Types of Vibrations On Ships Machinery

Vibrations
One of the most common and dreaded problems on board ships is high levels
of vibration. The two most noticeable effects this vibration has on the ship is
structural fatigue and discomfort of crew/passengers.

In the past, there have been ships that have been discarded for years due to
unacceptable level of vibrations, rendering them unsafe for operation. So, over
the years, with research by classification societies, a lot of improvement has
been achieved in terms of marine vibrations. Design techniques have
undergone changes to incorporate factors related to reduction of vibration levels
during the entire lifespan of a ship.

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This article is not about the basics of vibration mechanics. It is about the
categories of vibration on board ships, the basis of their categorisation, an
insight on the origin of each type of vibration, and design techniques adopted to
prevent them. So it is assumed henceforth, that the very basic fundamentals of
vibration are well known to the reader.

To begin with, vibration ships are majorly categorised into two types, depending
on the components of the ship the vibration is primarily related with. They are:
As vibraes em navios podem categorizadas em 2 tipos:
Type One- Machinery Vibration - Vibraes nas Mquinas;
Type Two- Hull Vibration - Vibraes no Casco.

In this article, we will only on Type One Machinery Vibration, and in the next,
Type Two Hull Vibration.

Machinery Vibration

The vibrations that originate due to the operation of machinery can be listed
under Machinery Vibrations. Any machinery that have parts moving at a certain
frequency induce vibrations. So, main engines, propulsion shafts, gearboxes,
propellers, pumps, diesel generators- all machinery transmit vibrations.

The role of a ship designer is to first understand how each of these machinery
causes vibrations, and then device methods to keep them within safe levels.
Machinery Vibrations can again be categorised into three types, depending on
the nature of the vibrations:
Existem 3 tipos de vibraes nas mquinas:
Torsional Vibration. - Torcional;
Axial or Longitudinal Vibration. - Longitudinal ou horizontal;
Lateral Vibration.
- Lateral ou transversal.
Torsional Vibration:
 The main propulsion system of a ship consists of the main engine, which is
connected to a propeller by a shaft. The shaft is again, not a single component.
Usually, a marine shaft consists of an intermediate shaft and a propeller shaft,
which are connected by means of coupling flanges. The presence of
connections, like coupling flanges, thrust block, engine connection flange, and
the cylinder piston system in the main diesel engine creates torsion in the
rotating shaft system. In other words, the rotatory motion of the diesel engine
creates an excitation. So, the entire propulsion system can be simplified, for
vibrational analysis into a series combination of shafts and discs, as shown in
the figure below:

O eixo principal subdividido em eixo intermedirio e

eixo do propulsor os quais esto conectados por flanges
de acoplamento. Motor Principal
Eixo
Propulsor

Sistema de Propulso Simplificado

O sistema de propulso de um navio consiste em um motor principal acoplado a um propulsor (hlice)

atravs de um eixo.

Figure 1:Main Propulsion system as a combination of shafts and discs.

The above system of shafts and discs deduced from the proposed propulsion
system of a ship to be designed, is used to calculate the natural torsional
frequency of the propulsion system. The task of a designer is to choose a main
engine such that the natural frequency of the main engine at its MCR is not
within 5% of the natural torsional frequency of the entire propulsion system. Or
in other words, the approach can be reasonably generalised stating that, the
excitations should be minimised so as to prevent resonance. According to the
speed range at which torsional resonance occurs, the barred speed range is
set, so that this speed range is avoided during voyage. If that is not taken care
of, it would result in a torsional failure of the shaft.

Axial or Longitudinal Vibration:

One of the most interesting cases of machinery vibration, and perhaps the one
most likely to cause forced vibrations, is axial vibration of the propulsion system.
As we saw earlier, to analyse a case of vibration, it is important to identify the
excitation of a particular type of vibration. Axial mode of vibration makes the
propulsion system behave like a horizontal multiple degree of freedom spring-
mass system. So, the propulsion system in figure one, can be reduced to a
system as shown below in Figure 2.

O modo axial (ou longitudinal) de vibrao faz com que o sistema de propulso se comporte como um sistema massa- mola horizontal
de mltiplos graus de liberdade.

