Study on sound transmission characteristics of a cylindrical shell using analytical and experimental models

A circular cylindrical cavity enclosed by a thin elastic shell is found in many practical devices such as expansion volume mufflers, hermetic compressors and aircraft cabins. Analytical and experimental studies are conducted in this work to understand the characteristics of sound transmission through the cylindrical wall of such a system. Using an infinitely long circular cylindrical shell subjected to a plane incident wave, an exact solution is obtained by solving the classical shell vibration equations and the acoustic wave equations simultaneously. Transmission losses obtained from the solution are compared to the transmission losses that are measured for a cylindrical shell of finite length and the same cross-sectional dimensions. The comparison suggests that the theoretical model can be used as an effective design tool despite considerable simplifications involved.     

ANALYSIS OF SOUND TRANSMISSION THROUGH PERIODICALLY STIFFENED PANELS BY SPACE-HARMONIC EXPANSION METHOD

An analysis method is developed to study sound transmission characteristics of a thin plate stiffened by equally spaced line stiffeners. The dynamic equation that describes the vibro-acoustic response of the system is derived by expanding the structural and acoustic responses in terms of the space harmonics and by using the virtual energy method. The series solution can be considered as the exact solution because the structural and acoustic-structural coupling effects in the system are fully considered and the solution converges. Parameter studies are conducted for major design parameters to understand the characteristics of the system.     

Input power flow in a submerged infinite cylindrical shell with doubly periodic supports

A submerged cylindrical shell reinforced by supports of rings and bulkheads is the primary structure of submarine, torpedo and all kinds of submerged aircrafts, so it is significant to study its characteristics of structure-borne sound. By means of periodic structure theory, the input power flow from a cosine harmonic line force into a submerged infinite cylindrical shell, reinforced by doubly periodic supports of rings and bulkheads, is studied analytically. The harmonic motion of the shell and the sound pressure field in the fluid are described by Flügge shell equations and Helmholtz equation, respectively. Since the fluid radical velocity and the shell radical velocity must be equal at the interface of the outer shell wall and the fluid, the motion equations of this coupled system are obtained. Both four kinds of forces (moments) between rings and shell and four kinds of forces (moments) between bulkheads and shell are considered. The solution is obtained in series form by expanding the system responses in terms of the space harmonics of the spacings of both stiffeners and bulkheads. The input vibrational power flow into the structure is obtained and the influences of different structural parameters on the results are analyzed. The analytic model is close to engineering practice, and it will give some guidelines for noise reduction of this kind of shell.     

On sound transmission into a stiffened cylindrical shell with rings and stringers treated as discrete elements

In the context of the transmission of airborne noise into an aircaft fuselage, a mathematical model is presented for the transmission of an oblique plane sound wave into a finite cylindrical shell stiffened by stringers and ring frames. The rings and stringers are modeled as discrete structural elements. The numerical case studies was typical of a narrow-bodied jet transport fuselage. The numerical results show that the ring-frequency dip in the transmission loss curve that is present for a monocoque shell is still present in the case of a stiffened shell. The ring frequency effect is a result of the cylindrical geometry of the shell. Below the ring frequency, stiffening does not appear to have any significant effect on transmission loss, but above the ring frequency, stiffeners can enhance the transmission loss of a cylindrical shell.     

Multi-objective optimization of ring stiffened cylindrical shells using a genetic algorithm

In this paper, the genetic algorithm (GA) method is used for the multi-objective optimization of ring stiffened cylindrical shells. The objective functions seek the maximum fundamental frequency and minimum structural weight of the shell subjected to four constraints including the fundamental frequency, the structural weight, the axial buckling load, and the radial buckling load. The optimization process contains six design variables including the shell thickness, the number of stiffeners, the width and height of stiffeners, the stiffeners eccentricity distribution order, and the stiffeners spacing distribution order. The real coding scheme is used for representing the solution string, while the generation number-based adaptive penalty function is applied for penalizing infeasible solutions. In analytical solution, the Ritz method is applied and the stiffeners are treated as discrete elements. Some examples of simply supported cylindrical shells with nonuniform eccentricity distribution and nonuniform rings spacing distribution are provided to demonstrate the optimality of the solution obtained by the GA technique. The effects of objective weighting coefficients and bounding values of the design variables on the optimum solution are studied for various cases. The results show that the optimal solution can vary with the weighting coefficients significantly. It is also found that extreme reduction and augmentation in turn in the structural weight and fundamental frequency can be simultaneously achieved by selecting suitable stiffeners’ geometrical parameters and distributions. Furthermore, the bounding values of the design variables have great effects on the optimum results.     

