MODAL ANALYSIS OF SUBMERGED STRUCTURE

Elaborated by: Fabiano N. Diesel Date: 27/07/2010

Introduction

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Underwater structures have to move the mass of surrounding water when vibrating, so its resonating frequency get low.

There are several researches that determinate the added mass from response frequency function or experimental modal analysis of dry structure. Herein, it is shown a methodology to get resonating frequency from a coupled fluidstructure system.
First of all, a slice of a dry plate has its natural frequencies got from a modal analysis.

Modal Analysis of Dry Structure

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fixed support

In-plane modes of a steel plate in vacuum

frictionless support (keep it in XY Plane) frequency 275 Hz Mode

754 Hz

1467 Hz

fixed support

Submerged Structure Geometry

A surrounding geometry was built to perform the coupled modal analysis:

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The geometry is a Multi-body part composed by a structural part and a fluid part, divided in three layer.

The mean layer is the fluid with no structure interface. The closest layer from structure is the fluid with structure interface where the fluid elements must have pressure and translation degree of freedom.
The last one (outer layer) is necessary just for harmonic or transient analysis, when one would like to know acoustic pressure in far field, such as irradiating noise. Whether structure has complex geometry, the FSI layer can be done by APDL, so the fluid can be only one volume.

Fluid Elements
COMMAND branches are inserted into every FLUID part to specify Fluid characteristics (element type and material properties).
mpdele,all,matid mp,dens,matid,1000 mp,sonc,matid,1500 ! Delete all existing linear properties ! Define mass density as 1000 kg/m ! Define sonic velocity as 1500m/s

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et,matid,30 keyo,matid,2,0

! Define Element Fluid 30 ! Elements with FSI characteristics

mpdele,all,matid mp,dens,matid,1000 mp,sonc,matid,1500 et,matid,30 keyo,matid,2,1

! Delete all existing linear properties ! Define mass density as 1000 kg/m ! Define sonic velocity as 1500m/s ! Define Element Fluid 30 ! Elements without FSI characteristics

FLUID 30 are first order elements, so everything must be meshed with that kind of element. Second order acoustic fluid element FLUID220 and FLUID221 will be available in Ansys Realease 13.

Meshing

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Dropped Midside Nodes to generate a first order element mesh

Fluid Structure Interface

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To couple fluid and structure, a FSI must be defined, soon two NAMED SELECTION are created. First one, selecting every face from interface, it will generate a set of nodes. Last one, selecting body of the inner fluid layer, resulting in a set of elements (just fluid element in FSI).
FSI faces

A COMMAND branch is added into MODAL environment.

Fluid Body

cmsel,s,nfsi cmsel,s,efsi sf,all,fsi allsel

! Select FSI nodes set ! Select FSI elements set ! Define FSI for selected nodes ! Reselecting everything again

Modal Analysis of Submerged Structure

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Structure has equivalent supporting of dry structure. No one constrain is applied to FLUID part, free face of fluid has behavior of rigid wall. Because FSI, the matrices are unsymmetric, so an eigenvalue algorithm that can handle those matrices must be selected, it is done by MODOPT APDL typed in same Command Branch used to define FSI.

structural support

cmsel,s,nfsi cmsel,s,efsi sf,all,fsi allsel modopt,unsym,10,1

! Select FSI nodes set ! Select FSI elements set ! Define FSI for selected nodes ! Reselecting everything again ! Select UNSYMMETRIC algorithm for eigenvalue determination ! Determine 10 modes, beginning from 1Hz

Number of modes to determinate specified in MODOPT should be equal from Analysis Settings > Max Modes to Find

Modal Analysis Results

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After solution is done, user should observe every mode identifying structural modes.
1st mode: 109Hz 2nd mode: 451Hz 4th mode: 961Hz 5th mode: 1369Hz

Another way to get resonating frequencies is to do an harmonic analysis with a unitary force into a structures point and getting a displacement response frequency. The peaks in the curve indicate the frequencies.

Harmonic Analysis

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Performing an harmonic analysis is similar to a modal analysis. The same procedures regarding the geometry, Named Selections and Command branches must be carried out.

Harmonic Analysis of Submerged Structure

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cmsel,s,nfsi cmsel,s,efsi sf,all,fsi allsel

! Select FSI nodes set ! Select FSI elements set ! Define FSI for selected nodes ! Reselecting everything again

specify range and intervals of frequency only Full Method is available for unsymmetric matrices specify damping

Harmonic Analysis Forces and Results

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Comments

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A modal analysis with coupled field (Fluid and Structure) is fast way to get the resonating frequencies and theirs vibrating modes, but user must observe every mode and make distinction about structural and fluid mode.

Harmonic analysis is easier to distinguish structural modes and fluid modes, although is more expensive. User must have previous knowledge of structure dynamic behavior to place the exciting forces and to get response frequency curves.

New advances will be available in Ansys Release 13, such as second order acoustic elements and APDL Math feature to manipulate matrices.

Annex

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When structure has a complex geometry, the surrounding fluid can be done by just one volume. In such cases, the fluid FSI layer is done by APDL (below). User must define a Named Selection with all faces in fluid-structure interface (NFSI).
/prep7 *get,ntype,etyp,,num,max ntype = ntype + 1 et,ntype,30 keyo,ntype,2,0 cmsel,s,nfsi esln nsle esel,r,ename,,30 emodif,all,type,ntype cm,efsi,elem allsel /solu cmsel,s,nfsi cmsel,s,efsi ! Go to Preprocessor environment ! Get the highest element type number ! Define Element Fluid 30 ! Elements with FSI characteristics ! ! ! ! Select Select Select Select FSI nodes set elements linked to active nodes nodes linked to active elements just element Fluid30 from active elements

! Change active elements to Fluid30 with FSI ! Create FSI elements set ! Select everything ! Go to Solution environment ! Select FSI nodes set ! Select FSI elements set

sf,all,fsi
allsel

! Define FSI for selected nodes

! Reselecting everything again

Modal Analysis Results

3rd mode: 651Hz 5th mode: 1279Hz

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structural

fluid