Noise and Vibration Control on Ships: Understanding and Cutting Through the Noise

This book provides a guide for the marine community to understand and address the noise and vibration environment associated with ships. Controlling noise and vibration in an effective and optimal manner requires a comprehensive understanding of all the ship systems that are involved in achieving a quiet vessel. While there are numerous published articles addressing various components of shipboard noise and vibration, this represents the first comprehensive book on the subject. Beginning from the basic acoustics of noise and vibration, it builds to more complex considerations in undersea sound, ship design, and compliance. The book provides an understanding of the ’source-path-receiver’ modelling of shipboard noise and vibration. It delivers an overview of how to select and optimize both noise and vibration control treatments along with design guidance and methods to demonstrate compliance with acoustic regulations. It reflects the knowledge gained by the authors consulting over 40years each on hundreds of vessels, and represents an invaluable resource for ship builders and marine engineers.

Mr. Fischer received his M.S. in Ocean Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1976. He was employed by Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN) for 12 years and by Atlantic Applied Research for 5 years. In 1990 he started his own company, Noise Control Engineering, Inc. He retired in 2016.

Mr. Fischer was extensively involved with the prediction of radiated noise, sonar self-noise, habitability noise, aural detectability, and structural vibrations on over 400 different vessels. He has also directed many shipboard noise and vibration measurements for demonstration of compliance with habitability criteria, for diagnostic testing, and to verify noise modeling techniques. His area of specialty includes design, development, and noise control engineering to solve noise and vibration problems in small high-speed craft, yachts, work boats, ice breakers, naval surface ships, and other non-conventional vessels. He was the Technical Leader for a US Navy Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program to provide more accurate shipboard airborne noise predictions. He co-authored the original and a Supplement to SNAME’s Design Guide for Shipboard Airborne Noise Control, T&R 3-37. He has also contributed to the development acoustic goals and several design guides for the US Navy and the Canadian Navy.

Mr. Fischer was the Principle Investigator for the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR) Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) program. This multi-year effort, started in 2010, provided new acoustical engineering tools and defined new management and programmatic approaches for Navy acquisitions. New acoustic modeling tools were established for composite material constructions, underwater radiated noise, and for small Marine Corps vehicles.

Mr. Fischer was the project manager for the habitability and radiated noise control effort on NOAA’s Fisheries Research Vessel (under contract with VT Halter Marine), Fast Missile Craft (FMC), and the Alaska Regional Research Vessel, and SBIR’s involved with the development/optimization of spray-on damping treatments. Under his guidance, NCE conducted radiated noise trials on SEAFIGHTER (ONR’s X-Craft), research vessels, seismic vessels, and commercial vessels.

He has 84 published papers on ship acoustics. He has over 400 technical reports or memos to his credit over his career.

Mr. Boroditsky graduated from Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute at 1959 with a Masters in Science degree. From 1959 to 1994 he was employed by Acoustical Lab in Central Research Institute of Shipbuilding Technology.

Mr. Boroditsky defended his PhD thesis about ship structure sound vibration insulation in 1966. Areas of his special interest were icebreaker noise, flow noise, propeller noise on fast craft. Mr. Boroditsky co-authored, with V. Spiridonov, a book entitled ＂Structureborne Noise Reduction in Ship Compartments＂ (1974).

Mr. Boroditsky joined Noise Control Engineering (NCE) in 1996 and retired in 2021. He was a major contributor to the development of DesignerNoiseÒ, 3-D noise prediction software. He saw the implementation of this software into an ongoing design practice. His latest areas of interest were acoustic characteristics of composite materials, aircraft carrier noise reduction, damping coating optimization, and on-deck noise control.

Mr. Boroditsky participated in numerous government and commercial projects to abate noise levels on ships. He performed multiple diagnostic tests for different kinds of vessels and developed treatments to mitigate mechanical and hydrodynamic noise.

Mr. Boroditsky has published papers in; Sudostroenie, Sound and Vibration, Noise Control Engineering Journal, American Acoustical Society, International Congress on Sound and Vibration, Inter Noise, and Naval Engineers Journal.