Noise reduction analysis for a stiffened finite plate

This paper presents an analytical solution for the vibration and acoustic responses of a finite stiffened plate that is covered with decoupling layers and subjected to external excitation. The theory of elasticity is used for the decoupling layer, and the stiffened plate is modeled by the plate theory and Euler-Bernoulli beam equation. Equations are constructed by the boundary conditions at the plate/coating and coating/fluid interfaces. The problem can be solved by the proposed method in this paper. Test verification shows that a good correlation exists between theoretical and test results. Thus, the theoretical study in this paper is correct. Numerical results show that shear waves insignificantly affect the structural vibration level difference (VR) under low frequencies. The noise reduction of the stiffened plate covered with decoupling layers is greatly influenced by the decoupling layer loss factor. A failure region of the vibration level difference is present in the low frequency band of the decoupling layer. Furthermore, the thickness of the decoupling layer significantly affects noise reduction. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.