Experimental Investigation on the Vibration Characteristics of a Laminated Cylindrical Shell Structure Made of Steel and Composite Materials

Abstract

The vibration and noise reduction characteristics of submersibles have been extensively investigated. Composite materials have various applications in automotive, aerospace, and other fields because of their excellent damping, corrosion resistance, specific strength, and other properties. However, compared with steel, composites are still deficient in terms of stability, stiffness, and economy. Composites also present structural dynamic parameter properties that differ from those of steel structures, which limit their application on submarines. This study aims to improve the vibration and noise reduction performance of submarines and further enhance the application of composite materials in submarine vehicles. For this purpose, the structural design of a laminated reinforced cylindrical shell made of steel and composite materials is conducted, and a traditional form of steel comparative structure with equal mass and shape is designed to contrast with the laminated model. The modal characteristics reflect the inherent frequency features of a structure. By altering the natural frequency, the model can be shifted away from the excitation frequency, which avoids intense resonance and effectively suppresses sound radiation caused by resonance. Therefore, the characteristics of the two structures in terms of modal and damping are compared and explored through experiments and simulations. The results show that the relative error of the modal between experiment and computation does not exceed 6%. After replacing 40% of the mass of steel with carbon fiber, the first three orders of the intrinsic frequency of the structure are increased by more than 13%, the amplitude of the transfer function is reduced by 9.6%, and the damping is improved by more than 75%. Therefore, the vibration and noise reduction characteristics of submersibles have been improved.

Keywords

Submarine vehicles / Laminated / Modal / Damping

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