Figure 2: Multiple DOF Vibration System of Propulsion System O impulso gerado pela hlice depende da velocidade da gua
incidente sobre suas ps, chamado de esteira.

Now, for a while, let us shift attention from this system and focus on the
operation of the propeller. The thrust generated by the propeller depends on the
velocity of water incident onto the propeller blades (called wake). Now, due to
Devido a curvatura do
the curvature of the hull at the aft, the wake on the propeller is not uniform in
nature. That is, the wake at the top of the propeller disc is different from the casco r, a esteira do
wake at the bottom of the disc. To obtain a better idea about the variation of propulsor no uniforme.
wake, follow Figure 3. It shows the variation of wake at different angles around
the propeller disc. This diagram is only for a particular distance from the centre
of the propeller disc (shown in blue). So it should be well understood, that the
wakes for each distance from the centre of the propeller centre will have
different graphs.
Figure 3: Variation of wake on a propeller
What we therefore imply from the above diagram is, when a particular blade of
the propeller is at 0 degree position, the velocity of water onto it is different from
the velocity of water onto the same blade when it has rotated to 90 degree
position. And this variation is continuous across one half of the propeller
rotation. As a result of this, the thrust generated by that blade at zero degree
position will be different from the thrust generated by the same blade at 90
degree and 180 degree. And this is repeated with each revolution, which means
that the thrust generated by the propeller is periodic in nature, which we often
call as alternating thrust. And a periodic thrust becomes the exciting force for
the axial vibration of the propulsion system. A diferena de impulso nas ps do hlice agindo continuamente provoca
uma excitao no sentido axial do sistema propulsor.
The frequency of the propeller excitation is (Propeller RPM x Number of A fim de evitar a
blades). In order to avoid resonance, the designer must ensure that the first few ressonncia, o projetista
natural frequencies of axial vibration of the main propulsion system (shown in deve garantir que as
figure 2) is at least 5% away from that of the propeller excitation frequency. primeiras frequncias
naturais do sistema de
A Quick Question: What steps must a designer take if the propeller excitation
propulso principal
deve ter uma diferena
frequency lies within the first few natural frequencies of longitudinal vibration of de pelo menos 5% das
main propulsion system? frequncias do
propulsor (hlice).
In such a case, there are two major options. One, either the propeller excitation
frequency needs to be changed, or the natural frequencies of the main
propulsion system has to be altered. Before going into the procedure of doing
that, lets first look into the feasibility of each option.
Option One- Changing the propeller excitation frequency:

In order to change the propeller excitation frequency, either the number of

propeller blades has to be changed, or the rated RPM of the propeller has to be
altered. Deve-se modificar o nmero de ps ou alterar a rotao do propulsor.

Changing the number of propeller blades is not a feasible option because the
number of blades have a high influence on the efficiency of the propeller.

At this stage of the design, the rated RPM of the propeller has already been
decided upon on the basis of required torque and thrust to provide the effective
power required by the ship. So, altering the rated RPM is not a viable option
either. It is clear, Option One cannot be implemented.

Option Two: Changing the natural frequency of Main Propulsion System:

This option is feasible, because taking this step wouldnt affect other factors of
the ship. But how does one go about this process?

The natural frequency of any system depends on the stiffness and the mass of
the system. Changing the mass of the propulsion system is not an intelligent
approach. Instead, ship designers focus on playing with the stiffness of the
system. How? Well, the primary focus is on the thrust bearing and its
foundation. The foundation of the thrust bearing is the component that deflects
in response to the thrust that is transmitted by the thrust bearing. In other
words, it behaves as a spring. So the structural foundation of the thrust bearing
must be redesigned to obtain a stiffness that would change the natural
frequency of the propulsion system to the desired value. A base do "rolamento axial" o componente que
deflete em resposta ao impulso transmitido pelos
rolamentos, ou seja, se comporta como uma mola.
Lateral or Transverse Vibration:

