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.

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:

Type One- Machinery Vibration

Type Two- Hull Vibration

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:

Torsional Vibration.

Axial or Longitudinal Vibration.

Lateral Vibration.

Torsional Vibration:

The main propulsion system of a ship consists of the main engine, which is connected
to apropeller 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:
 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.

Figure 2: Multiple DOF Vibration System of Propulsion System

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 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 wake at the bottom of the disc. To obtain a better
idea about the variation of 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.

The frequency of the propeller excitation is (Propeller RPM x Number of blades). In

order to avoid resonance, the designer must ensure that the first few natural
frequencies of axial vibration of the main propulsion system (shown in figure 2) is at
least 5% away from that of the propeller excitation frequency.

A Quick Question: What steps must a designer take if the propeller excitation
frequency lies within the first few natural frequencies of longitudinal vibration of main
propulsion system?
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.

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.
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.

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 from the ideal centreline,
resulting in a vibratory motion called whirling of shafts. The number of shaft bearings
and the distance between them is the deciding factor in the occurrence of this mode of
vibration, during the design phase.

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.

Types of Vibrations On Ships Hull Girder Vibration

In our previous article on ship vibrations, we discussed machinery vibrations i.e.

different types of machinery vibrations, their excitation sources, and design methods to
reduce each type of such vibration. One very notable aspect of that article is, we have
till now, discussed the effect of those excitation sources on machinery components (e.g.
on the main propulsion system); but the overall effect of the excitations is also
propagated to the hull structure. Such vibrations are called Hull Girder Vibrations or
Global Vibrations, and they will be dealt with in this article.

To start with, we will deal with the different sources of excitation for hull girder vibration.
Excitations for Hull Girder Vibration:

1) Excitation Low Speed Main Diesel Engine:

A low speed main diesel engine has always been the primary source of vibrations in the
hull girder. The excitation from diesel engine can be considered to comprise of three
periodic forces and three periodic moments that act on the foundation of the engine.
Among the three periodic forces, the force along the axis of the shaft is cancelled out by
the periodic thrust. What remains, are the other two. They can be categorised as:

a) Gas Pressure Forces: The forces exerted due to the gas pressures that occur at
various stages of one revolution of the engine. These forces are also called Guide
Force Couples. They act on the crosshead of the engine, and are a result of transverse
reaction forces due to firing orders, depending on the number of cylinders. The nature of
the guide force couples are shown in Figure 1. Note how the forces result in couples,
before we discuss the nature of vibration resulting from this.

Figure 1: Guide Force Couples

Now, an H-Couple would result in a periodic motion of the engine, where the topmost
part of the engine is in a phase opposite to the part in contact with the engine
foundation. But an X-Couple would result in the forward end of the engine being in a
phase opposite to that of the aft end of the engine. When the frequency of these forces
are in the range of the natural frequency of the engine foundation, the foundation
resonates, resulting in local vibrations in the engine room bottom structure.

Thus, to prevent this motion, lateral stays or top bracings are used to connect the top
structure of the engine to the hull girder. Sometimes, at earlier stages of structural
design, a redesign of the engine foundation is recommended so as to change the
stiffness of the structure.
b) Inertia Forces: The rotating parts of a low speed main diesel engine are usually of
high mass. Therefore, the acceleration of the reciprocating engine parts result in the
generation of high inertia forces.

Having dealt with the periodic forces, the other aspect of main engine excitation is that
of Periodic Moments. In an internal combustion engine, the time taken by the piston to
travel from the Top Dead Centre (TDC) to the Bottom Dead Centre (BDC) is not same
as the time taken by the piston to travel from BDC to TDC. This can be mathematically
proved, but is not within the scope of this article. What is important to note here is the
fact that, in one complete revolution, the time taken in each half is different. This gives
rise to Second Order Vertical Moments (M2V).

A Fact: These moments are periodic, and have a frequency twice that of the RPM
of the engine.

