Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport Technical Digest. Structural Acoustics

Abstract : The theme of this issue of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport's Technical Digest is structural acoustics and composite structures. Structural acoustics is that field of physics dealing with the propagation of time-wise varying motion in solid bodies and their interaction with acoustic media. The practical application of structural acoustics is in noise control. The problems in this area of engineering science are complex because, unlike acoustic fluids, there are two types of propagating waves in solids. Additional complexity is introduced by the geometric shape of the structures. For submerged structures, the fluid/structure interface requires additional conditions that must be imposed before a solution can be found. The subjects covered in this issue are radiation, scattering, self-noise, target physics, turbulent flow excitation, and composite structures. Composite materials are included because they play an important role in many marine structures. The topics are intended to be instructive and address the fundamental physical issues useful to the design of underwater vehicles. In addition to the theoretical articles presented, the Digest devotes a special section to selected test facilities operated by Division Newport and available to the scientific community. These test facilities explore/validate concepts, theories, and analyses developed at Division Newport and provide an essential link in the process that starts with an idea and ends with hardware. (MM)