Weakly radiating structural modes of automotive-type panels

In this paper, structural acoustic optimisation of automotive-type panels is considered. The aim of the optimisation method used is to impose on the panel structural modes that radiate acoustic energy weakly. In the proposed approach, the panel under consideration is isolated from the rest of the structure and hence reduce significantly the time required for its analysis and optimisation. The proposed method is applied specifically to the optimisation of a floor panel of a simplified car model. To achieve weakly radiating structural modes different geometric modifications on the panel are considered. The results show significant reduction in the radiated sound power of the optimised panels.