During its mission, a launch vehicle is subject to broadband, severe, aeroacoustic and structure-borne excitations of various provenances, which can endanger the survivability of the payload and the vehicles electronic equipment, and consequently the success of the mission. Aerospace structures are generally characterized by the use of exotic composite materials of various configurations and thicknesses, as well as by their extensively complex geometries and connections between different subsystems. It is therefore of crucial importance for the modern aerospace industry, the development of analytical and numerical tools that can accurately predict the vibroacoustic response of large, composite structures of various geometries and subject to a combination of aeroacoustic excitations. Recently, a lot of research has been conducted on the modelling of wave propagation characteristics within composite structures. In this study, the Wave Finite Element Method (WFEM) is used in order to predict the wave dispersion characteristics within orthotropic composite structures of various geometries, namely flat panels, singly curved panels, doubly curved panels and cylindrical shells. These characteristics are initially used for predicting the modal density and the coupling loss factor of the structures connected to the acoustic medium. Subsequently the broad-band Transmission Loss (TL) of the modelled structures within a Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) wave-context approach is calculated. Mainly due to the extensive geometric complexity of structures, the use of Finite Element(FE) modelling within the aerospace industry is frequently inevitable. The use of such models is limited mainly because of the large computation time demanded even for calculations in the low frequency range. During the last years, a lot of researchers focus on the model reduction of large FE models, in order to make their application feasible. In this study, the Second Order ARnoldi (SOAR) reduction approach is adopted, in order to minimize the computation time for a fully coupled composite structural-acoustic system, while at the same time retaining a satisfactory accuracy of the prediction in a broadband sense. The system is modelled under various aeroacoustic excitations, namely a diffused acoustic field and a Turbulent Boundary Layer (TBL) excitation. Experimental validation of the developed tools is conducted on a set of orthotropic sandwich composite structures. Initially, the wave propagation characteristics of a flat panel are measured and the experimental results are compared to the WFEM predictions. The later are used in order to formulate an Equivalent Single Layer (ESL) approach for the modelling of the spatial response of the panel within a dynamic stiffness matrix approach. The effect of the temperature of the structure as well as of the acoustic medium on the vibroacoustic response of the system is examined and analyzed. Subsequently, a model of the SYLDA structure, also made of an orthotropic sandwich material, is tested mainly in order to investigate the coupling nature between its various subsystems. The developed ESL modelling is used for an efficient calculation of the response of the structure in the lower frequency range, while for higher frequencies a hybrid WFEM/FEM formulation for modelling discontinuous structures is used.

Pendant sa mission, un lanceur est soumis à des excitations large bande, sévères, aérodynamiques, de provenances diverses, qui peuvent mettre en danger la survivabilité de la charge utile et de l’équipement électronique du véhicule, et par conséquent le succès de la mission. Les structures aérospatiales sont généralement caractérisées par l’utilisation de matériaux composites exotiques des configurations et des épaisseurs variantes, ainsi que par leurs géométries largement complexes. Il est donc d’une importance cruciale pour l’industrie aérospatiale moderne, le développement d’outils analytiques et numériques qui peuvent prédire avec précision la réponse vibroacoustique des structures larges, composites de différentes géométries et soumis à une combinaison des excitations aéroacoustiques. Récemment, un grand nombre de recherches ont été menées sur la modélisation des caractéristiques de propagation des ondes au sein des structures composites. Dans cette étude, la méthode des éléments finis ondulatoires (WFEM) est utilisée afin de prédire les caractéristiques de dispersion des ondes dans des structures composites orthotropes de géométries variables, nommément des plaques plates, des panneaux simplement courbés, des panneaux doublement courbés et des coques cylindriques. Ces caractéristiques sont initialement utilisées pour prédire la densité modale et le facteur de perte par couplage des structures connectées au milieu acoustique. Par la suite, la perte de transmission (TL) à large bande des structures modélisées dans le cadre d’une analyse statistique énergétique (SEA) dans un contexte ondulatoire est calculée. Principalement en raison de la complexité géométrique importante de structures, l’utilisation des