Control of sound transmission into a hybrid double-wall sandwich cylindrical shell

A 3D analytical model is formulated for diffuse sound field transmission control through a smart hybrid double concentric sandwich circular cylindrical shell structure in presence of external and internal air gap mean flows. The multi-input multi-output sliding mode control is applied to enhance the sound transmission loss characteristics via direct control action of a uniform force piezoelectric actuator layer along with semi-active variation of the stiffness/damping characteristics of the electrorheological fluid core layer incorporated in a non-collocated configuration within the external or internal shell structure. Extensive numerical simulations examine the uncontrolled/controlled diffuse field sound transmission loss spectrums in a broad frequency range for single-wall and hybrid double-wall sandwich shells at selected external and air gap Mach numbers. The proposed smart hybrid active/semi-active double-wall configuration is demonstrated to provide satisfactory overall acoustic insulation control performance with much lower operative energy requirements. Limiting cases are considered, and validity of the formulation is verified against the available data.