A method to assess transverse vibration energy of ship propeller shaft for diagnostic purposes

The article discusses a key problem of ship propulsion system vibration diagnostics, which concerns assessing this part of mechanical energy transmitted from the main engine to the ship propeller which is dissipated due to propeller shaft vibration. A simplified calculation model is proposed which allows the total energy of the generated torsional vibration to be assessed from the shaft deflection amplitude measured at the mind-span point between the supports. To verify the developed model, pilot tests were performed on the laboratory rotational mechanical system test rig. In those tests, cyclic bending moment was applied to a unified (cylindrical) material sample, which modelled, at an appropriate scale, structural and functional properties of a real propeller shaft.