Vibration and Acoustics Research Group - History of Research

2008-

2008 saw two new staff members join the research group being, Professor Robert Parker, formerly of Ohio State University, and Dr Nathan Kinkaid.

2003-2008

Dr Nicole Kessissoglou joined the group in 2003, and in addition to collaborations with Kerry Byrne and Bob Randall on noise reduction of medical ventilating (CPAP) machines and automotive rear axles, respectively, has established a research area in noise radiation from plates and shells, with particular application to submarines, and with support from the Marine Platforms Division of DSTO. Two of her recent PhD graduates, Drs Paul Dylejko and Michael Skeen, are now employed by DSTO.

1988-2003

Bob Randall (now Professor) joined the group in 1988, having worked for the previous 17 years with the Danish company Bruel & Kjaer (B&K), world leading manufacturers of noise and vibration measuring and analysis equipment. He had developed a number of vibration analysis and signal processing tools while at B&K, and has continued research in those areas since joining UNSW. His main field of research has been in machine diagnostics using vibration analysis, but also in the blind determination of structural dynamic properties from measurements of response signals only, so-called Operational Modal Analysis (OMA).

In 1996, Bob Randall was appointed Director of the DSTO Centre of Expertise (COE) in Vibration Analysis, one of four set up by DSTO in Australian universities (Lincoln Wood was Director of another COE at RMIT). This carried out research into diagnostics of helicopter gearboxes, and (with Eric Hahn as Deputy Director) into nonlinear effects of high speed rotors. In 2000, the Centre of Expertise was continued, with a name change to the COE in Helicopter Structures and Diagnostics (COEHSD), and the inclusion of a group at ADFA who had previously been associated with a COE at Monash University. Professor Joseph Lai of ADFA became Deputy Director, and supervised projects in structural dynamics, battle damage, etc.

Two of Bob Randall’s most recent PhD students, Hiroaki Endo and Nader Sawalhi, have made significant advances in the modelling of faults in gears and bearings, respectively. Dr Endo is now working for Rolls-Royce, and this, along with Eric Hahn’s contacts there, led to collaborative research between Bob Randall and Rolls-Royce on gas turbine engine bearing diagnostics.

1977-1988

Dr Robin Ford joined the group in 1977, and worked mainly with vibration problems in rail vehicles and track, He had a number of sabbatical periods overseas including at British Rail and the Association of American Railroads. He retired as an Associate Professor in 2007. He collaborated with Bob Randall in a SPIRT project supported by Hamersley Iron on rail vehicle bearing diagnostics from accelerometer measurements made on the track.

1970-1977

Research activities in the broad areas of noise and vibration became established with the appointments of Drs (now Emeritus Professors) Kerry Byrne and Eric Hahn in 1975 and 1972, respectively. Kerry Byrne’s main activities were in Industrial Noise Control, while Eric Hahn’s were mainly in Rotor Dynamics. However, Kerry Byrne also undertook studies in random rattling phenomena with two PhD students including Dr Lincoln Wood, formerly Professor of Aerospace Engineering at RMIT, and now CEO of British Aerospace Australia.

Kerry Byrne’s work in noise control was motivated by extensive consulting activities in the power generating industry, and several significant inventions arose from this work, including dissipative silencers for heat exchangers and very large reactive silencers, the latter installed at Eraring Power Station in NSW. At the time of installation this was the largest set of silencers in use anywhere.

Eric Hahn has done work over many years in rotor dynamics, journal bearing hydrodynamics, and squeeze film dampers in gas turbine engines. He spent a number of sabbatical periods at Rolls-Royce, Derby, UK, helping them to develop these dampers, and his former PhD student, Dr Ningsheng Feng, whose thesis was on that topic, continues to work in these areas.