Computational Methods for Vibroacoustic Simulations

Frank Ihlenburg
November 11, 2011
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Models and Equations 2
2.1 Dierential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Variational Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Finite Element Method 11
3.1 Finite Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Discrete equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 Modal analysis of the forced response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4 Statistical Energy Analysis 19
4.1 Energy content of vibrational subsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.2 Power ow and dissipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.3 SEA balance equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.4 Example: rectangular plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5 Boundary element method 22
5.1 Helmholtz integral equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5.2 Boundary element method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
1 Introduction
The word vibroacoustics stands for the interaction of mechanical vibrations with acoustic waves; the
reaction of the eardrums to pressure changes in the air is a natural example. Using computational
simulations of acoustic eects, mechanical engineers can evaluate the noise or comfort level of dierent
design at early stages of product development. In particular, one is interested to estimate the radiation
of sound from engines or engine parts into free space or the level of cabin noise; i.e., the radiation,
reection and absorption of waves in closed cavities. The corresponding mathematical models of
Figure 1: Exterior and interior problem
1
vibroacoustics lead to exterior or interior problems, respectively; see Fig. 1). Both types of uid-solid
interaction are governed by the same system of coupled dierential equations governing the vibrations
of the solid and the uid domains, and the coupling between them. In practice, the coupled system is
solved by numerical methods.
This text contains a brief introduction to analytical and computational models for coupled uid-
structure vibrations. The dierential equations of the coupled vibrations in a general three-dimensional
setting are the starting point. The so-called strong formulation is then transformed into the weak or
variational formulation. Both formulations are illustrated on two simple examples. Section 3 contains
a brief review of the discretization procedure by the nite element method (FEM). This procedure
leads to a coupled system of linear algebraic equations that can be solved computationally. For large
systems and broad frequency bands it is advantageous to apply modal reduction. The basic ideas of
Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) and the boundary element method (BEM) are contained in sections
4 and 5.
2 Models and Equations
The section starts from the dierential equations of the coupled vibrations in a general three-
dimensional setting. The so-called strong formulation is then transformed into the weak or
variational formulation.
2.1 Dierential Equations
Consider a three-dimensional solid continuum
s
, which is in contact with a uid continuum

f
along a smooth wet surface . The vibrations of continua are governed by the equilibrium
Table 1: Dierential equations for solid and uid vibration
VIBRATIONS Solid Fluid
Equilibrium div +
s

U = 0 (1) P +
f

V = 0 (2)
Material Law = C : (3) P = BS (4)
Kinematics
=
1
2
_
(U)
T
+U
_
(5)

S = divV (6)
condition for the forces of deformation and the forces of inertia. Elastic material behavior and
small deformations are assumed. The corresponding systems of linear dierential equations
are listed in Table 1. The following notations are used:
U(x, t) = U
s
(x, t) =
_
_
U
x
(x, t)
U
y
(x, t)
U
z
(x, t)
_
_
- solid displacement vector;
2
=
_
_

x

xy

xz

xy

y

yz

xz

yz

z
_
_
, =
_
_

x

xy

xz

xy

y

yz

xz

yz

z
_
_
- solid stress and strain tensors;
C - solid material tensor;
P(x, t) - uid pressure;
V(x, t) =

U
f
(x, t) - uid velocity vector;
S =
dV
V
= tr
f
= divU
f
- uid volume dilatation;

s
,
f
, B - solid and uid density, uid bulk modulus.
The solid and the uid volumes contain matter in two dierent states. Since a uid matter
cannot support shear stresses, the particle interaction is reduced to forces of compression.
Thus the stress and strain tensors are diagonal,

f
=
_
_
P 0 0
0 P 0
0 0 P
_
_
,
f
=
1
3
_
_
S 0 0
0 S 0
0 0 S
_
_
.
Since the uid is assumed as ideal (frictionless), the tangential interaction between the solid
and the uid is neglected. The Equilibrium and kinematic compatability conditions hold
therefore only along the normal to the coupling surface. Hence, at any point of the coupling
surface, the exterior solid traction vector can be written in local coordinates as [0, 0, P]
T
.
On the other hand, by denition of the stress tensor, the traction vector at any (interior or
exterior) surface with the surface normal n
s
is given by n
s
. The solid-uid equilibrium
equation can thus be written in arbitrary coordinates as n
s
= Pn
s
, where n
s
is the
exterior solid normal pointing into the uid; cf. Fig. 2.
Figure 2: Coupling surface at Solid-uid boundary
Furthermore kinematic compatability (in normal direction) requires that the normal pro-
jections of the solid and uid displacement vectors must be equal. The coupling equations are
shown in Table 2. The uid normal, pointing out of the uid, is related to the solid normal
as n
f
= n
s
.
Figure 3: Longitudinal vibrations of a beam in contact with a uid
3
Table 2: Solid-uid coupling conditions for ideal uid
COUPLING Solid & Fluid
Equilibrium n
s
= Pn
f
(7)
Kinematic Compatibility

U n
s
= V n
f
(8)
Example 1: Slab Consider a vibrating slab in contact with a compressible uid as shown in
Fig. 3. The state variables are U = U(x, t) and P = P(x, t). The solid stress tensor, corresponding to
the uniaxial stress state, contains only one non-zero component =
x
. The stress divergence vector
therefore reduces to ,
x
=

x
. Similar simplications apply to the material and kinematic relations;
see Table 3.
Table 3: Dierential equations for solid and uid vibration: 1-D model problem
VIBRATIONS 1-D Solid Fluid
Equilibrium ,
x
+
s

U = 0 P,
x
+
f

V = 0
Material Law = E P = BS
Kinematics = U,
x

S = V,
x
Table 4 contains the coupling conditions. The equilibrium of stress and pressure is illustrated in
Fig. 4. The dierential equations and the coupling conditions can be written as a coupled set of
Figure 4: Static equilibrium
4
Table 4: Solid-uid coupling conditions in 1-D
COUPLING 1-D Solid & Fluid
Equilibrium = P
Kinematic Compatability

