Spectral elements for acoustic wave propagation through thin-walled complex structures

Noise generation is an aspect of structural impacts not receiving much attention. Reasons for this include the fact that the problem requires analyzing the solid/fluid interaction as well as the need to model extended regions. Spectral elements are developed for analyzing acoustic wave propagation through thin-walled structures. Both flat- and curved-plate elements, which incorporate the effect of fluid loading on the structure, are developed. These elements exactly model the responses over large domains and through their generalized nodes may be conveniently joined to model complex structures composed of many segments and faces. Results for the impact of flat and curved panel systems are presented. In addition, the utility of the spectral method for computing frequency response functions directly is demonstrated.