Structural Modifications for Torsional Vibration Control of Shafting Systems Based on Torsional Receptances

Abstract

Torsional vibration of shafts is a very important problem in engineering, in particular in ship engines and aeroengines. Due to their high levels of integration and complexity, it is hard to get their accurate structural data or accurate modal data. This lack of data is unhelpful to vibration control in the form of structural modifications. Besides, many parts in shaft systems are not allowed to be modified such as rotary inertia of a pump or an engine, which is designed for achieving certain functions. This paper presents a strategy for torsional vibration control of shaft systems in the form of structural modifications based on receptances, which does not need analytical or modal models of the systems under investigation. It only needs the torsional receptances of the system, which can be obtained by testing simple auxiliary structure attached to relevant locations of the shaft system and using the finite element model (FEM) of the simple structure. An optimization problem is constructed to determine the required structural modifications, based on the actual requirements of modal frequencies and mode shapes. A numerical experiment is set up and the influence of several system parameters is analysed. Several scenarios of constraints in practice are considered. The numerical simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of this method and its feasibility in solving torsional vibration problems in practice.