An efficient transient analysis method for time-varying structures based on statistical energy analysis

The statistical energy analysis (SEA) is applied to predict the transient energy response of structures with time-varying parameters for the first time. With the energy governing equations derived by considering time-varying SEA parameters and energy flow item caused by time-varying damping loss factor, SEA method is firstly applied to predict transient energy response of time-varying systems. Then, numerical examples of a time-varying two-oscillator system, a time-varying L-shaped fold plate and a complex time-varying vibro-acoustic structure are investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of SEA method for time-varying system. The Newmark-beta method and finite element method are used to verify the accuracy of predicted transient energy response. Results show that SEA method for time varying system is capable of predicting transient energy response of time-varying structures with sufficient accuracy and also applicable for transient analysis of complex time-varying structures with a small computational cost. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.