Enhanced Low-Frequency Sound Absorption of a Porous Layer Mosaicked with Perforated Resonator

A composite structure composed of a porous-material layer mosaicked with a perforated resonator is proposed to improve the low-frequency sound absorption of the porous layer. This structure is investigated in the form of a porous-material matrix (PM) and a perforated resonator (PR), and the PR is a thin perforated plate filled with porous material in its back cavity. Theoretical and numerical models are established to predict the acoustic impedance and sound absorption coefficient of the proposed structure, and two samples made of polyurethane and melamine, respectively, are tested in an impedance tube. The predicted results are consistent with that of the measured. Compared with a single porous layer with the same thickness, the results show that the designed structure provides an additional sound absorption peak at low frequencies. The proposed structure is compact and has an effective absorption bandwidth of more than two octaves especially below the frequency corresponding to 1/4 wavelength. A comparison is also made between the sound absorption coefficients of the proposed structure and a classical micro-perforated plate (MPP), and the results reveal equivalent acoustic performance, suggesting that it can be used as an alternative to the MPP for low–mid frequency sound absorption. Moreover, the influences of the main parameters on the sound absorption coefficient of PPCS are also analyzed, such as the hole diameter, area ratio, flow resistance, and porous-material thickness in the PR. The mechanism of sound absorption is discussed through the surface acoustic impedance and the distributions of particle velocity and sound pressure at several specific frequencies. This work provides a new idea for the applications of the thin porous layer in low- and medium-frequency sound absorption.

Experimental Study on the Sound Absorption Properties of Finger Millet Straw, Darbha, and Ripe Bulrush Fibers

Nowadays, emerging noise pollution by external factors causes harmful diseases in human beings. The development of a bio-based filler or panel will help to eliminate some unwanted noise in working places and living rooms. This work aimed to develop an ecowaste fiber (leftover after harvesting)-based sound absorber and analyze its capabilities for sound absorption. The ecowaste fibers are collected by the gleaning process, i.e., the process of collecting leftovers from fields. The sound absorption capabilities of three natural fibers extracted from Eleusine coracana (Finger millet) straw, Desmostachya bipinnata (Darbha), and Typha domingensis (Ripe bulrush) plants are investigated in this study, both individually and in hybrid combinations. The sound absorption property mainly depends on factors such as porosity, flow resistivity, thickness, density, and tortuosity. Fiber length and fiber type play a significant role when fibers are arranged individually or in hybrid combinations. The stacking effect on the sound absorption coefficient of hybridized fiber arrangement was experimentally analyzed. The sound absorption coefficient (α) was found to be lower in the range of 1000 Hz–2500 Hz for all the combinations. As a homogenous fiber arrangement, the darbha fiber exhibited the better NRC (noise reduction coefficient) of 0.86 for 50 mm thickness among three different fibers and as a hybrid composition, ripe bulrush and darbha fibers exhibited NRC of 0.90 which is more capable of absorbing sound in the critical frequency range of 500 to 2000 Hz. These types of natural fiber fillers are highly capable of better sound absorbing and used in the applications such as classrooms, sound recording rooms, and theatres.

The Sound Absorption Coefficient of Railway Concrete Sleepers Containing Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) As a Cement Replacement Material

Major noise and vibration during train operation can cause disturbance to the surrounding. One of the methods to reduce this disturbance are by installing concrete sleepers. The use of railway concrete sleepers may be a high potential to reduce the noise and vibration. To produce concrete sleepers cement usage will be used with greater volume. Approximately 100 million tons of Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) was disposed to the landfill currently. POFA contains high silica content and porous particles which indicated its pozzolanic properties and sound absorption characteristics. Therefore, this study was to determine the sound absorption coefficient of railway concrete sleepers containing POFA as a cement replacement material. Concrete sleepers with a strength grade of 55 and a w/c ratio of 0.35 were prepared in this study. Three design mixes with 0% (control), 20%, and 40% of POFA tested by using an impedance tube test at 28 days of curing age. The results show, the sound absorption coefficient and noise reduction coefficient increases as the percentage of POFA increases. The best performance was obtained by concrete sleepers containing 40% of POFA, with a recorded sound absorption coefficient of 0.10 for low frequency and 0.44 for high frequency. Meanwhile, the noise reduction coefficient recorded was 0.33, which reduce 32% of noise compared to OPC.

On the development of a virtual test bench to assess sound absorption of materials in an alpha chamber

A description is given of a virtual test-bench (VTB) designed by engineering center of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University to calculate a sound absorption coefficient of various materials. Developed VTB differs from known programs in that it allows a sound absorption coefficient of various materials to be determined with minimum involvement of an engineer. This VTB differs from other programs also by using infinite elements jointly with finite elements, which increases adequacy of the discrete model being used, and also the configuration of the boundary of an alpha chamber being used. The known programs use various phenomenological mathematical models of porous materials such as Johnson-Champoux-Allard (JCA) model. The VTB is based on fundamental mathematical models and statistical energy analysis (SEA) that allow describing adequately the established or transitional processes of sound absorption and reflection by a porous material the properties of which are not homogenized. The value of this VTB, which is created on the basis of a VA One software complex supplemented by a set of files of boundary conditions, files of solvers’ settings, secondary finite element (FE) models, is that VTB allows standardized calculations to be performed to determine the sound absorption coefficient of a material with minimum involvement of an engineer and the obtained result to be submitted for detailed processing. Developed virtual test-bench enables determination of a sound absorption coefficient for various materials within the entire finite frequency range. The result of the calculation is displayed as a graph of dependency of the material sound absorption coefficient on frequency.