U = V
dierential equations for the state variables U and P:
EU,
xx
(x, t)
s

U(x, t) = 0 for x (l, 0) , (9)
EU,
x
(0, t) = P(0, t) (10)
P,
x
(0, t) =
f

U(0, t) (11)
P,
xx
(x, t)
1
c
2

P(x, t) = 0 for x (0, l) (12)

+ boundary conditions + initial conditions
Figure 5: Bending vibrations of a plate in contact with a uid
Example 2: Plate Consider a vibrating rectangular plate in contact with an innite uid pillar
as shown in Fig. 5. The plate has a uniform thickness h which is small compared to the side lengths
l
x
, l
y
, and remains constant during the deformation. The normal stresses in transverse direction are
neglected and the Bernoulli hypothesis for bending is applied (Kirchho plate theory). Under these
assumptions, the mid-surface is stress-free, and the stresses and strains vary linearly in z-direction.
Each layer parallel to the mid-surface is in the state of plane srain and stress; see Fig. 6. The set of
Figure 6: Stresses in shear-rigid plate
5
equilibrium equations (1) reduces to the two equations

x
,
x
+
xy
,
y
+
s

U
x
= 0

yx
,
x
+
y
,
y
+
s

U
y
= 0 .
Assuming small deformations, these equations are neglected. However, the horizontal stresses lead to
interior bending moments which must be considered in the lateral equilibrium condition, viz.
m
x
,
xx
+2m
xy
,
xy
+m
y
,
yy
+
s

U
z
= P ,
where the interior bending moments are dened as m
x
=
_
h/2
h/2

x
z dz etc. This equation expresses
the kinetic uid-structure coupling normal to the midsurface.
The elastic material law for plane stress is
_
_

xy
_
_
=
E
1
2
_
_
1 0
1 0
0 0
1
2
_
_
_
_

xy
_
_
The kinematic relations for small displacements are written as

x
= U
x
,
x
,
y
= U
y
,
y

yx
= U
y
,
x
+U
x
,
y
.
By the Bernoulli hypothesis there hold in addition the kinematic equations
U
x
= zU
z
,
x
, U
y
= zU
z
,
y
.
The kinematic coupling between plate and uid is established as

U
z
= V
z
where V
z
denotes the
z-component of the uid particle velocity.
The uid pressure satises the three-dimensional wave equation which is obtained by eliminating
S and V from the system (2, 4, 6). In the present geometrical setting, the solid normal n
s
coincides
with the unit vector e
z
of the z-axis. Multiplying equation (2) by e
z
, the kinematic coupling condition
(8) can be rewritten in terms of the pressure as
P
z
=
f
_

V e
z
_
=
f

U
z
The coupled dierential model for the deection U = U
z
(x, y, t) and the pressure P then assumes
the form
Eh
3
12 (1
2
)
U +
s
h

U = P {x, y} [0, l
x
] [0, l
y
] , z = 0 (13)
P,
z
=
f

U {x, y} [0, l
x
] [0, l
y
] , z = 0 (14)
P,
xx
(x, t)
1
c
2

P = 0 {x, y} [0, l
x
] [0, l
y
] , z > 0 (15)
+ boundary conditions + initial conditions
2.2 Variational Equations
The variational or weak formulation of the dierential equations is obtained from the dier-
ential equations in two steps. First, multiply the dierential equations with test functions
and integrate over the computational domains. Second, apply integration by parts in order
to shift the highest derivatives from the trial functions to the test functions. In mechanical
terms, the test functions represent virtual displacements or virtual forces, respectively.
6
Solid: Multiplying the equilibrium equation (1) by a stationary vector function w(x) and
integratng over the solid domain
s
one obtains

s
div wdV +
_

s

U wdV = 0 .
Now the Gauss integral theorem is used to integrate the rst term by parts:
_

s
: wdV
_

( n
s
) wdA+
_

s

U wdV = 0 .
Let us assume for simplicity that the uid and the solid are coupled along the entire solid
boundary . Then the coupling condition (7) can be introduced into the surface integral
yielding
_

s
: wdV +
_

s

U wdV +
_

(Pn
s
) wdA = 0 .
Remarks:
1. By symmetry of the stress tensor, : w = : (w)
T
= :
1
2
_
(w)
T
+w
_
=
(U) : (w). Hence the rst integral can be interpreted as work of the interior de-
formation forces (stresses) due to the virtual strains that correspond to the virtual
displacement w.
2. Using the solid material and kinematic equations (3, 5), the stresses (U) can be
replaced by a product of the material tensor and the gradient of the displacement
vector, = C :
1
2
_
(U)
T
+U
_
.
3. It is customary to reshape the symmetric stress and strain tensors as 6 1 vectors, e.g.
= [
x
,
y
,
z
,
xy
,
xz
,
yz
]
T
. The material law can then be denoted in matrix-vector
form as = C, and the kinematic equations become (w) = Dw where
D =
_

x
0 0
0

y
0
0 0

z

2y

2x
0

2z
0

2x
0

2z

2y
_

_
Using this notation, we obtain : w = (Dw)
T
C (DU).
Fluid: The equilibrium equation (2) is multiplied by a stationary vector function q where
q is a scalar test function with the physical units of pressure.
_

f
P q dV +
_

f

V q dV = 0 .
7
Now the Gauss integral theorem is applied to the second integral yielding
_

f
P q dV
_

f
div

Vq dV +
_

f

V (qn
f
) dA = 0 .
It follows from the uid material and kinematic equations (4,6) that the divergence of the uid
velocity can be replaced by the pressure as div