Acoustic signature of a submarine hull under harmonic excitation

The structural and acoustic responses of a submarine under harmonic force excitation are presented. The submarine hull is modelled as a cylindrical shell with internal bulkheads and ring stiffeners. The cylindrical shell is closed by truncated conical shells, which in turn are closed at each end using circular plates. The entire structure is submerged in a heavy fluid medium. The structural responses of the submerged vessel are calculated by solving the cylindrical shell equations of motion using a wave approach and the conical shell equations with a power series solution. The far-field radiated sound pressure is then calculated by means of the Helmholtz integral. The contribution of the conical end closures on the radiated sound pressure for the lowest circumferential mode numbers is clearly observed. Results from the analytical model are compared with computational results from a fully coupled finite element/boundary element model.     

ON THE FREE VIBRATION OF STIFFENED SHALLOW SHELLS

A finite element analysis for free vibration behaviour of doubly curved stiffened shallow shells is presented. The stiffened shell element is obtained by the appropriate combinations of the eight-/nine-node doubly curved isoparametric thin shallow shell element with the three-node curved isoparametric beam element. The shell types examined are the elliptic and hyperbolic paraboloids, the hypar and the conoidal shells. The accuracy of the formulation is established by comparing some of the authors' results of specific problems with those available in the literature. Numerical results of additional stiffened shells are also presented to study the effects of various parameters of shells and stiffeners such as orientation (i.e., along x -/y -/both x and y directions), type (concentric, eccentric at top and eccentric at bottom) and number of stiffeners, stiffener depth to shell thickness ratio, and aspect ratio, shallowness and boundary conditions of shells on free vibration characteristics.     

Influence of initial geometrical imperfections on vibrations of axially compressed stiffened cylindrical shells

The vibrations of stiffened cylindrical shells having axisymmetric or asymmetric initial geometrical imperfections and axial preload are analyzed. The analysis is based on a solution of the von Kárman-Donnell non-linear shell equations, an “exact” solution of the compatibility equation, and a first order approximation by the Galerkin method of the equilibrium equation. The stiffeners are closely spaced and “smeared” stiffener theory is employed. The results of an extensive parametric study carried out on shells similar to those used in vibration and buckling tests at the Technion show that stiffening of the shell will lower the imperfection-sensitivity of its free vibrations, but the decrease depends on the type of stiffening (stringers or rings), the mode shapes of the vibration and the imperfection, the stiffener strength and eccentricity. The imperfection-sensitivity decrease, caused by the stiffeners, is greater for vibration mode shapes with high imperfection-sensitivity than for other vibration mode shapes. The sensitivity differences between stringer and ring-stiffened shells depend especially on the vibration and the imperfection mode shapes, and on their coupling. Small imperfections change the natural frequencies of stiffened shells in the same directions as for isotropic shells, but to a smaller extent. The frequency dependence on the external load is also strongly affected by the imperfection mode shape. The results correlate well with earlier ones for isotropic shells.     

ANALYSIS AND MEASUREMENT OF SOUND TRANSMISSION THROUGH A DOUBLE-WALLED CYLINDRICAL SHELL

Sound transmission through a double-walled cylindrical shell is studied. The solution that describes the system response is obtained by combining the solutions of two different models of the system. The first model, which describes the sound transmission due to the interaction between the acoustic waves and the bending waves in the shells, is formulated by three acoustic wave equations and two shell vibration equations. The second model describes the sound transmission by one-dimensional waves propagating through the layers of the shells and the air-gap. The transmission losses calculated from the two models are combined to represent the system response in the entire frequency range. Analytical solutions are compared to corresponding measured results, which shows reasonable agreements if the extent of the simplifications used in the analytical model is considered. The effects of important design parameters such as the air-gap size and the thickness ratio are studied using analytical solutions.     

Structural and acoustic responses of a fluid-loaded cylindrical hull with structural discontinuities

This paper studies the low frequency vibrational behaviour and radiated sound of a submarine hull under axial excitation. The submarine is modelled as a fluid-loaded cylindrical shell with internal bulkheads and ring-stiffeners and closed at each end by circular plates. A smeared approach is used to model the ring stiffeners. The external pressure acting on the hull due to the fluid loading is calculated using an infinite model and is shown to be a good approximation at low frequencies. The radiated sound pressure is obtained by considering the finite cylindrical hull to be extended by two semi-infinite rigid baffles. The sound pressure is then only due to the radial displacement of the cylindrical shell, without taking into account the scattering at the finite ends. The main aim of this paper is to observe the influence of the various complicating effects such as the bulkheads, ring-stiffeners and fluid loading on the structural and acoustic responses of the finite cylindrical shell. Results from the analytical models presented in this paper are compared to the computational results from finite element and boundary element models.     

