A unified framework for predictive modeling of mass-loaded plates in virtual acoustic environments

AbstractThis paper proposes a unified virtual acoustic laboratory model, in which the source room and receiving room are simulated as reverberant and anechoic environments, that can directly calculate high-order acoustic quantities, such as sound radiation and sound intensity. The computational novelty consists in a variational discretization that both the structural displacement and sound pressure are expanded by augmented multi-dimensional Fourier bases, enabling a compact block-matrix coupled system. The consistent incorporation of arbitrary acoustic impedance boundaries by appending impedance functionals to the system Lagrangian, which yields impedance-consistent boundary terms directly in the discrete governing equations without modifications. A generalized discrete-mass treatment that supports arbitrary numbers, locations, and magnitudes of point masses is used in the same governing system, facilitating systematic parametric studies without rebuilding the model. Comparative simulations against the finite element method (FEM) show excellent agreement in frequency responses and spatial field distributions, thereby substantiating the fidelity, numerical stability, and efficiency of the proposed modelling and solution procedure. The parameters analysis is conducted on the number and location of additional point masses, as well as the boundary conditions and thickness of the plate, resulting in the sound transmission loss (STL) of the structure, which can serve as a reference for engineering applications.