The Control of Vibration Transmission from an Engine to its Resonant Base Structure

Abstract

Engines and motors on board marine vessels are often mounted on flexible base supports. When the levels of vibration transmitted from such machines to the base structure are intolerable, vibration reduction techniques have to be used. In instances where machines are mounted via very stiff mounts to maintain shaft alignment, the transmission paths of the vibratory force are through the mounts. In such cases, active force cancellation at the mount locations using opposing controlled forces can be used. This paper discusses the use of frequency domain techniques to reduce the vibration with the H ∞ norm as a performance measure. The model of the system, identified using frequency response method is used in the design of the H ∞ controllers for active force cancellation. Two approaches were presented. Experimental results show a reduction of between 15 ~ 65% of the measured transmitted force at different mount locations when the machine is operated at a speed of about 1320 rpm. This frequency matches that of the machine-base system principal mode. Where the system response is not significant, reduction in transmitted force level is minimal. This limitation is the result of the control goal used in the design.