Refine the Ride
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Refine the Ride Do drivetrains fitted with thrust bearings (and associated joints) reduce noise and vibration? Indeed they do—provided the mechanical connections are properly specified, installed, and maintained. Text and photographs What can I do to make my boat a compression of air, creating waves. by Steve D’Antonio quieter? So, many onboard sources from audio It’s a question I’ve been asked many speakers to diesel engine blocks, have times in my years as a boatyard man- the capacity to make noise in the form ager, technical writer, and marine of compression waves that reach your industry consultant. ear directly; or to cause other objects Insulation, perhaps the first thought, aboard the boat to resonate in sym- is not the answer. Granted, the more pathetic vibration, and thus generate you surround noisy engines, generators, their own sound waves. Isolating such pumps, and compressors with sound- sources of vibration gets challenging, absorbing material, the less noise will especially in the confined space of an reach your ear. But where noise and engineroom, where drive components vibration are concerned, isolation is must be hard-mounted to a vessel’s Above–A good thrust-bearing system— even better than sound containment, structure. like this one supported by a substantial and that’s where thrust-bearing drive- metal “bridge” that spans the vessel’s trains come into play. Traditional Running Gear stringers—can effectively absorb all Isolating rather than absorbing The following traditional approach propeller thrust and vibration, reducing vibration minimizes noise from the to running gear has worked exception- wear on the transmission. outset. Perceptible sound is simply ally well for decades. We’ll begin at the 42 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER propeller: it’s attached to the shaft, sole connection between the thrust Far left—A vibration-damping propulsion- which is supported by at least one, of the propeller and the vessel it pro- system mount from Barry Controls. and often several, water-lubricated, pels. Think of it this way: the propel- Designed to absorb thrust loads as well fluted rubber Cutless bearings. These ler, shaft, transmission, and engine as vibration, these mounts must be “set bearings do a remarkable job, consid- combination are collectively pushing up” in accordance with the manufactur- ering the circumstances under which the boat along with them through er’s guidelines. Absent a thrust-bearing they operate: supporting a shaft turn- the motor mounts. Herein lies the system, mounts of this type are the next ing at a thousand or more rpm problem: isolation of vibration and best thing. Top—Another vibration- through salt- and silt-laden water. efficient transfer of forward and damping mount, this one from Lo-Rez. If the shaft is properly aligned reverse thrust are all but mutually Like the Barry Controls mount, it within the supports and the engine, exclusive. As the thrust of the pro- requires proper set up to be effective at Cutless bearings can be expected to peller pushes the engine forward, it absorbing vibration. It, too, is designed last for hundreds of hours without compresses a portion of the rubber or to carry thrust load without “locking up” maintenance or adjustment. silicone vibration-damping medium vibration isolation. Bottom—A motor The thrust and vibration from the within the mounts. Once compressed, mount from Bushings Inc. Mounts of this propeller transmit axially through the rubber’s ability to absorb vibra- sort are simple, inexpensive, and moder- the shaft to the coupling, through the tion is diminished. The mount itself ately effective. They do “capture” the transmission, and then to the engine. must be flexible enough to absorb engine, keeping it bolted to the boat; At that point, isolation of drivetrain vibration, strong enough to stand up however, their ability to effectively vibrations becomes difficult. To move to tons of thrust, and mechanically absorb vibration and thrust is limited. the boat, propeller thrust on the order sound enough to hold the engine’s of several thousand pounds must be mass in place even if the vessel were transferred from the engine to the to roll onto its beam ends. hull. A 100-hp (75-kW) engine, for The motor mounts on one side of the instance, pushing a displacement ves- engine are consistently compressed by sel at 11 knots is generating nearly a the rotational force, or torque, opposed ton of thrust. to that of the propeller, while the cor- Motor mounts come in numerous responding mounts on the engine’s shapes, sizes, and designs with vary- other side are lifted, or in tension. ing degrees of effectiveness, qual- That switches when the transmission is ity, and expense, but they all have thrown into reverse and the propeller one thing in common: they are the turns in the opposite direction. AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009 43 Aside from the torque, there’s the