Structural and acoustic responses of a fluid-loaded cylindrical hull with structural discontinuities

This paper studies the low frequency vibrational behaviour and radiated sound of a submarine hull under axial excitation. The submarine is modelled as a fluid-loaded cylindrical shell with internal bulkheads and ring-stiffeners and closed at each end by circular plates. A smeared approach is used to model the ring stiffeners. The external pressure acting on the hull due to the fluid loading is calculated using an infinite model and is shown to be a good approximation at low frequencies. The radiated sound pressure is obtained by considering the finite cylindrical hull to be extended by two semi-infinite rigid baffles. The sound pressure is then only due to the radial displacement of the cylindrical shell, without taking into account the scattering at the finite ends. The main aim of this paper is to observe the influence of the various complicating effects such as the bulkheads, ring-stiffeners and fluid loading on the structural and acoustic responses of the finite cylindrical shell. Results from the analytical models presented in this paper are compared to the computational results from finite element and boundary element models.