Structural Intensity Assessment of an aircraft fuselage using measured structural response data

Structural intensity allows for the visualization of the vibrational power flow in thin-walled structures. Appropriate post-processing methods, i.e. vector field decomposition, allow to identify sources and sinks of vibrations in the structure. A hybrid method developed at DLR is capable to calculate structural intensity based only on surface vibrations of arbitrary shaped surfaces. Furthermore, post-processing methods for source and sink identification as well as a novel approach to objectively identifying transfer paths are implemented. This publication applies the hybrid method on measurement data acquired during an extensive test campaign on a full-sized aircraft fuselage. For relevant frequencies the full structural intensity fields as well as identified sources and sinks will be presented. Additionally, the novel approach of path identification will be applied. Evaluations of experimental data in terms of structural intensity are so far mainly common on laboratory structures. This evaluation shows the current capabilities in structural intensity analyses on large scale aircraft structures and therefore massively extends the applicability.