Acoustic properties of micro-perforated panel absorber having arbitrary cross-sectional perforations

Micro-perforated panel absorber is used in many noise control applications as a next-generation absorbing material. Perforation shapes of micro-perforated panel studied are usually circular in the past. However, in practice, the perforations are often non-circular or irregular shape due to manufacturing techniques. Sound absorption coefficient and absorption bandwidth of the micro-perforated panel absorber may be further improved, when the perforations in shape are changed. In view of the existing exact solutions of sound propagation in tubes, the simple formulas of specific acoustic impedances of the tubes for triangle and square cross-sectional perforations are derived. Mass reactance end correction of the micro-perforated panel is obtained based on the sound radiation of a shaped piston. The specific acoustic impedance ratio of the micro-perforated panel absorber is calculated and analyzed, which can predict its sound absorption bandwidth. Finally, for closed perforations, the influences of the perforations in shape (including triangle, circle, square and irregular circle) on sound absorption of the MPP absorber are discussed in collaboration with FE simulations.     

Advances in micro-perforated panel absorbers

Theoretical and experimental investigations on the performance of micro-perforated -panel absorbers are reviewed in this paper. By reviewing recent research work, this paper reveals a relationship between the maximum absorption coefficient and the limit of the absorption frequency bandwidth. It has been demonstrated that the absorption frequency bandwidth can be extended up to 3 or 4 octaves as the diameters of the micro-holes decrease. This has become possible with the development of the technologies for manufacturing micro-perforated panels, such as laser drilling, powder metallurgy, welded meshing and electro-etching to form micrometer order holes. In this paper, absorption characteristics of such absorbers in random fields and in high sound intensity are discussed both theoretically and experimentally. A new absorbing structure based on micro-perforated-panel absorbers demonstrate experimentally high sound absorption capability. This review shows that the micro-perforated-panel absorber has potentials to be one of ideal absorbing materials in the 21st century.     

Oblique incidence sound absorption of parallel arrangement of multiple micro-perforated panel absorbers in a periodic pattern

The sound absorption performance of a micro-perforated panel (MPP) absorber array at oblique incidence and in diffuse field is investigated both numerically and experimentally. The basic module of the MPP absorber array consists of four parallel-arranged MPP absorbers with different cavity depths, and the whole MPP absorber array is created by arranging the basic modules in a periodically repeating pattern. Results show that the influence of incidence angle mainly lies in two aspects. First, the parallel absorption mechanism breaks down at lower frequencies at oblique incidence than at normal incidence due to the non-compactness of the resonating MPP absorber, which becomes non-compact if the time delay of incident wave across it is comparable to or larger than π/2. Second, the equivalent acoustic impedance of the MPP varies with respect to incidence angle which in turn changes the sound absorption performance of the MPP absorber array. Influence of the azimuthal angle is insignificant. Because of mutual influence among the member MPP absorbers, the normal incidence sound absorption of the MPP absorber array can be noticeably different from that of the basic module tested in impedance tube. The measured sound absorption coefficients of a prototype specimen in reverberation room compare well with the numerical predictions. The extra sound absorption due to diffraction of sound at the free edges of test specimen is the most efficient around 500 Hz.     

穿孔率和穿孔直径耦合下微穿孔板吸声体整体吸声性能

微穿孔板几何参数的耦合性及其对整体吸声性能的影响,对于设计微穿孔板吸声体和优化其工作性能具有指导作用。根据微穿孔板吸声体基本理论,研究了穿孔率和穿孔直径双参数耦合作用下微穿孔板吸声体的整体吸声性能。穿孔率和穿孔直径之间的耦合性与其本身取值密切相关,而与板厚和板后腔深无明显关系;在穿孔率-穿孔直径参数域上,吸声体存在吸声系数为1.0的吸收峰,整体吸声性能随穿孔率或穿孔直径从小到大变化,呈现出先增强后减弱的变化趋势。该结论能够准确解释微穿孔板受粉尘污染后吸声性能的变化规律和演变路径。论文的工作为设计微穿孔板吸声体提供了一种新的理论依据和实施方法。      

