The radiated sound energy in a water-filled curved pipe baffled with an elastic plate

The sound radiation from heavy fluid-filled pipes is of considerable importance in ocean engineering and ship equipment. For the sound energy which can propagate both in the structure and in the fluid has a obviously distinction for different wave modes and excitations, the determination of radiated sound energy from such a pipelines is the prerequisite for both the structure vibration reduction and sound radiation control, especially for the pipes with elbow joints and discontinuities. The radiated sound energy of a water-filled pipeline which consists of straight and elbow cells and an elastic baffled plate were investigated under consideration of the acoustic-structure coupling. The coupled system was established using the Finite Element Method (FEM). Concentrating on the energy propagates through the coupled pipeline under the acoustic excitation of a plane wave, the sound power radiated from the pipe opening and the elastic plate was simultaneously derived. The responses of the sound energy ratio for different coupled conditions have revealed a marked difference. The characteristics of the sound energy transmitted from the fluid to the structure and the effect of the elbow joints exerting on the dynamic behavior of the coupled pipeline system were primarily discussed.