Vibration analysis of a submarine elastic propeller-shaft-hull system using FRF-based substructuring method

A dynamic model to study the coupled longitudinal and transverse vibrations of a submarine elastic propeller-shaft-hull system is developed using the FRF-based substructuring method (FBSM). The total system is firstly modeled as two substructures: the elastic propeller-shaft subsystem and the hull shell. For the former substructure, the elastic propeller is modeled by using harmonic blade array elements and the shafts are assumed to be Timoshenko beams, while the latter one is modeled using traditional finite element method. After that, the two substructures are synthesized using FBSM. The modes, the natural frequencies and the coupled longitudinal and transverse vibration characteristics of the propeller-shaft subsystem, the hull shell, and the total system are analyzed. An experiment studying the dynamic characteristics of a large-scale submarine experimental setup is processed and compared with the numerical results, which shows great consistency. Finally, a further discussion is carried out focused on how the bearing stiffness affects the coupled vibration characteristics of the total system. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.