Vibration of Ship Structures and Its Control: Wave Propagation and Attenuation in Finite Coupled Structures

The constant demand of building faster ships of lighter weight has resulted in the extensive usage of rib stiffened plates in ship constructions. At the same time, noise and vibration problems are encountered and often pose a great challenge for ship builders and vibro-acoustic engineers. The problem has become even more prominent due to the stringent industry regulation. Because of the complexity of ship structures, the coupling of different wave types and multiple wave propagation paths, both active and passive control is ineffective in the control of global hull modes. Understanding of vibration characteristics, wave propagation and attenuation in such complex structures is vital for an effective noise and vibration control of ship structures. This book aims to disclose the mechanism governing wave propagation and attenuation in such structures as well as the control of ship structural vibration by binding together several specialized research topics in the field.