Experimental Study of a Vibrating Disk Submerged in a Fluid-Filled Tank and Confined With a Nonrigid Cover

Determining the dynamic response of submerged and confined disklike structures is of interest in engineering applications, such as in hydraulic turbine runners. This dynamic response is heavily affected by the added mass and damping as well as the proximity of solid boundaries. These solid boundaries are normally considered as completely rigid in theoretical or numerical calculations, however, this assumption is not always valid. Some hydraulic turbines have noncompletely stiff casings, which can modify the dynamic response of the runner itself, affecting specially its natural frequencies and damping behavior. To determine the influence of noncompletely rigid nearby surfaces in the dynamic behavior of a submerged structure, an experimental test rig has been constructed. This test rig is based on a disk attached to a shaft and confined in a tank covered with two different casings with different mass and stiffness. For both covers and different disk to cover distances, natural frequencies and damping ratios of the disk have been obtained experimentally. Accelerometers installed on the disk and covers as well as pressure sensors are used for this purpose. Results obtained for all the cases are discussed in detail and compared with a simplified theoretical model.