Towed array sensors are degraded by strumming vibrations and tow noise, thereby reducing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To address this concern, Vibration Isolation Modules (VIM) using viscoelastic ropes are applied. In this study, we quantitatively evaluated their vibration isolation performance and validated FEM simulations through controlled vibration tests. We applied viscoelastic properties measured by DMA to an FEM model for longitudinal dynamic behavior prediction. We converted input and output accelerations into Vibration Acceleration Level (VAL), and calculated the VAL Difference for comparison. The results were in good agreement between FEM and experiments, confirming the validity of the simulation and providing useful data for VIM optimization.
Seo et al. (Fri,) studied this question.