Dynamic analysis of shells of revolution submerged in an acoustic medium by the finite element method

A method is presented for the evaluation of the displacements and surface pressure which are induced by harmonic excitations of a shell of revolution submerged in an acoustic medium. The method utilizes a source distribution approach for the acoustic medium and a finite element method for the shell structure. Compatibility conditions on the fluid-shell interface allow the unknown source strengths and the radiated pressure to be expressed in terms of the unknown shell displacements. By coupling the radiated pressure with the equations of motion of the shell, the displacements can be determined by Gaussian elimination. The radiated pressure can thus be determined accordingly. Numerical results for spherical shells with various loading conditions are presented and compared with exact solutions.