V =

P/B. Similarly, the normal velocity on

the boundary is replaced by the solid acceleration using kinematic compatability. The result
is written as
_

f
P q dV +
_

f
B

Pq dV
_

f
_

U n
s
_
q dA = 0 .
Solid-Fluid Interaction: Assuming that the acoustic medium is homogeneous, the mate-
rial parameters can be taken out of the integrals over the uid domain. The coupled system
of variational equations then assumes the form
_

s
(Dw)
T
C (DU) +
_

s
w
T

U dV +
_

w
T
(Pn
s
) dA = 0 , (16)

f
_

f
(q)
T
P dV
1
B
_

f
q

P dV +
_

(qn
s
)
T

UdA = 0 . (17)
Example 1: Slab The solid equilibrium equation is multiplied by a stationary test function w(x)
and integrated over the solid domain [l, 0]:

_
0
l
,
x
wdx +
s
_
0
l

Uwdx = 0
The rst term is then integrated by parts
_
0
l
w,
x
dx +(l)w(l) (0)w(0) +
s
_
0
l

Uwdx = 0
Assume that the slab is constrained at x = l, then w(l) = 0. Inserting = E and = U,
x
into
the rst integral, and using the coupling equilibrium condition to replace (0), one obtains
E
_
0
l
U,
x
w,
x
dx +
s
_
0
l

Uwdx +P(0)w(0) = 0 .
Similarly, the uid equilibrium equation is multiplied by a test function q,
x
and integrated over
the uid domain,

_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx +
f
_
l
0

V q,
x
dx = 0 .
The second term is now integrated by parts,

_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx +
f
_

V (l)q(l)

V (0)q(0)
_

f
_
l
0

V ,
x
q dx = 0 .
Using the material law and the kinematic relation, the velocity V is replaced by the pressure in the
second integral. Similarly the kinetic coupling condition is applied to replace V (0). A rigid termina-
tion of the uid is assumed at x = l such that V (l) = 0. Then the coupled system of free undamped
8
vibrations is written in the form
E
_
0
l
U,
x
w,
x
dx +
s
_
0
l

Uwdx +P(0)w(0) = 0 , (18)

f
_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx
1
B
_
l
0

Pq dx +

U(0)q(0) = 0 , (19)
where the second equation has been divided by
f
in order to write both equations in the same phys-
ical dimensions. This system is not yet completely symmetric, due to the dierent orders of time
derivation in the coupling term. Deriving hence the rst equation in time and replacing

U = V leads
to the symmetrised version:
E
_
0
l
V,
x
w,
x
dx +
s
_
0
l

V wdx +

P(0)w(0) = 0 (20)

f
_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx
1
B
_
l
0

Pq dx +

V (0)q(0) = 0 (21)
Example 2: Plate. The variational equation of a rectangular plate loaded by uid pressure
follows directly from the principle of virtual displacements. According to this principle, the virtual
work of the interior forces (of deformation and inertia) is at all times equal to the virtual work of the
external pressure. Since the pressure is directed against the positive lateral displacement, the external
work is taken with a negative sign. Denoting as above the virtual displacement by w one gets
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
h/2
h/2
(U) (w) dxdydz +
s
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
h/2
h/2

U wdxdydz =
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
(Pe
z
) wdxdydz
Assuming that the thickness remains constant during deformation, the vector notation of the strain
tensor reduces to = [
x
,
y
,
xy
,
xz
,
yz
]
T
. Assuming further that the Bernoulli hypothesis holds, the
shear strain across the thickness must vanish, and hence the strain vector reduces to = [
x
,
y
,
xy
]
T
.
Furthermore its components are related to the second derivates of the lateral displacement via
(w) = (w
z
) = z [w
z
,
xx
, w
z
,
yy
, 2w
z
,
xy
]
T
.
Since U
x
, U
y
U
z
the in-plane contributions of the inertia term are neglected,

U w U
z
w
z
. Writing
short U = U
z
, w = w
z
and carrying out the integration over the thickness leads to
Eh
3
12 (1
2
)
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
_
w,
xx
w,
yy
2w,
xy
_
_
T
_
_
1 0
1 0
0 0
1
2
_
_
_
_
U,
xx
U,
yy
2U,
xy
_
_
dxdy
+
s
h
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0

Uwdxdydz +
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
Pwdxdydz = 0
The wave equation is multiplied by a test function q(x, y, z) and integrated,
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
_
P
1
c
2

P
_
q dxdydz = 0
Integrating the rst term by parts gives
_

P
n
q dA
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
_
P q +
1
c
2

Pq
_
dxdydz = 0 ,
9
where the boundary integral can be written out as the sum over the side surfaces of the uid pillar,
_

P
n
qdA =
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
P
z
q
_
z=l
z
dxdy
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
P
z
q
_
z=0
dxdy
+
_
l
x
0
_
l
z
0
_
P
y
q
_
y=l
y
dxdz
_
l
x
0
_
l
z
0
_
P
y
q
_
y=0
dxdz
+
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
_
P
x
q
_
x=l
x
dxdz
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
_
P
x
q
_
x=0
dxdz .
or
_

P
n
qdA =
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
P
z
q
_
z=0
dxdy +
_

+
P
n
qdA,
the rst term on the left is the integral over the coupling surface and
+
is the union of the remaining
surfaces. If these surfaces are rigid then the integral over
+
vanishes.
Using the coupling condition (14) to replace the normal derivative on the coupling surface, the
uid variational equation is written as

f
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
P q dxdydz
_

P
Z
n
qdA
1
B
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0

Pq dxdydz
+
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0

U q dxdy = 0
Collecting results, the variational formulation for the free undamped vibrations of a pressure-
loaded plate nally assumes the form
K
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
w,
xx
w,
yy
2w,
xy
_
T
_
1 0
1 0
0 0
1
2
_ _
U,
xx
U,
yy
2U,
xy
_
dxdy +
s
h
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0

Uwdxdy
+
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
Pwdxdy = 0 (22)

f
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
P q dxdydz
1
B
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0