In case of a marine diesel engine with six or more cylinders in service, the second order
vertical moment of the engine plays a very important role in determining the possibility
of hull girder vibration. That is because, it has been found that the first three or four
natural modes of vertical vibration of the hull girder can be as high as twice the RPM of
the engine. Now, if you look back to the above fact, it would imply that the frequency of
second order vertical moments of the main engine is usually within the range of first
three to four natural modes of vertical vibration of the hull girder. Thus arises a chance
of resonance, resulting in vertical vibration of the hull girder. The first two nodes of
vertical vibration of hull girder are shown in Figure 2.
 Figure 2: First two modes of hull girder vertical vibration. (Image Source: ABS)
In order to avoid this, the designer must request the values of second order vertical
moments of the engine from the engine manufacturer. Once that is done, the Power
Related Unbalance (PRU) is calculated, which helps the designer to decide the course
of action to be followed.

The PRU value obtained will give the designer an idea if there is a need to add moment
compensators to the engine. Moment compensators (manufactured by the engine
manufacturer) are additional reciprocating parts that are tuned in such a way that the
residual moments generated by them is cancelled by the second order vertical moment
of the main engine.
The above table is recommended by classification societies, and helps in accessing the
requirement of compensators. However, if this analysis is being done in a very initial
stage of the design, the designer might as well opt for a change in engine selection.

2. Excitation Hull Wake:

It has already been discussed in the previous part of this series, how varying wake on
the propeller due to the stern contour of the hull results in propeller induced vibrations.

Hull wake is not an adjustable factor in the later stages of design, once the hull form,
stern contour, and number of screws have been fixed. This can be altered only at the
hydrodynamic stages of design, using hydrodynamic software that analyse the flow of
water around the hull.

3. Excitation Propeller:

There are two types of excitation caused by the rotation of a propeller, and they are as
follows:

a. Alternating Thrust: This results in longitudinal vibration of the propulsion system,

and has been discussed in detail in the first part of this series.

b. Propeller Cavitation: Propeller cavitation results in formation of bubbles that

implode on the propeller blade. Usually, a propeller blade does not cavitate at every
point in one revolution. It cavitates only at points where the total pressure on the blade
falls below the vapour pressure of sea water. What results, the generation of a periodic
excitation force due to implosion of the bubbles. So design of propeller must take into
account the possibility of cavitation at various speeds.

Often, propeller blades have a certain skew angle to reduce cavitation. A skew does so
by preventing the entire blade from passing through a region of cavitation at once. Due
to the skew angle, each section of the propeller blade passes through a cavitating
region gradually, thereby preventing the entire blade from cavitating.

c. Vertical Pressure Forces on the Stern: Due to the rotation of the propeller, vertical
pressure forces are exerted on the stern of the ship. By now, it should be easy to
imagine that the frequency of these pressure forces will be same as the excitation
frequency of the propeller (i.e. RPM x Number of blades). This kind of excitation is more
common in ships having long overhanging sterns, and vibration is usually felt in the aft
section of the ship.

An Important Tip: While deciding the number of propeller blades for a particular ship, a
designer should first know the number of cylinders in the main engine. The number of
cylinders and the number of blades should not be integral multiples of a number. For
example, for a ship using a main engine with four cylinders, a six blade propeller is
strictly avoided because the propeller excitation frequency depends on the number of
blades, and the engine frequency depends on the number of cylinders. If both
parameters are integral multiples of a number, resonance is likely. So, by practice, a
main engine with four cylinders will be used with either a three-bladed or five-bladed
propeller.

Superstructure Forward and Aft Vibration:

Since the time when length of cargo ships began to increase drastically, the engine
room of most ship types was shifted aft, from midships, in order to reduce the shafting
length. More length also meant requirement of higher longitudinal strength. In order to
do that, discontinuities had to be shifted away from the midship. As a result, most
superstructures had to be shifted towards the aft. The navigation deckhouse required to
be at a certain height from the main deck so as to provide sufficient view forward of the
ships bow. Also, the deckhouse structure is generally located on the engine room
cavity, which makes it difficult to achieve sufficient stiffness of the structure. Due to the
closer proximity of the superstructure to the propeller, and the light weight of the top
structures of the deckhouse, propeller-induced superstructure vibration has become an
important aspect of ship vibrations.

