Frame junction vibration transmission with a modified frame deformation model.

A previous paper dealt with vibration transmission through junctions of connected frame members where the allowed frame deformations included bending, torsion, and longitudinal motions [J.A. Moore, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 88, 2766-2776 (1990)]. In helicopter and aircraft structures the skin panels can constitute a high impedance connection along the length of the frames that effectively prohibits in-plane motion at the elevation of the skin panels. This has the effect of coupling in-plane bending and torsional motions within the frame. This paper discusses the transmission behavior through frame junctions that accounts for the in-plane constraint in idealized form by assuming that the attached skin panels completely prohibit inplane motion in the frames. Also, transverse shear deformation is accounted for in describing the relatively deep web frame constructions common in aircraft structures. Longitudinal motion in the frames is not included in the model. Transmission coefficient predictions again show the importance of out-of-plane bending deformation to the transmission of vibratory energy in an aircraft structure. Comparisons are shown with measured vibration transmission data along the framing in the overhead of a helicopter airframe, with good agreement. The frame junction description has been implemented within a general purpose statistical energy analysis (SEA) computer code in modeling the entire airframe structure including skin panels.