éléments finis (FE) au sein de l’industrie aérospatiale est souvent inévitable. L’utilisation de ces modèles est limitée principalement à cause du temps de calcul exigé, même pour les calculs dans la bande basses fréquences. Au cours des dernières années, beaucoup de chercheurs travaillent sur la réduction de modèles FE, afin de rendre leur application possible pour des systèmes larges. Dans cette étude, l’approche de SOAR est adoptée, afin de minimiser le temps de calcul pour un système couplé de type structurel-acoustique, tout en conservant une précision satisfaisante de la prédiction dans un sens large bande. Le système est modélisé sous diverses excitations aéroacoustiques, nommément un champ acoustique diffus et une couche limite turbulente (TBL).La validation expérimentale des outils développés est réalisée sur un ensemble de structures sandwich composites orthotropes. Ces derniers sont utilisés afin de formuler une approche couche équivalente unique (ESL) pour la modélisation de la réponse spatiale du panneau dans le contexte d’une approche de matrice de raideur dynamique. L’effet de la température de la structure ainsi que du milieu acoustique sur la réponse du système vibroacoustique est examiné et analysé. Par la suite, un modèle de la structure SYLDA, également fait d’un matériau sandwich orthotrope, est testé principalement dans le but d’enquêter sur la nature de couplage entre ses divers sous-systèmes. La modélisation ESL précédemment développée est utilisé pour un calcul efficace de la réponse de la structure dans la gamme des basses et moyennes fréquences, tandis que pour des fréquences plus élevées, une hybridisation WFEM / FEM pour la modélisation des structures discontinues est utilisé. / During its mission, a launch vehicle is subject to broadband, severe, aeroacoustic and structure-borne excitations of various provenances, which can endanger the survivability of the payload and the vehicles electronic equipment, and consequently the success of the mission. Aerospace structures are generally characterized by the use of exotic composite materials of various configurations and thicknesses, as well as by their extensively complex geometries and connections between different subsystems. It is therefore of crucial importance for the modern aerospace industry, the development of analytical and numerical tools that can accurately predict the vibroacoustic response of large, composite structures of various geometries and subject to a combination of aeroacoustic excitations. Recently, a lot of research has been conducted on the modelling of wave propagation characteristics within composite structures. In this study, the Wave Finite Element Method (WFEM) is used in order to predict the wave dispersion characteristics within orthotropic composite structures of various geometries, namely flat panels, singly curved panels, doubly curved panels and cylindrical shells. These characteristics are initially used for predicting the modal density and the coupling loss factor of the structures connected to the acoustic medium. Subsequently the broad-band Transmission Loss (TL) of the modelled structures within a Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) wave-context approach is calculated. Mainly due to the extensive geometric complexity of structures, the use of Finite Element(FE) modelling within the aerospace industry is frequently inevitable. The use of such models is limited mainly because of the large computation time demanded even for calculations in the low frequency range. During the last years, a lot of researchers focus on the model reduction of large FE models, in order to make their application feasible. In this study, the Second Order ARnoldi (SOAR) reduction approach is adopted, in order to minimize the computation time for a fully coupled composite structural-acoustic system, while at the same time retaining a satisfactory accuracy of the prediction in a broadband sense. The system is modelled under various aeroacoustic excitations, namely a diffused acoustic field and a Turbulent Boundary Layer (TBL) excitation. Experimental validation of the developed tools is conducted on a set of orthotropic sandwich composite structures. Initially, the wave propagation characteristics of a flat panel are measured and the experimental results are compared to the WFEM predictions. The later are used in order to formulate an Equivalent Single Layer (ESL) approach for the modelling of the spatial response of the panel within a dynamic stiffness matrix approach. The effect of the temperature of the structure as well as of the acoustic medium on the vibroacoustic response of the system is examined and analyzed. Subsequently, a model of the SYLDA structure, also made of an orthotropic sandwich material, is tested mainly in order to investigate the coupling nature between its various subsystems. The developed ESL modelling is used for an efficient calculation of the response of the structure in the lower frequency range, while for higher frequencies a hybrid WFEM/FEM formulation for modelling discontinuous structures is used.