An experimental scheme was designed for investigation on the random vibration of the thin shell under excitation of the noise.A cylindrical shell with length 640 mm inner radius 253 2 mm

and thickness 0 8 mm was tested.The experimental installation consisted of three parts:noise generation system

noise pressure measurement system and vibration response measurement system.The time history of noise load and the shell responses were measured by microphones and acceleration sensors

and then the noise load spectrum and response spectrum were analyzed qualitatively.The characteristics of the noise load distribution in frequency domain and the vibration response under the inner random noise were obtained.Therefrom the conclusion was drawn that every vibration model of the thin shell could be excited in the frequency domain of the noise.