4 References

1 LE NY, R.: 'The electrostatic problem of a portion of sphere protrud-ing from a plane electrode in an electric field', J. Phys. A, 1981, 14, pp.945-955

2 MAXWELL, J.C.: 'A treatise on electricity and magnetism, Vol. V(Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1873) .

3 SMYTHE, W.R.: 'Static and dynamic electricity' (McGraw-Hill, NewYork, 1939)

4 WEBER, E.: 'Electromagnetic fields: Theory and applications, vol. I —Mapping of fields' (Wiley, New York, 1950)

5 DURAND, E.: 'Electrostatique, tome IF (Masson, Paris, 1966)6 HANNAKAM, L.: 'Allgemeine Losung des Randwertproblems fiir eine

Kugel durch Integration des ungestorten erregenden Feldes', Arch.Elektrotech., 1971, 54, pp. 187-199

7 BOULLOUD, A.: 'Calcul de la force electrostatique tendant a souleverune sphere conductrice posee sur un plan conducteur', C. R. Hebd.Seances Acad. ScL, 1958, 246, pp. 3325-3328

8 SMITH, W.E., and RUNGIS, J.: 'Twin adhering conducting spheres inan electric field — an alternative geometry for an electrostatic volt-meter', J. Phys. E., 1975, 8, pp. 379-382

Book reviewSound and structural vibration, radiation, transmis-sion and responseFrank FahyAcademic Press, 1985, 309 pp., £50.00ISBN: 012476700

As its title indicates this book considers sound and struc-tural vibration, or more precisely the linear interactionbetween audio-frequency vibrational motion in compress-ible fluids and structures with which they are in contact.This text is aimed at engineering students who take coursesin 'acoustics' and the professional engineer who is seekingto gain a firm grasp of this field. The book contains sevenchapters, the first two being devoted to fundamentals,which account for 1/3 of the book: four chapters on sel-ected topics on sound interaction with structures and afinal chapter which introduces numerical analysis foracoustics problems. The scope of the book, in terms of therange of applications considered, is limited, but probablyadequate for a one term course.

Each chapter concludes with a selection of problems,the answers to which are given at the end of the book.

The fundamentals considered in the first two chaptersare an introductory treatment of waves in compressiblefluid, air and solids, and sound radiated by vibrating struc-tures such as pistons and plates. Both these chapters arecomprehensive and provide a firm foundation for anystudy of these aspects of audio acoustics.

The next four chapters are devoted to the analysis ofselected examples of classes of wave-structure interaction.

Chapter three considers the elements of fluid loading onbasic vibrating structural elements such as plates andshells. Chapter 4, which is some 67 pages, is an indepthstudy of the transmission of sound through partitions.Those who design modern buildings which need to containstereo systems as well as those of us with noisy neighbourscan learn a great deal from this section! Anybody facedwith a practical noise reduction problem would be well

advised to start with this chapter. The next two chapters,consider acoustically induced vibration in structures andacoustic coupling between structures and enclosedvolumes of fluid, such as in ducts. If a second edition of thebook is published in due course, some additionalexamples, of the type provided in chapter 4, would be ofvalue in chapters 5 and 6.

The final chapter is an introduction to numericallybased analysis of fluid-structure interaction. The coveragein this section is very much an introduction which concen-trates on finite-element methods with a little on integralequation analysis. Some useful references are provided inthe text and it would be necessary to turn to these if anyserious numerical modelling is to be performed.

It is openly stated in the preface that some amount ofmathematical rigour has been sacrificed for the sake ofqualitative clarity. There are some places where I wouldhave liked to see a bit more of the maths involved — butthis is a question of taste rather than a major criticism ofthe book.

In summary, it is a well written book for the studentwith acoustics courses which have similar scope; this bookshould be put on any short list. For the engineer who hasa practical acoustics problem, in particular if sound insula-tion is involved, should consider this book as a startingpoint in any detailed analysis. And, if you are about toconstruct offices with partition walls, you would also bewell advised to at least read chapter four before you decideon a specification.

L.J. BOND

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IEE PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 133, Pt. A, No. 2, MARCH 1986