Sound power from coupled structures using elementary radiators

Abstract

Sound power measurements are of interest in numerous applications, and several methods are available for obtaining the sound power of a system. A recent method that has been developed, referred to as the Vibration-Based Sound Power (VBSP) method, utilizes vibration measurements obtained from a Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV). The VBSP method has previously been used to obtain the sound power radiated from flat plates, cylindrical shells and curved plates. This paper will present further developments to extend VBSP measurements to multiple coupled structures and investigate the acoustic coupling effects that may exist. Two coplanar flat plates separated by a distance d were modeled using the boundary element method. The sound power was determined within the boundary element software and the structural velocities were also exported and processed using the VBSP method. Computational and experimental results will be shown to demonstrate abilities and limitations for the VBSP method to accurately determine the radiated sound power for coupled structures. [Funding for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF).]