Hygrothermal sound radiation analysis of layered composite plate using HFEM-IBEM micromechanical model and experimental validation

The sound radiation responses of multi-layer composite plates subjected to harmonic mechanical excitation in hygrothermal environment is numerically investigated. A homogenized micromechanical finite element (FE) based on the higher-order mid-plane kinematics replicating quadratic function as well as the through the thickness stretching effect together with the indirect boundary element (IBE) scheme has been first time employed. The isoparametric Lagrangian element (ten degrees of freedom per node) is used for discretization to attain the hygro-thermo-elastic natural frequencies and the modes of the plate via Hamilton's principle. The effective material properties under combined hygrothermal loading are considered via a micromechanical model. An IBE method is then implemented to attain structure-surrounding coupling and the Helmholtz wave equation is solved to compute the sound radiation responses. The effectiveness of the model is tested by converging it with the similar analytical/numerical results as well as the experimentally acquired data. The present scheme is further hold out for solving diverse numerical illustrations. The results revealed the relevance of the current higher-order FE-IBE micromechanical model in realistic estimation of hygro-thermo-acoustic responses. The geometrical parameters, volume fraction of fiber, layup, and support conditions alongside the hygrothermal load is found to have significant influence on the vibroacoustic characteristics.