Acoustic signature of a submarine hull under harmonic excitation

The structural and acoustic responses of a submarine under harmonic force excitation are presented. The submarine hull is modelled as a cylindrical shell with internal bulkheads and ring stiffeners. The cylindrical shell is closed by truncated conical shells, which in turn are closed at each end using circular plates. The entire structure is submerged in a heavy fluid medium. The structural responses of the submerged vessel are calculated by solving the cylindrical shell equations of motion using a wave approach and the conical shell equations with a power series solution. The far-field radiated sound pressure is then calculated by means of the Helmholtz integral. The contribution of the conical end closures on the radiated sound pressure for the lowest circumferential mode numbers is clearly observed. Results from the analytical model are compared with computational results from a fully coupled finite element/boundary element model.