Theoretical analysis for free vibration of submerged conical motor stator

The conical rim-driven motor stator is a structure with variable thickness and non-standard boundaries, which can be treated as an orthotropic conical shell. To prevent resonance and reduce electromagnetic noise, a modal analysis of the stator is necessary. This paper presents an analytical model for the free vibration of the conical stator in both onshore and underwater environments. Due to the relatively large thickness of the motor stator, the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) is employed. The fluid loading is calculated by discretizing the conical shell into a series of narrow cylindrical shells featuring diverse radii and thickness. The resulting equations are solved employing the transfer matrix method (TMM), which is capable of different types of boundary conditions (BCs). The convergence and accuracy of the proposed method are validated through a comparative analysis involving numerical simulations and outcomes derived from the thin shell theory. The importance of considering shear deformation and rotatory inertia in determining the natural frequency of motor stators is demonstrated. Finally, the impact of fluid loading on the vibration behavior of stators with various geometric parameters and boundary conditions are investigated and discussed. The proposed model presents a precise and convenient approach for analyzing the free vibration of submerged conical motor stators, and can be extended to conventional cylindrical motor stators through appropriate degradation procedures.