微穿孔介电弹性体薄膜的吸声性能试验分析*

针对普通薄膜型降噪结构的吸声性能较差和吸声带宽较窄的问题,本文设计了一种微穿孔的介电弹性体薄膜吸声结构。该结构由穿孔的介电弹性体薄膜与背腔组合而成,目的是拓宽介电弹性体薄膜低频率段的吸声带宽。针对微穿孔的介电弹性体薄膜吸声结构,从试验角度分析穿孔薄膜初始厚度、穿孔孔径及穿孔间距对结构吸声性能的影响。分析结果可知：通过适当增加薄膜的初始厚度,薄膜的整体吸声性能得到有效提升,最大可将319Hz吸声频带的吸声系数从0.2提升至0.7;减小薄膜的穿孔孔径能够有效拓宽穿孔薄膜的吸声频带,可使吸声系数0.4以上的吸声带宽由304Hz拓宽至432Hz;适当控制穿孔间距能够达到更好的吸声效果。     

Experimental investigation of holes interaction effect on the sound absorption coefficient of micro-perforated panels under high and medium sound levels

This paper experimentally investigates the holes interaction effect on the sound absorption coefficient of micro-perforated panels under high and medium sound levels. The theoretical formulations are based on a semi-empirical approach and the use of Fok’s function to model the acoustic surface impedance. For the high sound level regime, an empirical power law involving three coefficients is adapted. It is shown theoretically and experimentally that these coefficients can lead to optimized absorption performance and particularly, a formula relating the critical Reynolds number (Reynolds number value after which the absorption coefficient decreases with the increase of sound level) and the center-to-center distance between the perforations is derived. It is demonstrated that the first coefficient of the nonlinear acoustic resistance strongly depends on the separation distance between the apertures and decreases with a decrease of this latter distance. Analysis of the data reveals the fact that even with Holes Interaction Effect (HIE), the nonlinear reactance dependence on velocity is still very low compared to the resistance-velocity dependence. Four perforated panels of 1.5 mm thickness with different separation distances between the holes (from widely to closely separation) were built and tested. Experimental results performed with an impedance tube are compared with the described model for HIE. To test the dependence of the coefficients on frequency, the experiments are carried out for two different excitation frequencies (292 Hz and 506 Hz). The results can be used for designing optimal perforated panels for ducts, silencers and for the automotive industry.     

水下弹性微穿孔吸声结构吸声系数研究

利用模态叠加法建立了水介质微穿孔板的数学模型,基于声电类比法得到其等效电路模型。研究了弹性微穿孔板和弹性背腔对垂直入射吸声系数的影响。与空气介质中的微穿孔板不同,水下微穿孔板因结构阻抗不足,难以取得满意的吸声效果,为此提出了增强型微穿孔吸声结构,并在水介质阻抗管内对理论结果予以验证。结果表明,随着增强型弹性微穿孔板弯曲刚度的增大,其在[20,2000]Hz范围内的平均吸声系数得到提高,逐步趋近于刚性微穿孔板的结果,弹性背板使微穿孔吸声结构的吸声峰向低频移动,低频吸声效果得到提高。      

Estimation of geometric parameters for micro-perforated panels and their effects on sound absorption performance

The geometric parameters of micro-perforated panels with irregular holes cannot be directly known,making it difficult to calculate the sound absorption performance.Therefore,we propose a method of estimating the geometric parameters of micro-perforated panels.The irregular holes are treated as equivalent circular ones,and the model of estimating the geometric parameters is established by using Maa's theory about the panel with circular holes.The result of the parameter estimation of a type of micro-perforated panel is used to predict the absorption performance,resulting in good agreement with experiments.According to the influences of the geometric parameters of the panel on the high absorption region,we discuss the relationship between the application limit of Maa's theory and the geometric parameters,and investigate the evolution law of the sound absorption performance when the panel is polluted by dust.If the parameters of the panel are designed near the center of the high absorption region,large value of the application limit of Maa's theory can be obtained;and if the parameters are located in the upper right part of the high absorption region,a certain degree of dust pollution of the panel does not decrease the sound absorption performance.     

微穿孔板几何参数估算及其对吸声性能的影响

不规则孔微穿孔板几何参数无法直接获知,造成吸声性能计算困难,故提出一种微穿孔板几何参数估算方法。将不规则孔等效处理为圆孔,利用马氏理论关于圆孔微穿孔板的基本理论,建立了微穿孔板几何参数估算模型;将参数估算结果用于吸声性能预测,理论计算与实验结果吻合。根据微穿孔板几何参数对高吸声性能区域的影响,探讨了马氏理论适用极限与微穿孔板几何参数的关系,以及微穿孔板受粉尘污染后吸声性能演变规律。将微穿孔板参数点取在面积较大的高吸声性能区域中间部位,可获得较大的马氏理论适用极限;微穿孔板参数点位于高吸声性能区域右上部位时,一定程度的粉尘污染不会降低吸声性能.      

