Flow Control and Vibration Isolation for IMP Quieting

The team of Techsburg and Virginia Tech's Vibration and Acoustic Lab proposes to demonstrate the application of proven flow control and vibration isolation approaches for quieting of future integrated motor propulsor (IMP) designs. Higher risk advancedconcepts for vibration isolation and control will also be investigated during Phase I. In addition to analysis, the Phase I plan involves an experimental study and demonstration of the flow and vibration control effectiveness in water. Design concepts fortransitioning to future IMP assemblies are also presented in the proposal.The IMP is considered the propulsion system of the future for torpedoes and other underwater vehicles. Hence, minimizing IMP vibration and flow-related noise is important for managing future vehicle acoustic signatures. The team of Techsburg and theVirginia Tech VAL group is ideally suited to successfully complete this project due to many previous years of joint project experience with active and passive flow control work in turbomachinery. Key VT VAL experience in active/passive vibration isolatordesign and application will also contribute greatly to the project. The primary application of this technology is to military underwater vehicles and weapons. Two products may emerge from a successfully project 1) a flow control approach or technology,and 2) improved vibration isolators. The commercial applications of both are numerous, particularly so for vibration isolators.Applications for flow control include any sort of turbomachinery, particularly high-performance aircraft engines. Research programs are currently ongoing for both noise control and reduction of high-cycle fatigue utilizing the type of flow control outlinedin this proposal. Another area of application is high-performance underwater propulsion systems.There is a very wide range of potential applications for vibration isolation and control products. Large companies exist where their primary product line is related vibration control. Vibration isolators are needed in the automotive industry, for all typesof machinery, for military and space applications to protect sensitive equipment, etc. The commercial applications for innovations in this area are unbounded.