HMS Dauntless stays on TRaC

HMS Dauntless, the second of the Royal Navy's class of air defence destroyer arrived at Portsmouth Naval base for the first time in December. Dauntless is one of six new Type 45 destroyers which will provide the backbone of the UK's naval air defences for the next three decades.

The impressive Sampson Radar from BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies is a striking feature, and was a particularly interesting project for TRaC in supporting BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies with qualification through means of vibration testing, finite element analysis and modal testing.

Image courtesy of BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies

Owing to the size of the unit under test (7m and 6 tonnes), the process for qualification went beyond conventional testing, and TRaC Employed a number of physical

• Conventional Vibration of sub-sections at TRaC's Warwick and Wimborne laboratories
• Modal testing at BAE Systems on the Isle of Wight, using an electrodynamic shaker suspended from a crane to drive the natural frequencies of the system.  TRaC engineers conducted Finite Element Analysis to prove the testing technique, de-risking the methodology in advance of carrying out the study. BAe engineers then compared the predicted modal results with those measured.
• Data was captured during the vibration testing and submitted to BAe Systems for qualification purposes.

The analyses was conducted in Nastran. The 3D model of the Raydome assembly was supplied by BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies. TRaC engineers extended the model to include the excitation system, repeating the analysis to replicate the test arrangement.

TRaC engineers have carried out a wide range of Modal test studies using alternative techniques.  In addition to conventional hammer testing, structures have been mounted on fixtures and excited by a conventional electromagnetic shaker or driven by a suspended shaker as in the case of the Sampson project.  Structures tested include a whole railway engine system in addition to a wide range of Aerospace and commercial...Read the full article