Pq dxdydz
+
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0

Uq dxdy = 0 . (23)
Damped Vibrations Vibrations in physical reality are always damped by various dissipa-
tive mechanisms like material damping in the solid or boundary absorption in the uid. The
mathematical modeling of these eects is outlined below.
Slab (material damping, radiation damping): The eect of internal friction is de-
scribed in the Kevin-Voigt hypothesis for the solid material. By this hypothesis, the total
stress is expressed as a sum of an elastic and a viscous stress,
=
e
+
v
= E +r ,
where r denotes a viscosity coecient. This hypothesis aects only the material law; the
equilibrium and kinematic conditions remain unchanged. The solid variational equation then
contains an additional term due to damping,
E
_
0
l
U,
x
w,
x
dx +r
_
0
l

U,
x
w,
x
dx +
s
_
0
l

Uwdx +P(0)w(0) = 0 .
10
Assuming further that the radiation condition

P = c
f

V is given at the far boundary of
the uid domain at x = l, the variational equation for the uid is written as

_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx

f
B
_
l
0

Pq dx +
f

U(0)q(0)
1
c

P(l)q(l) = 0
This vibrational equation contains a damping term due to radiation.
The coupled system of variational equations for the damped vibrations of the 1-D structure-
uid continuum then nally assumes the form
E
_
0
l
U,
x
w,
x
dx +r
_
0
l

U,
x
w,
x
dx +
s
_
0
l

Uwdx +P(0)w(0) = 0 (24)

f
_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx
1

f
c

P(l)q(l)
1
B
_
l
0

Pq dx +

U(0)q(0) = 0 (25)
Plate (boundary absorption): Assume that the boundary impedance Z
n
=

P/

V
n
is
given along the free edges, then the integral over
+
leads to the damping term
_

+
P
n
qdA =
f
_

P
Z
n
qdA
Now the coupling condition (14) can be used to replace the normal derivative on the coupling
surface, to obtain
_

P
n
qdA =
f
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0

U
z
q

z=0
dxdy
f
_

P
Z
n
qdA,
and the uid variational equation becomes

f
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0
P q dxdydz
_

P
Z
n
qdA
1
B
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0
_
l
z
0

Pq dxdydz
+
_
l
x
0
_
l
y
0

U q dxdy = 0
3 Finite Element Method
3.1 Finite Elements
The solid and uid domains are partitioned into subdomains called nite elements. The
intersection points of the elements are called nodes. On this partition, the physical unknowns
U and P are approximated by nodal functions U
h
U, P
h
P. The nodal functions can be
written in the form
U
h
(x, t) =

j
U
j
(t)
j
(x), P
h
(x, t) =

j
P
j
(t)
j
(x), (26)
where U
j
(t), P
j
(t) are unknown nodal values, the functions
j
(x) are linear interpolants,
and the summation extends over all nodes in the solid or uid domain, respectively. The
nodal values are computed from a system of linear algebraic equations that is derived from
the variational formulation of the coupled solid-uid equations. The interpolants
j
are the
co-called hat functions which are assembled from linear element shape functions N
k
.
11
Solid-Fluid Interaction (3-D): The volumes are partitioned into hexaedral or tetraedral
elements. The plot in Fig. 7 shows eight-node hexaedral solid and uid elements with the
nodal degrees of freedom (DOF) plotted for the rst node.
Figure 7: Hexaedral solid and uid element with nodal DOF.
Each solid node carries three DOF, while only one DOF is associated with a uid node.
The linear interpolation functions N
k
(x
loc
) are explicitely given on a regular hexaedron in
local element coordinates (the so-called master-element to which each physical element is
mapped). The solid and uid domains can be meshed independently; i.e., uid and solid
nodes need not match on the wet surface.
Slab. The solid and uid domains are partitioned into two-node line elements. Each node is asso-
ciated with one DOF only, since only translations along the x-axis are computed in this example (In
general, three translational DOF are associated with nodes on spatial truss elements.) Within each
element, the displacement or the pressure are approximated by linear interpolants as shown in Fig 8.
Figure 8: Linear approximation on two-node elements.
Plate. The uid domain is partitioned into hexaedral elements as shown in Fig. 7. The (mid-
surface of the) plate is partitioned into rectangular elements. In order to represent the lateral bending
deformation, each node is associated with three DOF, namely, the lateral deection and two angles of
rotation. Only the deection is coupled to the pressure in the uid domain.
1
For each set of DOF,
bilinear interpolation can be used within the plate element; see Fig. 9. If the Bernoulli hypothesis is
assumed, the angles depend directly on the lateral deection, and bicubic shape functions are used.
The plate and the uid can be meshed independently.
3.2 Discrete equations
The nodes form a discrete subset of the continuous computational domain. Inserting the
nodal approximations (26) into the continuous variational equations, these are transformed
1
In general, six DOF are associated with nodes of spatial plate or shell elements, and the normal projection
of the translation components is coupled to the uid pressure.
12
Figure 9: Bilinear approximation on quadrilateral plate element.
into a system of discrete variational equations whos coecients are computable integrals over
products of the shape functions or their derivatives. Cancelling out the nodal variations,
linear algebraic equations for the nodal values of the functions U
h
, P
h
are obtained.
Undamped vibrations: The system of discrete nite element equations can be written in
matrix form as
_
K
s
A
0 K
f
_ _
U
P
_
+
_
M
s
0
A
T
M
f
_ _

U

P
_
=
_
0
0
_
, (27)
where the matrices K
s
and M
s
and K
f
and M
f
denote the stiness and mass matrices of
the solid and the uid, respectively. The matrix A is obtained from the computation of the
surface integrals in equations (16) and (17). The vectors U, P contain the nodal values of
the nite element approximations U
h
, P
h
in the solid and uid nodes, respectively.
This system of equations is not symmetric. There are several ways to obtain a sym-
metrized formulation of this problem. For instance, dierentiating equation (16) once in the
time variable and replacing V =

