Experimental Investigation of the Structural Scattering Due to Impedance Discontinuities on a Cylindrical Shell

Experimental, numerical, and analytical work has shown that the response of a shell to a distributed force wave possesses unique characteristics which are dependent on the nature of structure attached to the shell. Specific characteristics which influence the response are the distribution of the discontinuities around the circumference (periodic/a-periodic), the impedance of the discontinuities relative to that of the shell, and the type of impedance (mass or stiffness). An experimental investigation into the harmonic scattering behavior of a shell due to mass discontinuities is presented in this paper. Knowledge of the key structural characteristics which influence scattering and their behavior will allow for a diagnostic tool when assessing the structural response of more complex cylindrical structures. Changes in structural response on a mode number basis as a result of the change in mass discontinuities are explored. Spatial Fourier analysis of both the input force and output response is used to provide a measure of the structural response matrix on a mode-by-mode basis. A distributed input force is simulated by applying forces around the circumference of the shell, then subsequently weighting the phase and amplitude of the measured transfer function according to the input force wave desired. This technique was applied to a shell in its unmodified condition, with periodic masses attached, and with aperiodic masses attached. Test results indicate that some harmonic scattering is present in the clean structure (no attached mass), likely due to non-ideal boundary conditions and the weld seam of the pipe used. Test results for the structure with periodically distributed masses indicate that response harmonics equal to the sum of input the harmonic number and an integer multiple of the number of discontinuities were excited. The structure with a-periodically distributed masses appears to scatter energy from the force harmonic into all response harmonics.