Evaluation of the SEA parameters of a benchmark by the power injection method

In this paper an experimental analysis on the energy transmission in vibrating structures is considered. The Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) is, at present, the most acknowledged theory for the solution of high frequency vibroacoustic problems. The coefficients of the SEA equations depend on the coupling loss factor (CLF), the internal loss factor (ILF) and the modal densities. For complex systems, the values of such parameters cannot be provided by analytical relationships and it is rather necessary to determine them experimentally to provide a reliable solution. In this paper the case of three coupled plates is considered with the aim of determining the SEA parameters (CLF, etc). By forcing the system with a white random excitation, the acceleration of the structures is measured and the energy stored on each plate is determined. The solution of an inverse problem provides the searched SEA parameters. These values are compared with those obtained by a SEA based method, and the SEA results are compared with experimental data.