U, the symmetric system
_

s
(Dw)
T
C (DV) +
_

s
w
T

V dV +
_

w
T
_

Pn
s
_
dA = 0 , (28)

f
_

f
(q)
T
P dV
1
B
_

f
q

P dV +
_

(qn
s
)
T

VdA = 0 . (29)
is obtained. The system of discrete equations then is written in its symmetrised form as
_
K
s
0
0 K
f
_ _
V
P
_
+
_
0 A
A
T
0
_ _

V

P
_
+
_
M
s
0
0 M
f
_ _

V

P
_
=
_
0
0
_
(30)
Damped vibrations: The discrete equations of the damped vibrations contain matrices
that are multiplied by the nodal velocities,
_
K
s
A
0 K
f
_ _
U
P
_
+
_
C
s
0
0 C
f
_ _

U

P
_
+
_
M
s
0
A
T
M
f
_ _

U

P
_
=
_
0
0
_
, (31)
13
The damping matrices are obtained from the corresponding terms of the variational equations
in the same way as the stiness and the mass matrix. The symmetrised model of free damped
vibrations is written as
_
K
s
0
0 K
f
_ _
V
P
_
+
_
C
s
A
A
T
C
f
_ _

V

P
_
+
_
M
s
0
0 M
f
_ _

V

P
_
=
_
0
0
_
(32)
Time-harmonic vibrations: Assuming time-harmonic vibrations in the form U(t) =
ue
it
etc., the stationary systems
__
K
s
A
0 K
f
_

2
_
M
s
0
A
T
M
f
___
u
p
_
=
_
0
0
_
(33)
or
__
K
s
0
0 K
f
_
i
_
0 A
A
T
0
_

2
_
M
s
0
0 M
f
___
v
p
_
=
_
0
0
_
(34)
are obtained. The coupled problem (34) is a complex quadratic eigenvalue problem. The
stiness and mass matrices are sparse and symmetric square matrices whos dimension n
s
or
n
f
, respectively, are equal to the number of unconstrained DOF in all the solid or the uid
nodes, respectively. The coupling matrix is a rectangular matrix n
s
n
f
. It has, in general,
non-zero entries in all nodes on the coupling surface.
Finally, the time-harmonic system of damped free vibrations can be written as
__
K
s
0
0 K
f
_
i
_
C
s
A
A
T
C
f
_

2
_
M
s
0
0 M
f
___
v
p
_
=
_
0
0
_
(35)
Remark: An alternative symmetric formulation of the undamped eigenvalue problem can
be obtained if one multiplies the rst equation in (33) by . Then, setting u = u, one gets
the real quadratic eigenvalue problem
__
K
s
0
0 K
f
_
+
_
0 A
A
T
0
_

2
_
M
s
0
0 M
f
___
u
p
_
=
_
0
0
_
(36)
Example 1: Slab A nite element partition of the coupled 1-D domain is shown in Fig. 10. Both
the solid and the uid have been partitioned into two line element each, whereby the nodes 1,2,3 have
been generated on each domain. The elements are of uniform length l
e
= l/2.
Figure 10: FE partition of coupled solid-uid domain.
The unknown functions U, P and the test functions w, q are now approximated by nodal func-
tions, U U
h
etc. On each element, the nodal functions can be written as products of unknown
nodal values and element shape functions. For instance, on the second solid element, U(x, t)
U
2
(t)N
1
(x) +U
3
(t)N
2
(x), and on the rst uid element, P(x, t) P
1
(t)N
1
(x) +P
2
(t)N
2
(x). Now the
14
terms in the variational equations (18) and (19) can be calculated explicitely. The domain integrals
are written as sums of element integrals viz.
_
0
l
U,
x
w,
x
dx =
_
l
e
l
P,
x
q,
x
dx +
_
0
l
e
P,
x
q,
x
dx,
_
l
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx =
_
l
e
0
U,
x
w,
x
dx +
_
l
l
e
U,
x
w,
x
dx,
and similarly for the inertia terms.
Now the nodal approximations are introduced. Consider, for example, the integrals over the rst
solid element,
E
_
l
e
0
U,
x
w,
x
dx =
_
1
1
(U,

,
x
) (w,

,
x
)
dx
d
d
=
2E
l
e
_
w
1
w
2
_
T
_
1
1
_
N
1
,

N
1
,

N
1
,

N
2
,

N
2
,

N
1
,

N
2
,

N
2
,

_
d
_
U
1
U
2
_
=
_
w
1
w
2
_
T
E
l
e
_
1 1
1 1
_ _
U
1
U
2
_
.
The result can be written in matrix notation as w
T
K
(e)
U, thereby introducing the element stiness
matrix K
(e)
. Similarly, the inertia term leads to the element mass matrix M
(e)
via

s
_
l
e
0

Uwdx =
_
1
1

Uw
dx
d
d
=

s
l
e
2
_
w
1
w
2
_
T
_
1
1
_
N
1
N
1
N
1
N
2
N
2
N
1
N
2
N
2
_
d
_

U
1

U
2
_
=
_
w
1
w
2
_
T

s
l
e
6
_
2 1
1 2
_ _

U
1

U
2
_
Likewise, the evaluation of the uid variational equation on the rst uid element leads to

f
_
l
e
0
P,
x
q,
x
dx =
_
q
1
q
2
_
T
1

f
l
e
_
1 1
1 1
_ _
P
1
P
2
_

1
B
_
l
e
0
Pq dx =
_
q
1
q
2
_
T

s
l
e
6
_
2 1
1 2
_ _
P
1
P
2
_
,
dening the element stiness and mass matrices of the uid. The uid and solid domains are coupled
in the conincident nodes 3 (solid) and 1 (uid). The coupling terms thus are written as P(0)w(0) =
P
1
w
3
,

U(0)xq(0) =

U
3
q
1
. Computing all integrals and summing up over the elements, a linear system
of discrete variational equations is obtained (all non-written matrix entries are zero). Note that the
mass matrix entries have been lumped, and the equation for the constrained solid node 1 has been
eliminated from the system of unconstrained equations.
15
_