There are two types of motions related to superstructure vibrations, and they are:

Rocking

Bending

Detailed analysis carried out by Hirowatari and Matsumoto on different types of

superstructure, now enables the determination of torsional and bending stiffness of a
superstructure required to maintain rocking and bending motions of the superstructure
within safe limits. The main excitations of superstructure vibration are propeller induced
forces and low speed diesel engine. In vibration analyses, superstructure vibration is
treated separately from hull girder vibration, and methods to carry out these calculations
are recommended by classification societies.

Hull Girder Vibration Analysis Using Hull Resonance Diagram:

This is one of the most widely used methods to check the possibilities of hull girder
vibration. In this, not only the vertical modes of hull girder vibration are taken into
account, but also the horizontal (transverse) and torsional modes are considered. First,
let us understand the fundamental use of a Hull Resonance Diagram.
A Hull Resonance Diagram is prepared by a ship designer for each ship, in order to
check if the hull girder vibration modes are being excited by the main engine and
propeller. Using this analysis, the designer is able to check if the propeller RPM required
to provide the thrust does not result in hull girder vibration. Hull Resonance Diagram is
also used in determining the number of propeller blades required so as to prevent
resonance.

As we go through the process of understanding the process behind preparing a Hull

Resonance Diagram, refer to Figure 3.

Figure 3: Hull Resonance Diagram

The vertical axis represents the values of natural frequencies of vertical, horizontal, and
torsional vibration of the hull girder. The designer must have the midship section
drawing obtained from scantling calculations. Once that is prepared, the values in the
vertical axis can be calculated using class recommended formulae. Here,
N2V , N3V , N4V , N5V are the second, third, fourth and fifth modes of vertical hull girder
vibration. (Shown in Light Blue)

N1T , N2T , N3T are the first, second, and third modes of torsional hull girder vibration.
(Shown in Violet)

N2H , N3H , N4H are the second, third, and fourth horizontal hull girder vibration. (Shown in
Orange)

Once these values are obtained, they are plotted on the axis, and a tolerance of 5
percent is taken for factor of safety. So, the shaded bands in the diagram represent
each mode with 5 percent tolerance. Our aim now, is to ensure that the Propeller RPM
do not lie within any of these bands.

A line is drawn at 45 degree angle to the horizontal. This line represents the Engine
RPM. For this project, the operating RPM of the engine was 1800. Depending on the
Gear Ratio, the slope of the Engine RPM line is divided to obtain the Shaft RPM line.
Now, the line for a propeller with two blades would have a slope two times the slope of
the Shaft RPM (Because Propeller Excitation Frequency = RPM x No. of Blades), and
so on. So, lines are drawn for propellers with three, four, and five blades.

The following conclusions can be made out of the diagram now:

Two Bladed propeller: Though at 1800 RPM, the line of the two bladed
propeller does not intersect any of the bands, it cannot be used because two
blades are not efficient from hydrodynamic point of view.

Three Bladed Propeller: It is very clearly visible that at 1800 RPM, the line for
three bladed propeller intersects the bands of N2H and N3V. This means, if an
engine rated at 1800 RPM is used in combination with a three bladed propeller,
it would result in Second Mode of Horizontal Vibration and Third Mode of
 Vertical Vibration of the hull girder, which would be catastrophic. Thus, the
option for a three bladed propeller is rejected.

Four Bladed Propeller: At 1800 RPM, the line for four bladed propeller
intersects the N1Tand N4V Thus, this option stands rejected.

Five Bladed Propeller: At 1800 RPM, the line of five bladed propeller does not
intersect any of the bands. This means, for an engine rated at 1800 RPM, a five
bladed propeller would not excite any of the modes of hull girder vibration. It is
after this, that a five bladed propeller can be deemed suitable for this particular
ship.

Though the above method may seem to provide accuracy in predicting hull girder
vibrations, they are still preliminary in their scope of application because of various
assumptions taken in formulating the empirical formulae behind the Hull Resonance
Diagram. A better result can be obtained by conducting vibrational analyses both on a
local and global level using Finite Element Models of the ship, which is a method
mandatorily recommended by every classification society today.