Fuzzy-structure acoustics

Article By:

Pierce, Allan D. Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.

Last reviewed:June 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757466

Large structures such as ships and airplanes can undergo a variety of complicated vibrations. Such structures typically consist of an outer body made of metal plating (for example, the hull of a ship) or perhaps a massive metallic frame (for example, the chassis of a truck), and a large variety of internal objects that are connected to either the plating or the frame. In designing such structures, it is highly desirable to have some method for predicting how they will vibrate under various conditions. The radiation of sound caused by these vibrations, either into the environment or into the empty portions of the structure, is also of interest because this sound is often either unwanted noise or a means of inferring information about the details of the structure or the excitation. Fuzzy-structure acoustics refers to a class of conceptual viewpoints in which precise computationally intensive models of the overall structure are replaced by nonprecise analytical models, for which the initial information is said to be fuzzy. See also: Fuzzy sets and systems

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