环筋对水下平底圆柱壳的声振特性影响

本文建立了计算两端带平底板的有限长圆柱壳水中声辐射的FEM／BEM三维模型，探索了加筋的高度、宽度、数目对平底圆柱壳的辐射功率、辐射效率、法向声强、声场指向性的影响规律。计算方法是在有限元软件ANSYS中做加筋平底圆柱壳建模、模态分析基础上，将有关数据（网格、模态）导入边界元软件SYSNOISE中计算流体结构耦合状态下的辐射声场特性。结果表明：（1）随着环筋高度、宽度增大，激励点声压峰和法向声强峰在0-400Hz频率范围内数目减少且峰向高频方向移动，同时辐射声功率在减小（除个别模态峰值外），而辐射效率随筋高增大而增大。（2）环筋数目的增加使激励点辐射声压和法向声强峰数目明显减少，使辐射声功率明显低于无筋圆柱壳的辐射声功率，辐射效率随环筋数目增大而增大。（3）环筋宽度变化对声场指向性影响不大；圆柱壳声场指向性随环筋高度和数目增加出现较大变化，尤其是在研究的频段内的f=51Hz和f=301Hz上。这对于水下结构辐射噪声预报以及噪声抑制具有重要意义。     

Dynamic and acoustic response of bidirectionally stiffened plates with eccentric stiffeners subject to airborne and structure-borne excitations

An analytical method based on the modal expansion technique was developed to predict the vibro-acoustic response of both unidirectionally and bidirectionally stiffened flat panel. This paper presents the response to diffuse acoustic field (DAF) and turbulent boundary layer (TBL) excitations in terms of their joint acceptance. Numerical results for the dynamic and acoustic responses are compared with finite element method (FEM) and boundary element (BEM) results for stiffened panel with complex and eccentrically shaped stiffeners subject to point force excitation. A theoretical prediction of the transmission loss (TL) is also compared with laboratory measurements conducted on flat panels representing aircraft models as well as with hybrid statistical energy analysis (SEA)-FEM periodic model. The results confirm that the stiffened panel has the same acoustic response as the skin without stiffeners at frequencies where the structural wavelengths are equal to the spacing between the stiffeners. In addition, the transmission loss is lowered by the presence of the stiffeners at some particular region of frequencies below the critical frequency with respect to the unstiffened panel.     

The receptance method applied to ring-stiffened cylindrical shells: Analysis of modal characteristics

The receptance method is applied to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of circular cylindrical shells stiffened by rings. The receptances of cylindrical shell and of a ring to forces in the radial and circumferential directions are derived in terms of the modal characteristics of each. A matrix equation of free vibration, which must be solved by an iterative technique, results by eliminating the angular variable. An iterative solution is practical, since the size of the matrices remains at two times the number of stiffening rings, regardless of the number of modes of the unstiffened cylinder and rings included in the solution. The validity of the method is demonstrated by comparing results for specific cases with the results obtained theoretically and experimentally by others. When various stiffener configurations are being considered for a given cylindrical shell, the modal characteristics of the shell without stiffeners may be calculated once and used repeatedly to calculate the frequencies of the stiffened shell configurations. The form of the results offers potential for simplifications which are presented in a companion paper.     

TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF RING-STIFFENED COMPOSITE CYLINDRICAL SHELLS WITH BOTH EDGES CLAMPED

A theoretical method is developed to investigate the effects of ring stiffeners on vibration characteristics and transient responses for the ring-stiffened composite cylindrical shells subjected to the step pulse loading. Love's thin shell theory combined with the discrete stiffener theory to consider the ring stiffening effect is adopted to formulate the theoretical model. The ring stiffeners are laminated with a composite material and have a uniform rectangular cross-section. The Rayleigh-Ritz procedure is applied to obtain the frequency equation. The modal analysis technique is used to develop the analytical solutions of the transient response. The analysis is based on an expansion of the loads, displacements in the double Fourier series that satisfy the boundary conditions. The effect of stiffener's eccentricity, number, size, and position on transient response of the shells is examined. The theoretical results are verified by comparison with FEM results.     

Elastic response of an orthogonally reinforced plate

This paper develops a three-dimensional fully elastic analytical model of a solid plate that has two sets of embedded, equally spaced stiffeners that are orthogonal to each other. The dynamics of the solid plate are based on the Navier–Cauchy equations of motion of an elastic body. This equation is solved with unknown wave propagation coefficients at two locations, one solution for the volume above the stiffeners and the second solution for the volume below the stiffeners. The forces that the stiffeners exert on the solid body are derived using beam and bar equations of motion. Stress and continuity equations are then written at the boundaries and these include the stiffener forces acting on the solid. A two-dimensional orthognalization procedure is developed and this produces an infinite number of double indexed algebraic equations. These are all written together as a global system matrix. This matrix can be truncated and solved resulting in a solution to the wave propagation coefficients which allows the systems displacements to be determined. The model is verified by comparison to thin plate theory and finite element analysis. An example problem is formulated. Convergence of the series solution is discussed. The frequency limitations of the model are examined.     

