MECHMATH LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: The modern underwater vehicle hull is comprised of a fluid-loaded polymer coating attached

Description

The modern underwater vehicle hull is comprised of a fluid-loaded polymer coating attached to a rib-stiffened plate. Knowing the structural response of such a system is important for design and evaluation of hull coatings and embedded sensors in these coatings. The main goal of this project is a development of analytical methods and a software package for a transitioning model applicable for high frequency and wave number regimes for fully elastic structures. Our model is based on the development presented in the paper of Hull and Welch (J. of Sound and Vibration, Vol. 329, 20, p. 4192-4211) and in an essence is a three-dimensional analytical model of a fluid-loaded acoustic coating attached to a rib-stiffened plate. The project is aimed to develop a standard tool for evaluation of hull coatings and embedded sensors in these coatings. Validation problems to ensure the method and program are both working properly will be considered. The tools developed under this effort should find a wide variety of uses for modeling of fully elastic structures when conventional finite element methods fail.