Reduction of the sound power radiated by a submarine using passive and active vibration control

As submarines can be detected due to their sound radiation, it is desired to minimise the radiated sound power. At low frequencies, submarine radiated noise is correlated to sound radiation from the propeller and the hull, where the hull is excited by propeller forces. In this paper, passive and active control of vibration is applied to a numerical model to reduce the low frequency sound radiation from a submarine. The performance of a control system using actuators that are tuned to the hull and propeller/shafting system resonance is investigated. In addition, an optimised resonance changer is implemented in the propeller/shafting system.