• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.326-332
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• 2010

Critical response of seawater pump impeller shaft structure to various exciting loads is a fundamental factor in re-designing of the structure after its functional failure. In this paper, a typical case of the shaft structure's failure is investigated for re-designing purposes. Failure causes of interest are excessive bending moment, fatigue loads and dynamic resonance due to relevant motor rotation and unbalancing of the rotation loads. Static analyses of shaft structure under the conditions of concerned loads are carried out, followed by a dynamic investigation of the effects of resonance between the shaft and the motor on the structure. The relevant structural analyses are carried out using the Finite Element Methods combined with ANSYS code. Based on these, the primary cause for the shaft's structural failure is obtained. It is found that the change of the bending stiffness of the shaft is the primary concern in the re-designing process. A guideline for the re-design process of the seawater pump shaft structure is established, and a re-design scheme of the structure is proposed.