ENERGY-FLOW ANALYSIS OF BEAMS AND PLATES FOR RANDOM DISTRIBUTED LOADING

The time- and frequency-averaged energy response of beams and plates e xcited by a random distributed loading was investigated. Two methods f or calculating the input power density from the cross-spectral density of the distributed excitation were developed, used, and compared. The energy response was calculated using energy how analysis and modal an alysis. Assuming the input impedance was that of comparable structures of infinite extent, energy flow analysis was found to yield energy de nsity predictions in good agreement with the spatially averaged energy density response obtained using modal analysis and exact transfer fun ctions for the power density input estimation. The benefits of this ap proach are discussed for the case of a simply supported plate excited by a turbulent boundary layer wetting only half of the span of the pla te. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.