_
w
2
w
3
q
1
q
2
q
3
_

_
T
_

_
2
E
l
e

E
l
e

E
l
e
E
l
e
1
1
l
e

f

1
l
e

1
l
e

f
2
1
l
e

f

1
l
e

1
l
e

f
1
l
e

f
_

_
_

_
U
2
U
3
P
1
P
2
P
3
_

_
+
_

_
w
2
w
3
q
1
q
2
q
3
_

_
T
_

_

1

f
c
_

_
_

U
2

U
3

P
1

P
2

P
3
_

_
+
_

_
w
2
w
3
q
1
q
2
q
3
_

_
T
_

s
l
e

s
l
e
1
l
e
B

l
e
B

l
e
B
_

_
_

U
2

U
3

P
1

P
2

P
3
_

_
= 0
Dividing by the nodal test vector [w
2
, w
3
, q
1
, q
2
, q
3
], one obtains the system of discrete nite
element equations for the damped vibrations of a 1-D solid-uid slab
_
K
s
A
0 K
f
_ _
U
P
_
+
_
C
s
A
0 C
f
_ _

U

P
_
+
_
M
s
0
A
T
M
f
_ _

U

P
_
=
_
0
0
_
(37)
with
K
s
=
E
l
e
_
2 1
1 1
_
, C
s
=
_
0 0
0 0
_
, M
s
=
s
l
e
_
1 0
0 1
_
,
A =
_
1 0 0
0 0 0
_
,
K
f
=
1
l
e

f
_
_
1 1 0
1 1 1
0 1 1
_
_
, C
f
=
1

f
c
_
_
0 0 0
0 0 0
0 0 1
_
_
, M
f
=
1
B
_
_
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
_
_
.
Example 2: Plate The coupled system of variational equations (23,23) for the undamped vibra-
tions of a uid-loaded plate can be written short as
K
_
A
(dw)
T
C(dU) dA +
textrms
h
_
A

UwdA+
_
A

PwdA = 0 , (38)

textrmf
_
V
P q dV
1
B
_
V

PqdV +
_
A

Uq dA = 0 , (39)
where C denotes the elasticity matrix and d =
_

xx
,

yy
, 2

xy
,
_
. The FE-model is now constructed
from these equations by the same procedure as for the slab:
16
Figure 11: FE meshes on the plate: structural mesh (left); faces of solid elements on coupling
surface (right).
1. FE Partition (Mesh). The domains are meshed independently. The meshes do not have to
match on the coupling surface. A sample conguration is shown in Fig. 11.
2. Partition of domain integrals. The integrals in the above equations are decomposed into
sums of element integrals.
3. FE interpolation. The functions in the element integrals are interpolated by the FE shape
functions.
4. Numerical evaluation of element integrals. The element integrals are evaluated by ap-
propriate methods of numerical integration.
5. Matrix assembly. The components of the system matrices are obtained by summation of
nodal entries from the element integrals.
The coupled system of discrete equations has the form
_
K
s
A
0 K
f
_ _
U
P
_
+
_
M
s
0
A
T
M
f
_ _

U

P
_
=
_
0
0
_
,
Figure 12: Coupling of structural and uid nodes.
The coupling of structural and uid nodes is illustrated in Fig. 12. A 4-node uid element is
highlighted in the plot on the right. Denoting its surface area by A
e
, the coupling integral from
equation (39) becomes

U
i
__
A
e
N
s
i
N
f
j
dA
_
q
j
where the summation index i includes all nodes that belong to the structural elements in the shaded
area of the left plot while the index j runs through the four nodes of the uid element. Similarly,
the coupling integrals for all elements in the shaded structural area include the uid shape functions
N
f
j
from the marked uid element. In the result, the four nodes of the uid element on the right are
coupled to all structural nodes from the highlighted area on the left. Special care has to be taken in
the selection of Gauss points in the coupled elements in order to obtain the same numerical entries to
the coupling matrices.
17
3.3 Modal analysis of the forced response
In many applications one is interested in the dynamic response to harmonic excitations of
the form F(t) = Fe
it
. The discrete model is then given by an inhomogeneous system of
linear algebraic equations. This system can be solved by the method of modal superposition
as follows:
1. Modal Analysis: Find - separately - sets of uncoupled eigenmodes of the solid and
the uid from the equations
[K
s
M
s
] x = 0 , (40)
[K
f
M
f
] x = 0 . (41)
For each of the problems, the number of eigenvectors is equal to the respective matrix
dimensions. The full sets of all eigenvectors are bases of the linear function spaces in
which the FE nodal functions are dened. However in most practical applications, only a
small number of eigenvectors is computed. The remaining (not computed) eigenvectors
are called residual vectors. The complete sets of all vectors can thus be represented as
unions of computed and residual vectors,
{x
sj
}
n
s
j=1
= {x
sj
}
N
s
j=1
{x
sj
}
n
s
j=N
s
+1
, (42)
{x
fj
}
n
f
j=1
= {x
fj
}
N
f
j=1
{x
fj
}
n
f
j=N
f
+1
. , (43)
where N
s
, N
f
denote the numbers of computed eigenvectors and n
s
, n
f
are the matrix
dimensions.
2. Modal projection: Assume that the sets of computed eigenvectors are assembled in
rectangular matrices X
s
and X
f
, respectively. Then seek the solutions of the coupled
system of forced response as modal superpositions

U(t) = X
s
Y
s
(t) (44)

P(t) = X
f
Y
f
(t) (45)
with unknown complex-valued modal coecients Y
s
, Y
f
. The modal superpositions
project the forced response onto the subspaces that are spanned by the computed solid
and uid eigenvectors, respectively.
3. Modal transform: Insert the modal superpositions (44, 45) into the equations for the
forced response, and multiply these equations from the left by X
T
s
and X
T
f
, respectively,
_
X
T
s
X
T
f
_
T
_
K
s
A
0 K
f
_ _
X
s
Y
s
X
f
Y
f
_
+
_
X
T
s
X
T
f
_
T
_
M
s
0
A
T
M
f
_ _
X
s

