2-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF THIN SHELL-LIKE OR PLATE-LIKE MUFFLER ELEMENTS OF NONUNIFORM THICKNESS

A general procedure for the analysis of curved, thin muffler elements, which can efficiently utilize the limited space in hermetically seale d compressors or compact engine installations [1], is extended to take non-uniform thickness into account. The inhomogeneous 2-D wave equati on for the non-uniform thickness case is derived in two dimensional cu rvilinear co-ordinates defined on a curved surface by the application of Hamilton's principle. Four pole parameters are formulated from the pressure response solutions using the modal series expansion method an d orthogonality property. The analyses of two types of curved, thin mu ffler elements with thickness variation in only one direction are demo nstrated as examples. Analytical results are verified by comparison wi th the results obtained from a finite element program. Good agreement was achieved as long as the thickness of the muffler element is suffic iently small compared to the wavelength range of interest. (C) 1996 Ac ademic Press Limited