting system

2.1. Model of the thrust bearing with a resonance changer

The simplified model of the RC is shown in Fig. 3. As described in literature [4], a

mathematical analysis can be made as followings:

= = − +8 − + − , (1)

where, = ( ⁄2) is the total cross-sectional area of the supported fluids, = ( ⁄2)
is the cross-sectional area of the oil pipe, and , , , are the oil pressure in the piston
cylinder, the density of the oil, the oil viscous and the bulk modulus of the oil, respectively. Then,
66 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533
 STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE RESONANCE CHANGER ON THE LONGITUDINAL VIBRATION OF MARINE PROPULSION SHAFTING SYSTEM.
ZHENGMIN LI, LIN HE, HANGUO CUI, JIANGYANG HE, WEI XU

, , , and can be given by Eq. (2). is the natural frequency of the RC. The
transmission matrix of the RC is respectively expressed as Eq. (3), in which is the angular
frequency of the disturbance forces:

( )
= , = , =8 , = , (2)
( )
1
1
= − + + . (3)
0 1
The transmission matrix of the thrust bearing with a RC and its foundation is shown as:

1 1 1
1 1 0 1 1
= − + + + , (4)
− 1
0 1 0 1 0 1
where, , are the stiffness and mass of the thrust bearing foundation(including the supporting
and surrounding structures), and , are the axial stiffness and damping of the lubricated oil
film. The procedure of calculating the dynamic coefficients described in literature [6], which is
based on the thermal hydrodynamic lubrication theory and the perturbation equations formulated
from a first order Taylor expansion of the oil film and pressure, is adopted in this paper. The hull
of the ship or submarine could be regard as a rigid boundary condition, which means = 0.
Then, Eq. (4) can be deduced as:

=
( − )( + )(− + + ) (5)
= ,
( − + + )(− + + )+( − )( + )

where represents the equivalent stiffness. th is the mass of the thrust collar. Then, the transfer
matrix of the thrust bearing with a RC and the foundation can be expressed as:

1 0
= . (6)
− + 1

2.2. Model of longitudinal shaft vibration and responds calculation

The transfer matrix of the shafting system is shown as Eq. (7), in which, , , ,
are the elements of . The transfer matrices of the propeller and the coupling are expressed as
Eq. (5) and the transfer matrix of the uniform shaft undergoing longitudinal vibration is expressed
as Eq. (6).Where, , , , , , are the lumped mass of propeller, the lumped mass of
coupling, the length of shaft, Young’s modulus, the density of the shaft, the cross-sectional area
of the shaft, respectively:

= = , (7)
1 0
, = − 1, (8)
,
sin( )
cos( )
, = , = . (9)
− sin( ) cos( ) ⁄

© JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533 67
 STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE RESONANCE CHANGER ON THE LONGITUDINAL VIBRATION OF MARINE PROPULSION SHAFTING SYSTEM.
ZHENGMIN LI, LIN HE, HANGUO CUI, JIANGYANG HE, WEI XU

When the load is acted on the propeller, the relationship between state vectors of the right
and left ends of the shafting system is presented in Eq. (10). Substituting the free-free boundary
conditions ( = = 0) into Eq. (10), the state vector of the propeller end can be obtained by
solving the Eq. (10), shown as Eq. (11). Utilizing the state vector of the propeller end and the
accumulated transmission matrix from propeller to the component , the response at any
component along the shaft could be obtained:

= , (10)
−
−
= . (11)
0
The force transmissibility through the thrust bearing foundation could be easily obtained by
/ .

3. Discussions of results

The corresponding configuration data of the thrust bearing are load = 200 kN, shaft speed
= 220 r/min, = 0.24 m, = 0.125 m, = 8, = 0.611 rad, = 0.186 m, = 0.3543 rad.
The corresponding configuration data of the shaft are = 14 m, = 2 m, the diameter of the
shaft = 0.16 m, = 7000 kg, = 1000 kg, = 760 kg/m3, = 200 GPa. The
corresponding configuration data of the RC are = 60 mm, = 5 mm, = 1.6 L, = 2 m,
= 760 kg/m3, = 1940 MPa, = 0.23 pa·s.
Fig. 4 is the contrast figure of the force transmissibility through the thrust bearing foundation
before and after a RC is attached to the thrust bearing. Fig. 4(a), Fig. 4(b), Fig. 4(c) and Fig. 4(d)
exhibit the influences of the volume of the oil reservoir , the diameter of the piston cylinder ,
the length and diameter of the oil pipe, respectively.
Compared with the situation in absence of the RC, the introduction of the RC results in the
elimination of the dominant peak at the original 1st natural frequency and alteration of the 2nd
natural frequency much more towards the high frequency direction. Simultaneously, it also
introduces another two dominant resonance peaks around the original 1st natural frequency. The
amplitudes and locations of the two peaks are related to the different parameters of RC, but both
of the amplitudes are lower than the original one. Off resonance frequency, there is little difference
between the situations with and without a RC, which proves that the RC only exhibits good
performance over a narrow frequency bandwidth.
As shown in Fig. 4(a), with the increasing of , and decrease while , stays
invariable. The peak on the right side moves towards the original 1st natural frequency and the
amplitude of the peak increases. As shown in Fig. 4(b), with the increasing of , , and
decrease while stays invariable. The two peaks move together towards the original 1st natural
frequency and the amplitudes of the two peaks stay nearly equal and decrease gradually. As shown
in Fig. 4(c), with the increasing of , and increase and decreases while stays
invariable. The peak on the right side moves towards the original 1st natural frequency and the
amplitude of the peak increases. As shown in Fig. 4(d), with the increasing of , and
decrease and increases while stays invariable. The peak on the right side moves towards the
high frequency direction and the amplitude of the peak decreases.
From above analysis, it is obvious that the peak on the right side is attributed to the RC, while
the peak on the left side is due to excitation of the original shafting system. It could be concluded
that, with the decreasing of (increasing of or decreasing of ), the influences of the RC
on the longitudinal vibration of the shafting system is more and more significant. And that is why
the two peaks moves and changes synchronously when stays invariable. It could be foreseen