Space harmonic analysis of sound radiation from a submerged periodic ring-stiffened cylindrical shell

An analytical method is developed to study radiated sound power characteristics from an infinite submerged periodically stiffened cylindrical shell excited by a radial cosine harmonic line force. The harmonic motion of the shell and the pressure field in the fluid are described by Flügge shell equations and Helmholtz equation, respectively. By using periodic theory of space harmonic analysis, the response of the periodic structure to harmonic excitations has been obtained by expanding it in terms of a series of space harmonics. Radiated sound power on the shell wall along the axial direction and the influence of different parameters on the results are studied, respectively. A conclusion is drawn that the stiffeners have a great influence at low and high frequencies while have a slight influence at intermediate frequencies for low circumferential mode orders. The work will give some guidelines for noise reduction of this kind of shell.     

带缺口加强圈的圆柱壳屈曲特性分析

以低温液体罐车外筒体为原型,采用有限元方法研究了带缺口加强圈的圆柱壳的屈曲特性。着重考察了加强圈缺口间的夹角、加强圈之间的间距、边界条件对此类结构屈曲载荷的影响。计算结果表明:圆柱壳的屈曲载荷与加强圈缺口间夹角不是简单的线性关系,当加强圈缺口间夹角增大到一定程度后,圆柱壳的屈曲载荷几乎不再变化;加强圈布置的均匀度不但会影响到圆柱壳的屈曲载荷,同时也对其屈曲模态产生影响;在不同的边界条件下,圆柱壳也表现出不同的屈曲特性。     

Use of lagrange multipliers with polynomial series for dynamic analysis of constrained plates part I: Polynomial series

A theory for prediction of the dynamic response of a constrained plate is presented here. The boundaries of the plate may be partially fixed, its dynamic loading is due to elastically mounted vibrating machines and its constraints include beam-like stiffeners. The theory yields the eigenvalues and modal shapes of the plate and stiffeners which comprise the system. The solution, given in Part I, is based on Galerkin's method combined with use of special polynomial series presented by Kantorovich and Krylov. These eigenvalues are used in Part II [1] for response analysis of the complete system and the eigenvalues of the complete system will be obtained by the application of Lagrange equations and multipliers. The various coefficients used in the process are presented in the Appendices to the work. Comparisons with published results show good agreement.     

Multi-frequency excitation of stiffened triangular plates for large amplitude oscillations

Free and forced vibrations of triangular plate are investigated. Diverse types of stiffeners were attached onto the plate to suppress the undesirable large-amplitude oscillations. The governing equation of motion for a triangular plate, based on the von Kármán theory, is developed and the nonlinear ordinary differential equation of the system using Galerkin approach is obtained. Closed-form expressions for the free undamped and large-amplitude vibration of an orthotropic triangular elastic plate are presented using the two well-known analytical methods, namely, the energy balance method and the variational approach. The frequency responses in the closed-form are presented and their sensitivities with respect to the initial amplitudes are studied. An error analysis is performed and the vibration behavior, as well as the accuracy of the solution methods, is evaluated. Different types of the stiffened triangular plates are considered in order to cover a wide range of practical applications. Numerical simulations are carried out and the validity of the solution procedure is explored. It is demonstrated that the two methods of energy balance and variational approach have been quite straightforward and reliable techniques to solve those nonlinear differential equations. Subsequently, due to the importance of multiple resonant responses in engineering design, multi-frequency excitations are considered. It is assumed that three periodic forces are applied to the plate in three specific positions. The multiple time scaling method is utilized to obtain approximate solutions for the frequency resonance cases. Influences of different parameters, namely, the position of applied forces, geometry and the number of stiffeners on the frequency response of the triangular plates are examined.     

Sound radiation from a plate reinforced by two sets of parallel stiffeners

A solution is developed for the sound radiation from a point-excited infinite fluid-loaded plate which is reinforced by two sets of parallel stiffeners. The stiffeners are intended to represent the bulkheads and intermediate frames of a hull structure. The solution is found by using Fourier wavenumber transforms, and the stationary phase approximation is used to find an expression for the far field pressure. The effects of the two sets of stiffeners on the radiated pressure depend primarily on the number of frames between successive bulkheads and on the point of application of the force. The presence of frames and bulkheads away from the point of excitation becomes less important as the frequency of the excitation increases.