Strong industry need to eliminate bad vibrations
On ships of any type and size, machinery vibrations potentially impact the comfort passengers perceive on board. Guests on a luxury yacht or the crew of an inland navigation boat experience vibration discomforts that typically originate from the engine room and travel through the rigid structure of the ship. Vibrations may also represent a potential treat to expensive navigation equipment, or sensitive cargo, such as high-tech electronic equipment packed in bulk wrapping.
To damp excessive vibrations, Loggers, headquartered in Dordrecht, The Netherlands, supplies and installs innovative and cost-effective solutions for shock and vibration reduction. In support of its project and engineering activities, Loggers uses the LMS Test.Xpress sound and vibration analyzer to investigate vibration discomforts on-site and optimize the anti-vibration performance of its damper products.
"As a starting point for marine or other projects, our field engineers investigate the original situation in detail in order to gain insight into vibration sources and related discomforts," says Hans Gitz, Product Manager at Loggers. "All they carry with them to perform tests on-site is the compact analyzer case that contains the rugged LMS SCADAS Mobile front-end, touchscreen mini laptop, transducers and cables. In most cases, field engineers use LMS Test.Xpress software to record time data acquired at vibration sources and in comfort zones, and have Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) calculated to evaluate vibration transfer characteristics." Shortly after switching on the system, LMS Test.Xpress allows Loggers engineers to conveniently select the appropriate setup and immediately start the measurement.
And at the end, a single click is all it takes to generate the report. The 4-hour operational autonomy of the analyzer offers more than sufficient opportunity to acquire all data required and perform preliminary data analysis if desired.
Versatile analyzer fit for lab and field testing
LMS Test.Xpress is not just used exclusively for field testing, as Loggers deploys the software as effectively in the laboratory. "Based on field data analysis, our product specialists define the damping criteria that are required,
and target damping solutions that match these criteria," Hans Gitz stated. "As part of our in-house engineering and development activities, we use LMS Test.Xpress to measure the frequencydependent relationship between vibration responses at damper output side and vibration excitation at damper input side.
Regardless whether dealing with active or passive dampers, we also deploy the analyzer to control the entire laboratory setup, including the shaker system that is connected to the DAC output of the front-end. Developing the targeted damper characteristics involves an iterative process that aims at retrieving the right combination between geometry and composition for all constituting parts of the damper assembly. Ultimately, damper solutions engineered at our R&D department represent relatively small parts with a major impact, as they drastically reduce vibration levels you sense on the deck or inside."
Besides its extensive expertise in shipbuilding and dredging industries, Loggers is increasingly active in industrial, transportation and other markets. "Among many other projects, we successfully increased the cabin comfort of a large crane, developed air spring solutions for railway carriages, and decoupled factory offices from heavy machinery vibrations," Hans Gitz explained. "In the versatile egineering process involved, LMS Test.Xpress is most helpful, as it serves just as easily in the lab as in the field. Furthermore, the analyzer’s capability to record time data offers us plenty of analysis possibilities and its analysis interface allows essential engineering information to be retrieved quickly. Flexible macro support and the integration of Microsoft Word and Excel enable us to define and generate reports in a fraction of the time. We selected LMS Test.Xpress for its robust and intuitive operation, which minimizes training requirements and allows us to take a quick start and optimize the productivity of our engineering activities."