Y
s
X
f

Y
f
_
=
_
X
T
s
X
T
f
_
T
_
F
s
F
f
_
or, after multiplication,
_

K
s

A
0

K
f
_ _
Y
s
Y
f
_
+
_

M
s
0

A
T

M
f
_ _

Y
s

Y
f
_
=
_

F
s

F
f
_
. (46)
The submatrices

K
s
= X
T
s
K
s
X
s
,

M
s
= X
T
s
M
s
X
s
and

K
f
= X
T
f
K
f
X
f
,

M
f
= X
T
f
M
f
X
f
are called the modal transforms of the stiness and mass matrices, respectively. By
the properties of symmetric eigenvalue problems, these modal transforms are square
diagonal matrices of dimensions N
s
and N
f
, respectively.
18
The modal transform

A = X
T
s
AX
f
of the coupling matrix is a fully populated rectan-
gular matrix with the size N
s
N
f
.
It is convenient to introduce damping eects in the structure and the uid by means
of square diagonal damping matrices

C
s
and

C
f
. The system of equations for the
computation of the damped forced response then nally assumes the form
_

K
s

A
0

K
f
_ _
Y
s
Y
f
_
+
_

C
s
0
0

C
f
_ _

Y
s

Y
f
_
+
_

M
s
0

A
T

M
f
_ _

Y
s

Y
f
_
=
_

F
s

F
f
_
(47)
The modal damping matrices can be superposed with the modal transforms of material
or other damping matrices that were introduced prior to modal transform.
The corresponding symmetrised system can be written as
_

K
s
0
0

K
f
_ _
Y
s
Y
f
_
+
_

C
s

A

A
T

C
f
_ _

Y
s

Y
f
_
+
_

M
s
0
0

M
f
_ _

Y
s

Y
f
_
=
_

F
s

F
f
_
(48)
where the modal coecients Y
s
correspond to the solid velocity, and

F
s
results from
the time derivative of the solid excitation vector.
4. Solution of the modal equations and back-transform. The modal equations can
be solved by a direct complex solver to obtain the modal coecients Y
s
and Y
f
. The
physical solutions are then found from equations (44) and (45).
4 Statistical Energy Analysis
The nite element method is well suited for the vibrational analysis of structures or structure-
uid interaction. Using this method, the frequency response of dynamical systems is eval-
uated in specied spatial points (the FE nodes) and for specied frequencies. The FEM is
thus a deterministic method, both in spatial variables and in the time (frequency) variable.
With increasing frequency, the spacing of the nodes has to be very ne in order to resolve
the decreasing wavelength. The Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) is an alternative method
that is particularly well suited for computations at large frequencies. The vibrational sys-
tem is partitioned into relatively large subsystems whose average vibrational energy can be
represented by a single statistical parameter, the acoustic temperature. The computation
aims at determining the temperature distribution in the dynamical system when the inux of
external vibrational or acoustic energy is given. This distribution is computed from a system
of balance equations that describe the power ow between the subsystems.
4.1 Energy content of vibrational subsystems
The acoustic temperature of a subsystem is dened as
T =
E
tot
N
, (49)
where E
tot
is the total energy (sum of the time-averaged kinetic energies over all modes within
the frequency band), and N is the number of modes in the frequency band over which the
statistical average is taken. The acoustic temperature of a subsystem is thus its space- and
time-averaged (or frequency-averaged) energy content in a given frequency band (usually,
thirds or octaves). It is not important whether a subsystem is a single resonator, (part of)
19
a continuous structure, or a uid. The specic material properties of the subsystem are
important only insofar as they determine the modal energy content of this subsystem and
the coupling conditions to the other subsystems.
4.2 Power ow and dissipation
It can be shown that the power ow between two subsystems is governed by the rule
P
12
= M
12
[T
1
T
2
] , (50)
with a computable modal-average power transfer coecient M
12
. The interior dissipation
within the subsystems is quantied by the internal loss factor
=
< E
diss
>
2 < E
kin
>
, (51)
where the < > denotes time-averaging over one cycle,
< w >=
_
1/f
0
w(t)dt .
In the following, all entities are time-averaged, and the <> notation is skipped for simplicity.
The power dissipated within one cycle is related to the energy as
P
diss
= fE
diss
= E
kin
. (52)
The frequency f (or ) is a representative medium frequency of the band under consideration.
Equation (50) can be similarly rewritten as
P
12
= [
12
E
1

21
E
2
] , (53)
dening thereby the coupling loss factors
12
= M
12
/N
1
and
21
= M
12
/N
2
.
4.3 SEA balance equations
The SEA balance equations account for internal dissipation, external power input, and mu-
tual power transmission between the subsystems. A system consisting of M subsystems is
described by M balance equations of the form; cf. Langley and Bremner [3],

r
E
r
+
M

s=1

rs
N
r
_
E
r
N
r

E
s
N
s
_
_
= P
r
, (54)
where P
r
is the average external power input into the r-th subsystem.
4.4 Example: rectangular plate
The balance equation (54) is outlined in the following for one single thin rectangular plate
that is subject to randomly distributed transverse point loads (rain-on-the-roof forcing). This
outline follows closely the presentation in Cremer and Heckel [1]. It is assumed that the energy
of the external forces is dissipated by internal damping of the plate structure; i.e. the coupling
losses at the plate boundary are set to zero. Then the balance equation 54 reduces to
E = P ,
where E is the average energy dissipated in the plate, and P is the average external power
input.
20
Spatial averaging. The averaged velocity v is dened by
v
2
=
1
A
_
A
|v|
2
dA
Assume that a modal decomposition of the velocity is given in the formv(x, y) =

n
v
n

n
(x, y),
where the modes are orthonormalized with respect to the inner product (, ) =
_
A
dA.
Then
v
2
=
1
A
_
A
|v|
2
dA =

n
|v
n
|
2
, (55)
The modal coecients depend on the distributed load p(x, y) by the well-known relation
v
n
=
i
[
2
n
(1 +i)
2
] m
_
A
p
n
dA,
where m denotes the mass of the plate. If the plate is loaded by a point force F(x
o
, y
o
) then
v
n
(x
o
, y
o
) =
iF
n
(x
o
, y
o
)
[
2
n
(1 +i)
2
] m
.
Space-averaging (55) over the positions of the point forces now leads to

v
2
=
1
A
_
A
| v(x
o
, y
o
)|
2
dx
o
dy
o
=
F
2
m
2

2
(
2

2
n
)
2
+
2

4
n
. (56)
Frequency averaging. Considering a frequency interval = [
1
,
2
], the mean-square
frequency averages of the velocity and the forces are written as
v
2