This mode of vibration occurs in the direction perpendicular to the axis of

rotation of the shaft. The intermediate and tail shafts can be considered as
beams, with the shaft bearings as support points. Este tipo de vibrao ocorre na direo perpendicular ao eixo de
rotao do propulsor.
Due to bending of the shafts, the centre of gravity of the shaft does not coincide
with the ideal centreline of the shaft, therefore when the shaft rotates, the
centrifugal force on the centre of gravity would cause it to shift further away
movimento de rodopio
from the ideal centreline, resulting in a vibratory motion called whirling of shafts. do eixo. Algumas
The number of shaft bearings and the distance between them is the deciding possveis orbitas que o
factor in the occurrence of this mode of vibration, during the design phase. eixo faz so mostradas
na figura 6.
Devido a flexo, o centro de gravidade real no coincide com o centro de gravidade ideal.
Figure 4: Effect of Bending on motion of a shaft
Care is to be taken by the designer that the natural frequency of lateral mode of
vibration of the shaft does not coincide with the natural frequency of the engine.
In such a case, resonance would result in extreme case of whirling, which would
lead the shaft to snap and cause damage or accidents.

Also, when the engine of a ship is started, and its speed gradually increased,
there comes a point when one would feel maximum vibrations on the ship for a
few moments. That is because, there during the speeding up, there arrives a
point at which the RPM of the engine coincides with the natural whirling
frequency of the shaft. Such a speed / RPM is to be carefully avoided. This
speed is called Critical Speed, or Barred Speed Range. A ship is never to be
operated at this speed range, and during speeding up, this speed range should
be passed as quickly as possible so as to prevent prolonged shaft vibrations.

Now, to visualize the source of whirling with added clarity, let us relate to Figure
4 and 5. Figure 5 shows the cross section of the shaft at mid-length after
bending has occurred.

Figure 5: Eccentricity between CG and CL of shaft during whirling.

Now, when the shaft rotates, the centre of gravity will not coincide with the
centreline of the shaft, resulting in different trajectories of the centre of gravity of
the shaft as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Orbits of CG of shaft for different modes of whirling (Source: ShaftDesigner)

A ship designer must very well know the sources of whirling vibration so as to
take proactive measures. We will discuss them in brief below:

Propeller Fluctuating Loads:

As we have seen earlier, the varying wake onto the propeller, the effective
thrust provided by the propeller is not always along the shaft centreline, but at
some angle to the centreline of the shaft. This exerts a bending stress onto the
shaft, resulting in whirling. Also, as the angle between thrust and shaft
centreline changes periodically, various modes of whirling are observed.

To counter this issue, the shaft is pre-aligned such that in operating conditions,
this effect is minimised.

Diesel Engine Excitation:

The moving parts of the diesel engine act as a primary source of excitation for
whirling. The grass pressures in the engine act as exciting forces. The radial
components of the gas pressure are responsible for the whirling vibrations,
whereas, the tangential components are responsible for torsional vibration.

The data of gas pressure in engines are provided by engine manufacturers, and
the shafting system is designed with the data in consideration.

Shaft Alignment Errors:

If the centrelines of the shaft coupling flanges are not carefully coincided during
shaft alignment at the shipyard, it results in loss of the continuity of the rotation
axis of the shaft.

Another coupling defect that can lead to whirling is when all the coupling bolts
through the coupling flanges are not equally tightened to the same extent,
causing an angular misalignment between the coupling flanges. Such kind of
errors will excite the first mode of whirling excitation, and must be avoided with
proper shipbuilding practices.

Manufacturing Defects in Gearing System:

Whenever gearing equipment are being installed, proper mounting and pairing
is necessary to avoid whirling induced from improper gearing. Such defects
often give rise to high frequency whirling modes. But this is something that
needs to be taken care of in the construction phase, and cannot be taken into
consideration in vibration analysis during the design phase.

So, in this article we have looked at machinery vibrations and discussed how
each type of vibration is excited and can be prevented. What however, we have
not looked into, is that there are among these, some excitations, which not only
cause vibration in the propulsion system, but also caused forced vibrations in
the hull girder, which is even more dangerous, and will be discussed in detail in
the next article.