68 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533
 STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE RESONANCE CHANGER ON THE LONGITUDINAL VIBRATION OF MARINE PROPULSION SHAFTING SYSTEM.
ZHENGMIN LI, LIN HE, HANGUO CUI, JIANGYANG HE, WEI XU

that, when is small enough, will be infinite, so the RC could be regarded as a rigid support.
As a result, the peak on the left side overlaps the original peak at 1st natural frequency, while the
peak on the right side disappeared. When is long enough or is small enough, will be
infinite. As a result, the peak on the right side will overlap the original peak at 1st natural
frequency, while the peak on the left side disappeared. Be careful, because of the limitation of the
axial shaft movement, should not be too small.
Considering the mass, stiffness and the 1st natural frequency of the shafting systems,
optimizing , , , to acquire a natural frequency of the RC which is close to the original
1st natural frequency of the shafting system, a appropriately large virtual mass, a appropriately
small virtual stiffness and a appropriate virtual damping, there will be a good effect of vibration
reduction when the RC is attached to the shafting system.

a) Variations in the volume of the oil reservoir b) Variations in the diameter of the piston cylinder

c) Variations in the length of the oil pipe d) Variations in the diameter of the oil pipe
Fig. 4. Effect of RC with variations in designing parameters on force transmissibility

4. Conclusions

In this paper, force transmissibility through the thrust bearing foundation for different cases is
employed to study the dynamic behavior of the RC as well as its influences on the longitudinal
vibration of the propulsion shafting system. The conclusions can be summarized as follows:
The introduction of the RC eliminates the resonance at low frequency suffered previously and
introduces another two resonance peaks around original 1st natural frequency, as well as
significantly lowering the maximum response compared with the original peak. The peak on the
right side is attributed to the RC, while the other is due to excitation of the other shafting system
components. Furthermore the resonance frequency of the 2nd natural frequency moves towards
the high frequency direction and the peak value nearly stay invariable. Such variations in force
transmissibility characteristics are linked with the variation of the designing parameters of the RC,
© JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533 69
 STUDY OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE RESONANCE CHANGER ON THE LONGITUDINAL VIBRATION OF MARINE PROPULSION SHAFTING SYSTEM.
ZHENGMIN LI, LIN HE, HANGUO CUI, JIANGYANG HE, WEI XU

such as the diameter of the piston cylinder, the diameter of the oil pipe, the length of the oil pipe,
the volume of the oil reservoir. By optimizing above parameters, the purpose of reducing severe
longitudinal vibration and its transmission into the hull through a thrust bearing over a specified
frequency range would be realized.

References

[1] Zhang G. B., Zhao Y., Li T. Y. Propeller excitation of longitudinal vibration characteristics of marine
propulsion shafting system. Shock and Vibration, 2014, p. 1-19.
[2] Pan J., Farag N., Lin T., Juniper R. Propeller induced structural vibration through the thrust bearing.
Proceedings of Acoustics, Australia, 2002, p. 390-399.
[3] Dylejkoa P. G., Kessissogloua N. J., Tsob Y., Norwoodb C. J. Optimization of a resonance changer
to minimize the vibration transmission in marine vessels. Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 300,
Issues 1-2, 2007, p. 101-116.
[4] Goodwin A. J. H. The design of a resonance changer to overcome excessive axial vibration of
propeller shafting. Transactions of Institute of Marine Engineers, Vol. 72, 1960, p. 37-63.
[5] Shapiro W., Graham R., Anderson G. Predicted performance characteristics of hybrid
fluid-equalized tilting-pad thrust bearings. Journal of Lubrication Technology, Vol. 105, 1983,
p. 476-483.
[6] Jang G. H., Kim Y. J. Calculation of dynamic coefficients in a hydrodynamic bearing considering
five degrees of freedom. Journal of Tribology, Vol. 121, 1999, p. 499-505.

70 © JVE INTERNATIONAL LTD. VIBROENGINEERING PROCEDIA. SEP 2015, VOLUME 5. ISSN 2345-0533