A feasible experimental test setup for vibration analysis on a rotating cylindrical shell

Although numerous theoretical studies have investigated the vibration characteristics of rotat-ing cylindrical shells, most of them do not rely on experimental results for validation. Non-contact vibration sensors provide superior accuracy in modal testing because they have no mass effect on the vibrating structure and do not require attachment to the rotating shell with many wiring complexities. However, the rotation of the shell necessitates the use of multiple non-contact sensors arranged in the circumferential direction of the shell to achieve an ade-quate data acquisition frequency in the modal testing of rotating cylindrical shells, which in-creases both cost and complexity. This challenge can be alleviated through careful shell se-lection and a proper experimental test setup. In the present study, specific dimensions and ro-tational velocities of the cylindrical shell, along with the components and test setup for modal testing are proposed in a way that enables and facilitates experimental modal testing of a ro-tating cylindrical shell with simplicity. To this end, the accuracy of a finite element method (FEM) for determining the natural frequencies and mode shapes of rotating cylindrical shells has been validated through a comparative study. Subsequently, based on the proposed com-ponents and setups, the modal testing of the cylindrical shell has been simulated and validat-ed. The results of the simulations demonstrate that the proposed method for conducting mod-al testing not only accurately determines the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the se-lected rotating cylindrical shell but also offers a simple and practical approach.

Keywords:

Rotating cylindrical shells , Signal processing , Test simulation , Finite element method