Tuned vibration absorbers for control of noise radiated by a panel

A single passive tuned vibration absorber (TVA) that is specifically designed to achieve optimal performance at a particular frequency may not be effective in handling minor changes in excitation frequency. One way of taking this into account is to use multiple TVAs tuned to slightly different frequencies. This paper is concerned with the low- to mid-frequency vibrational behaviour and radiated noise of a panel excited by a point force and controlled using attached multiple vibration absorbers tuned to different frequencies. Finite element analysis is not commonly used to predict the effect of TVAs on the sound radiation by the panel. In this paper, a theoretical model and finite element models (including FEA with and without fluid-structure interaction) are presented for the calculation of the radiated sound power of a panel with multiple TVAs attached. A simply supported panel with two TVAs attached was used as an example to compute the theoretical predictions with the finite element analysis results.