Investigation of industrial tea-leaf-fibre waste material for its sound absorption properties

The sound absorption of an industrial waste, developed during the processing of tea leaves has been investigated. Three different layers of tea-leaf-fibre waste materials with and without backing provided by a single layer of woven textile cloth were tested for their sound absorption properties. The experimental data indicate that a 1 cm thick tea-leaf-fibre waste material with backing, provides sound absorption which is almost equivalent to that provided by six layers of woven textile cloth. Twenty millimeters thick layers of rigidly backed tea-leaf-fibres and non-woven fibre materials exhibit almost equivalent sound absorption in the frequency range between 500 and 3200 Hz.     

General regression neural network for prediction of sound absorption coefficients of sandwich structure nonwoven absorbers

In this paper, we propose a more general forecasting method to predict the sound absorption coefficients at six central frequencies and the average sound absorption coefficient of a sandwich structure nonwoven absorber. The kernel assumption of the proposed method is that the acoustics property of sandwich structure nonwoven absorber is determined by some easily measured structural parameters, such as thickness, area density, porosity, and pore size of each layer, if the type of the fiber used in nonwoven is given. By holding this assumption in mind, we will use general regression neural network (GRNN) as a prediction model to bridge the gap between the measured structural parameters of each absorber and its sound absorption coefficient. In experiment section, one hundred sandwich structure nonwoven absorbers are particularly designed with ten different types of meltblown polypropylene nonwoven materials and four types of hydroentangled E-glass fiber nonwoven materials firstly. Secondly, four structural parameters, i.e., thickness, area density, porosity, and pore size of each layer are instrumentally measured, which will be used as the inputs of GRNN. Thirdly, the sound absorption coefficients of each absorber are measured with SW477 impedance tube. The sound absorption coefficient at 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz and their average value are used as the outputs of GRNN. Finally, the prediction framework will be carried out after the desired training set selection and spread parameter optimization of GRNN. The prediction results of 20 test samples show the prediction method proposed in this paper is reliable and efficient.     

微穿孔板吸声结构水下应用研究

马大猷教授提出的微穿孔板吸声结构在空气噪声降低和隔离方面得到了广泛的应用,但未见水下应用的相关研究和报道。本文将空气中微穿孔板理论应用到水中,得到了水下微穿孔板吸声结构的吸声公式。通过理论分析,得出了微穿孔板结构直接应用于水中无法获得宽频吸收的结论。提出了通过匹配液将微穿孔板间接应用到水下的设想。设计了单层板和双层板吸声结构,并对它们的吸声特性进行了理论分析与仿真。结果表明,本文设计的微穿孔板吸声结构在水中能够获得优于空气中的宽频带吸声效果。实验测量了自制的微穿孔板吸声结构,吸声系数的测量值与理论曲线基本吻合,从而验证了理论分析的正确性。     

水下微穿孔吸声体结构设计与试验研究

根据马大猷院士的微穿孔板(MPP)理论,提出在可设计的夹芯复合隐身结构的空腔中附加微穿孔板层的水下微穿孔吸声体。基于微穿孔板的精确计算理论及水下声隐身结构的特点,考虑空腔深度、穿孔板厚度、穿孔直径及穿孔率等对微穿孔板吸声性能的影响,对水下微穿孔吸声体进行了结构设计。利用脉冲声管法对水下微穿孔吸声体试样的吸声系数进行了测量,结果表明:水下微穿孔吸声体有效地拓宽了低频吸声频带,其微穿孔板结构参数的影响规律也与理论分析一致;对于多种吸声机理并存的水下微穿孔吸声体的空腔个数、形状及谐振特性等也是影响吸声性能的重要因素,在实际的工程应用中必须结合所关心的频带对水下微穿孔吸声体进行匹配优化设计。      

Sound absorption and transmission through flexible micro-perforated panels backed by an air layer and a thin plate