Optimization of Low Frequency Acoustic Absorption Characteristics of Underwater Acoustic Cover Based on Nelder-Mead Simplex Method

In order to solve the low frequency sound absorption problem of acoustic covering layer, the local resonant cavity covering layer is established. The geometric parameters and material parameters of the composite structure are taken as optimization variables, the maximum sound absorption coefficient in the frequency band of 10-2000Hz is taken as optimization objective, and the Nelder-Mead simplicated method was used as optimization method to optimize the established model. The optimization results show that the sound absorption coefficient of the composite structure is increased by 13% and 24% respectively after the optimization of geometric parameters and material parameters. The sound pressure level of the sound wave emitted into the water area is reduced by about 3dB after the optimization, and the power loss is equivalent to increasing by half. Therefore, the sound absorption performance is improved. The research results can provide a theoretical basis for the design of acoustic coating.

Investigation of Sound Absorption Properties of Heat-Treated Indonesian Momala (Homalium foetidum (Roxb.) Benth.) and Korean Red Toon (Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) M. Roem.) Cross Sections

This study investigates the effects of heat treatment time and presence of an air back cavity on the sound absorption performance of Indonesian momala (Homalium foetidum (Roxb.) Benth.) and Korean red toon (Toona sinensis (A. Juss.) M. Roem.) cross sections. To examine the porous characteristics of the two species before and after heat treatment, gas permeability, pore size, and porosity analyses were conducted. Additionally, the sound absorption coefficient was measured based on various heat treatment times and air back cavity sizes. The results showed that, with heat treatment at 210 °C for 6 h, the gas permeability improved by 4.3% for the momala and 38.5% for the red toon, the maximum pore size was improved by 5.25% in the momala and 26.0% in the red toon, and the through-pore porosity improved by 22.7% for the momala and 117.0% for the red toon. Due to these pore structure changes, the noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of the heat-treated momala improved by 6.8%. When a 3-cm air back cavity was applied to the heat-treated momala, the NRC was improved to 92.5%. Similarly, when the same air back cavity was applied to the heat-treated red toon, the NRC was improved to 190.7%. This study demonstrated that an increase in pore size and through-pore porosity by heat treatment triggered an increase in the sound absorption coefficient. Additionally, when an air cavity was applied, the sound absorption coefficient of both heat-treated wood species was increased at low frequency. From the results of this study, we expected that heat-treated momala and red toon cross-sections can be utilized as eco-friendly ceiling materials with sound absorption function.

Evaluation and comparison the properties of acoustic boards made of date palm fiber

Applying acoustic panels made of natural fibers, due to their high biodegradable characteristics, light weight, low density, cheap price and non-toxicity, are proper alternatives to acoustic absorbers made of synthetic fibers. Considering their stance and vast applicability in industry, the possibility of producing them of natural palm fibers with sodium silicate adhesive of 10 and 20% in two 16 and 32 mm thicknesses, 350 and 450 kg/m3 densities, 50 and 100 mm particles length (strands), as variable factors in 16 types of matched panels with 3 repetitions is proposed in this article. The palm-trunk discs constituted the control sample. The effect of variables on sound absorption coefficient was assessed. The effect of variable thickness and adhesive percentage on all frequencies was significant and the effect of density variable on all frequencies except 250 and 2000 Hz was also significant. The effect of particle length was significant except at the 500 Hz frequency. The effects of all variables on porosity were significant. The results of this study suggest that by applying date palm-trunk (an agricultural waste) combined with sodium silicate adhesive, industrial environment-friendly panels can be produced with proper sound absorption coefficient in the field of acoustics. This 32-mm-thick panel was composed of 80% date palm-trunk particles of 50 mm length, 450 kg/m3 density, and 20% sodium silicate adhesive.

Improved Sound Absorption Properties in Polyurethane Foams by the Inclusion of Al2O3 Nanoparticles

At present, the scale of China’s power grid is becoming larger and larger, and the control of low-frequency noise in substations (especially for transformers) is very important. The sound-absorbing materials have become one of the important ways to control low-frequency noise. The single polyurethane material cannot satisfy the requirements for reducing low-frequency noise, so it is very necessary to study its composite with other materials. In the paper, the flexible polyurethane foam and Al2O3 nanoparticle composites were obtained by the impregnation method. The method was simple, safe, and easy to control. The morphology and sound absorption coefficient of the foam materials before and after filling were analyzed. Single-hole acoustic cavity models of PU and Al2O3-PU composite were established through the finite element. The absorption and dissipation process of sound pressure for single hole was studied to understand the energy dissipation process. Meanwhile, through studying acoustic energy storage and acoustic energy dissipation, the loss factor of a single hole was obtained, which can predict the change rule of the sound absorption coefficient for PU foam and Al2O3-PU.