VIBRATIONAL-ENERGY FLOWS BETWEEN PLATES WITH COMPLIANT AND DISSIPATIVE COUPLINGS

In this work, the transmission of energy through a compliant and dissi pative joint between two thin rectangular plates is investigated using a receptance approach. Exact formulae for the spectral density of the energy flow through the joint, the energy dissipated at the joint, th e power input by the external excitation and the vibrational energies of the two plates are established when the plates are subject to rando m ergodic forcing. The more general case of a row of plates which are simply supported along the two longitudinal edges and coupled through compliant and dissipative joints is also investigated. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of joint damping and compliance on the magnitudes of energy flows through the joints and energy levels of th e plates. Interest is focused on the energy dissipation at the joints and the conditions for which it is maximised. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.