Impacts of Insulation and Joiner Treatments on Low Frequency Vibration in Marine Structures with Finite Element Applications

Marine insulation and joiner facing out fittings are known to affect the acoustical properties of the surface they cover. Measured results provided in this paper show that these treatments can also have a substantial effect on the vibration response of ship structures at low frequencies (below 100 Hz). The accuracy of finite element models of marine vibration response to machinery and propeller sources can be improved by accounting for these effects. Two objectives are discussed in this paper: 1) quantifying the effect of various insulation and joiner treatments on the vibration response of a typical ship bulkhead based on measured data and 2) developing an efficient and accurate method to integrate these effects into finite element models for the prediction of vibrations on ships and marine structures.