Hybrid Ray-Tracing-SEA method for vibroacoustic prediction in heavily damped plate systems: A numerical and experimental study

The accurate simulation of heavily damped systems remains a significant challenge in vibroacoustic engineering due to non-uniform energy distribution and high attenuation, which violate the classical Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) assumptions. To address this, a hybrid Ray-Tracing-SEA method is proposed, integrating detailed ray-based energy tracking within SEA’s framework. A numerical and experimental investigation of a three-plate aluminium system under both undamped and heavily damped conditions is presented. The total loss factors of each plate were measured using the Power Input Method, and the energy level differences between plates were recorded. Numerical predictions from the classical SEA and the hybrid method were compared against experimental data. A sensitivity analysis quantifies the convergence and robustness of the hybrid method with respect to the number of rays, the number of reflections and perturbations of the input loss factors, and the low-frequency applicability limit is examined quantitatively through bending mode counts and modal overlap factors. With Plate 2 heavily damped, the hybrid method keeps the band-averaged ELD error within about 2.5 dB between 500 and 5000 Hz, against up to about 7 dB for classical SEA. The hybrid approach offers a more reliable tool for the analysis of structures with high damping treatments.