An overview of acoustic-structural interactions: Vibration and acoustic radiation

The structural vibration and the resulting acoustic radiation is a fully decoupled problem in a gas and a fully coupled problem in a fluid. The fluid-structure interaction problem encompasses a broad spectrum of areas of interest in engineering applications. This ranges from mechanically existed structures (acoustic radiation) to acoustically induced vibrations (elastic scattering) to hydrodynamically applied forces (flow noise). The coupled fluid-structure interaction for each of these problems is essentially the same; the difference lies in the manner utilized in applying the prescribed forcing function to the structure, in satisfying the interface boundary condition, and in analyzing the radiated acoustic field. The common link relating these problems is the fact that the same governing equations for the fluid and the structure are applicable in each of these areas. This commonality between the diverse fluid-structure interactions will be stressed. The different techniques being used to solve the problems for each of the three types of problems will be presented and a brief review of the state of the art will be given.