=
1

_

2

v
2
d , F
2

=
1

_

2

1
F
2
d .
Applying this averaging to equation (56), one arrives after some simplications at the ap-
proximate relation
v
2

F
2

m
2
1

N
2

n=N
1

2
n
,
where the sum is taken over the eigenfrequencies in the interval .
Modal density. This relation is further simplied if the eigenfrequencies are approximated
by the center frequency of the band, setting
n
,
v
2

F
2

m
2

2
N

, (57)
where N is the number of modes in the frequency band . The last term of (57) is thus a
measure of modal density. According to Cremer and Heckel[1], the above approximations are
valid under the condition N 5, assuming that all modes have the same energy content
on the average.
Dissipated internal energy. The left-hand side of the balance equation (54) can now be
written (in the absence of coupling loss) as
E

= m
v
2

2
=
F
2

4
N

. (58)
21
Power inux. To compute the right-hand side of the balance equation, recall that the
power input by the time-harmonic distributed load can be computed from
P =
1
2
Re
__
A
p(x, y)v(x, y)dxdy
_
Replacing, as before, the velocity v(x, y) by its modal decomposition and reducing the dis-
tributed load to a point force, one obtains
P =
F
2

2m

2
n

2
(x
o
, y
o
)
_
(
2
n

2
)
2
+
2

4
n
_ .
Balance equation. Applying now frequency-averaging in the same way as for the veloci-
ties, one obtains
P

=
F
2

m
N

. (59)
Comparing this result with (58), the balance equation P

= E

is obtained.
5 Boundary element method
The boundary element method is particularly well suited for the numerical solution of exterior
radiation problems. The method is outlined here for the special case that the the normal
velocities v
n
on the external surface of a radiating structure are known. More precisely,
assume time-harmonic behavior and let the complex amplitudes v
n
(x) be given for x
where =
s
is the coupling wet surface between a radiating body or structure
s
and
the exterior domain
f
= R
3
\
s
. Then the complex pressure amplitudes p(x), x
f
can
be determined from the exterior Helmholtz problem
p +k
2
p = 0 , x
f
p
n
= v
n
, x (60)
+ radiation condition.
5.1 Helmholtz integral equation
The boundary value problem (60) can be transformed into an integral equation using the free-
space Green function G(r) = G(|y x|). This function is a solution of the inhomogeneous
Helmholtz problem
G+k
2
G = , x R
3
(61)
+ radiation condition.
Multiplying (60) by function G and ((61) by function p, one gets after subtracting
Gp pG = p
This equation is now integrated over the uid domain
f
,
_

f
Gp pGdV =
_

f
p dV .
22
Applying integration by parts on the left we see that the volume integrals
_

f
Gp dV
_

f
pGdV cancel. The left-hand side can thus be written in terms of boundary integrals,
_
S
+
G
n
p
p
n
GdA =
_

f
p dV ,
where S
+
denotes a large sphere with radius R . It can be shown (cf. [2, 1.1.3]) that the
boundary integral over S
+
vanishes if p satises the Sommerfeld radiation condition. The
integral on the right can be evaluated as p(x) where
= (x) =
_
_
_
0 x R \
f
1
2
x
1 x
f
The Helmholtz boundary integral equation is now nally obtained as
p(x) +
_

G(x, y)
n
y
p(y) dA(y) =
_

v
n
(y)G(x, y) dA(y) (62)
The left-hand side of this equation can be interpreted as a linear operator A : p(x) Ap(x)
acting on the unknown function p. The right-hand side is a computable function f(x) which
depends on the velocity input v. The linear integral equation can thus be written alternatively
as a linear operator equation
Ap = f .
5.2 Boundary element method
The radiating boundary is subdivided into elements, similarly to the FEM. These elements
are needed for the approximate evaluation of the boundary integral
_

G(x,y)
n
y
p(y) dA(y).
Consider, for instance, the partition of the 1-D boundary shown in Fig. 13. Assuming that
the function p is piecewise constant on the elements, the boundary integral can be written
approximately as

Ap(x) = p(x) +

j
h
j
p(y
j
)G(x, y
j
)
where h
j
denotes the length of element j (distance between the nodes) and y
j
denotes the
location of the element midpoints.
Figure 13: Boundary partition.
The operator equation

Ap(x) = f(x) can be solved by collocation. Letting x = x
j
, j =
1, . . . , N one obtains a set of linear algebraic equations

Ap(x
j
) = f(x
j
), j = 1, 2, . . . N
23
or, if written as a matrix-vector equation,
BP = F
where P is the vector of pressures in the collocation points of the method. This system
matrix B is, in general, fully populated and frequency-dependent (since the Green function
depends on the frequency). Also special care must be given to the evaluation of the element
integral when the collocation point lies inside the element, since |G| if x y.
References
[1] L. Cremer and L. Heckl, Structure-Borne Sound, Springer-Verlag Berlin 1973
[2] F. Ihlenburg, Finite Element Analysis of Acoustic Scattering, Springer Verlag New York 1998
[3] P. Bremner, R. Langley, A hybrid method for the vibration analysis of complex structural-acoustic
systems, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105(3), 1999, 16571670
24