Brüel & Kjær recently delivered their HVME (Hull Vibration Monitoring Equipment) solution to BAE Systems Submarine Solutions.
The HVME system will be deployed on HMS Audacious, the fourth boat in the UK Royal Navy’s Astute-class, nuclear-powered attack submarine construction programme.
The Brüel & Kjær HVME system will provide monitoring and analysis facilities of structure-borne noise generated in the submarine. The purpose is to assist ship staff to maintain a low noise signature by monitoring and analysing both hull vibration and hydrodynamic noise.
The state-of-the-art data acquisition and vibration monitoring system is based on Brüel & Kjær’s COTS (Commercial-off-the-Shelf) sensors and PULSE data acquisition and analysis platform.
The PULSETM modular and scalable platform, with over 12,000 systems sold worldwide, includes the flagship LAN-XI acquisition unit. The ‘hand-sized’ network-based LAN-XI modules provide a distributed architecture to give installation flexibility and drastically reduce amounts of sensor cabling.
Brüel & Kjær Sound and Vibration Measurement A/S , with headquarters in Denmark, is a subsidiary of UK-based Spectris plc. Brüel & Kjær are world leaders in acoustic and vibration measurement systems & solutions.
Brüel & Kjær underwater acoustics products and solutions range from sensors and exterior/interior noise source identification and noise mapping systems, through complete acoustic ranging and noise self-monitoring solutions.
BAE Systems Submarine Solutions based in Barrow-in-Furness North-west England, is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems responsible for the development and production of submarines.
The company is currently constructing the Astute-class submarine, a new generation nuclear attack submarine (SSN) for the Royal Navy, the first of which was launched on 8 June 2007.
[mappress] Source: bksv, April 13, 2011; Image: BAE Systems