High-intensity acoustics simulated by a shaker

Designing an appropriate shaker random vibration test to accurately simulat e a high-intensity acoustic environment is complicated by the fundamental d ifferences in the nature acoustic excitation and baseshake input, as well a s test fixture and boundary condition differences. A coupon random vibratio n test of a spacecraft panel with an imbedded heat-pipe component was perfo rmed to simulate the expected acoustic environment at liftoff and flight. A nalytical predictions of the acoustic response of the full panel were made and then compared with predictions of the baseshake response of the coupon configuration at specific locations. An appropriate shaping profile was the n designed for the random vibration test. The resulting responses produced by the random vibration test were found to be a good representation of the acoustic responses in both overall response levels and power spectral densi ties.