Simulation and experiment on lateral vibration transmission control of a shafting system with active stern support

An active stern support is proposed to suppress lateral vibration transmission in the shaft-hull system of underwater vehicles subjected to the excitation of propeller forces. The active stern support uses six active struts instead of a common bearing support to suppress vibration transmission from the shaft to the hull. The dynamic model of a shaft-hull system embedded with the active stern support is established on the Timoshenko beam theory and the FRF (frequency response function)-based synthesis method. Based on this model, the characteristics of vibration transmission in the system and the feasibility of active control are analyzed. An adaptive control algorithm is constructed and the performance of vibration suppression is evaluated. An experimental system is built as well to verify the effectiveness of the control method. Numerical and experimental results show that the active stern support is able to suppress the transmission of lateral vibration induced by the propeller forces, and the attenuation of the normal vibration of the hull structure can be achieved.