bolts into stringers. Lag bolts are bearings. Ball bearings are capable propeller thrust pushing forward or notorious for failing in the presence of carrying moderate loads, usually aft. If you doubt how much thrust of soft or rotten stringer or engine-bed up to about 100 hp (75 kW) when is absorbed and transmitted by the core material, or because the threads employed as marine thrust bearings. mounts, spend a few minutes in of what is essentially a large tapping Larger loads call for tapered roller the engineroom of a moderately screw are not substantial enough to bearings—the type in most automo- sized vessel as it maneuvers around maintain contact under heavy cycli- tive wheel bearings. The carrier is a dock. You’ll notice that the engine cal loads. The 100-hp, 2,000-lb thrust cone-shaped, while the bearings look will often move as much as half an loads mentioned above are impressive like a series of miniature rolling pins. inch (12.7mm) forward or aft each enough in their own right; but when a As part of a thrust-bearing drive- time the shift is moved into gear. 900-hp (671-kW) engine is pushing a train isolated from the vessel’s Under full load, the engine is strain- vessel at 15 knots, those thrust loads engine (i.e., not as part of the trans- ing at the mounts, wanting to tear jump to 9,000 lbs (4,082 kg). The solid mission), a thrust bearing offers several free and leap ahead of the vessel. structural connection between engine advantages: (I’ve seen the results when an engine and hull necessitated by these cir- has broken the bonds of the motor cumstances makes effective vibration • The motor mounts are no longer mounts. It’s not pretty.) Look at the isolation almost impossible in a con- transmitting propeller thrust to the propeller shafts of vessels where they ventional engine installation. hull. Motor mounts in conjunction pass through Cutless bearings. You’ll with thrust-bearing systems can be notice a polished ring-shaped section Thrust Bearings especially “soft” and markedly more on the surface of the shaft just aft As reliable and well understood as effective at absorbing engine vibra- of the Cutless bearing. The width of traditional running gear may be, there tion. If a vessel with a traditional this shiny section represents the dis- is a more effective approach for bet- drivetrain setup is retrofitted with a tance the engine moves forward on its ter vibration isolation along with less thrust-bearing system, the motor mounts when the vessel is under way. wear on the engine and transmission. mount specification should also Manufacturers have worked to cre- This involves two key components: be changed to significantly reduce ate motor mounts that will absorb a hull-mounted thrust bearing, and a vibration. engine vibration while supporting the constant-velocity or universal joint. • In addition to reducing vibration, compression created by the propel- In every automobile several thrust remote-mounted thrust bearings can ler’s torque and thrust. Considering bearings support the crankshaft, extend the life of the transmission, the demands involved, the manu- clutch, and wheels; a thrust bearing in which no longer needs to support facturers have done well, but their every marine transmission carries the axial loads from the propeller. Absent advances are only as good as the load imparted by the propeller. Its the secondary thrust bearing, these builders who install the mounts. primary function is to support the fore- loads wear the transmission’s own Loads imparted by the engine… and-aft or axial thrust from the pro- thrust bearing more rapidly, generate through the mounts…to the ves- peller, as well as the spinning loads heat, shed metal particles, and stress sel are transmitted through fasten- imparted by the rotating shaft, at the the transmission’s lubricating fluid ers. Through-bolting with machine same time allowing the shaft to spin in the process. screws (see “Nuts. Bolts. Screws.”— with minimal friction. • Because an engine with a thrust Professional BoatBuilder No. 118) Thrust bearings come in two varie- bearing is separated from the pro- is always preferable to screwing lag ties: ball bearings and tapered roller peller shaft by an intermediate shaft, Transmission CV Joints Thrust bearing Above—A thrust-bearing system partially decouples the propeller from the engine by transferring propulsive thrust to structural members in the bilge, without interfering with the rotational force from the engine driving the propeller. Right—A cutaway of a traditional thrust bearing housed in a marine transmission. Note the tapered roller bearings and cone-shaped carrier that absorb thrust while allowing the driveshaft to spin with minimal friction. 44 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER Because the thrust-bearing support driving and driven shafts are in line or truss must withstand cyclical or parallel, they rotate at the same and reversing loads, carefully con- angular speed; when an angle is sider its design and construction.