LAUSR

Abstract Two methods for computing the complex-valued effective wavenumber of a rough beam in the context of linear time-harmonic theory are presented. The roughness of the beam is modelled as a continuous random process of known characteristic length and root-mean-square amplitude for either the beam mass or the beam rigidity. The first method is based on a random sampling method, with the effective wave field calculated as the mean of a large ensemble of wave fields for individual realisations of the roughness. The individual wave fields are calculated using a step approximation, which is validated for a deterministic problem via comparison to results produced by an integral equation approach. The second method assumes a splitting of the length scale of the fluctuations and an observation scale, employing a multiple-scale approximation to derive analytical expressions for the effective attenuation rate and phase change. Numerical comparisons show agreement of the results of the random sampling method and the multiple-scale approximation for a wide range of parameters. It is shown that the effective wavenumbers only differ by a real constant between the cases of varying beam mass and rigidity.