This paper describes theoretical and experimental investigations into the sound absorption and transmission properties of micro-perforated panels (MPP) backed by an air cavity and a thin plate. A fully coupled modal approach is proposed to calculate the absorption coefficient and the transmission loss of finite-sized micro-perforated panels-cavity-panel (MPPCP) partitions with conservative boundary conditions. It is validated against infinite partition models and experimental data. A practical methodology is proposed using collocated pressure-velocity sensors to evaluate in an anechoic environment the transmission and absorption properties of conventional MPPCPs. Results show under which conditions edge scattering effects should be accounted for at low frequencies. Coupled mode analysis is also performed and analytical approximations are derived from the resonance frequencies and mode shapes of a flexible MPPCP. It is found that the Helmholtz-type resonance frequency is deduced from the one associated to the rigidly backed MPPCP absorber shifted up by the mass-air mass resonance of the flexible non-perforated double-panel. Moreover, it is shown analytically and experimentally that the absorption mechanisms at the resonances are governed by a large air-frame relative velocity over the MPP surface, with either in-phase or out-of-phase relationships, depending on the MPPCP parameters.     

Noise absorption by woven fabrics

The paper describes an investigation of the relationship between the noise absorption coefficients of a cover made of woven fabric and its intrinsic parameters. The parameters considered were: fibre content, yarn count, cover factor, the air gap behind the fabric, the frequency of the impinging sound wave, and the influence of washing on the sound absorption capacity of the woven fabric. The results show a potential of obtaining NRC ranging between 0·09 and 0·22, which may be useful when coating rigid surfaces. The absorption coefficient is much higher at higher frequencies, say, 4000 Hz.     

Prediction of the reverberation absorption coefficient of finite-size membrane absorbers

This paper presents a method to predict the reverberation absorption coefficient of a finite-size membrane absorbers composed of a single- or double-leaf membrane structure of various configurations. In order to predict the sound absorptivity of such an absorber, it is needed to consider that sound is incident from both sides of the absorber, which has not been accounted for the previous studies on membrane absorbers. The edge effect also needs to be considered if the absorber is rather small. The present method is established based on the theory for absorbers hanged in a reverberation chamber developed by Fujiwara and Makita [J Acoust Soc Jpn (E) 1980;1:37-45]. The same theory requires the fraction of energy dissipation in the absorber, which can be obtained by the difference of absorption and transmission coefficients, and the difference is calculated by the theories for various membrane structures presented in the authors’ previous work. An experimental study was also conducted to validate the present method: the predicted values showed good agreement with the measured ones. The numerical examples calculated by the present method are also presented to discuss the effect of the various control parameters, and it is suggested how to improve the sound absorption performance of double-leaf membrane absorbers with a permeable and an impermeable leaves.     

On the acoustic properties of parallel arrangement of multiple micro-perforated panel absorbers with different cavity depths

The acoustic properties of a compound micro-perforated panel (MPP) absorber array are investigated. The absorber array consists of three parallel-arranged MPP absorbers with different cavity depths. A finite element procedure is used to simulate its acoustic behaviors under normal incidence. Experimental studies are carried out to verify the numerical simulations. Due to different reactance matching conditions in the absorber array, strong local resonance occurs and the corresponding local resonance absorption dominates. Compared with single MPP absorber, the absorber array requires lower acoustic resistance for good absorption performance, and the resonance frequencies shift due to inter-resonator interactions. The different acoustic resistance requirement is explained by considering the reduced effective perforation rate of the MPP in the absorber array. The performance of the absorber array varies with the sizes and spatial arrangement of the component absorbers. When the distance between component absorbers is larger than a quarter-wavelength, the above-mentioned parallel absorption mechanism diminishes. In the experimental study, the normal incidence absorption coefficients of a prototype MPP absorber array are tested. The measured results compare well with the numerical predictions. The experimental study also shows that although other absorption mechanisms may exist, dissipation by the MPP is dominant in the MPP absorber array.     

Application of the ISO 13472-1 in situ technique for measuring the acoustic absorption coefficient of grass and artificial turf surfaces

This paper presents the applicability of an in situ technique based on ISO 13472-1 standard for measuring the acoustic absorption coefficient of grass and artificial turf surfaces for normal incidence from a sound source. The in situ method is based on acoustic impulse response measurement of the material surface. A maximum length sequence (MLS) signal is played through a loudspeaker and the acoustic response from the surface is recorded using a single microphone. The fast Hadamard transform and fast Fourier transform based digital signal post-processing algorithm provides the acoustic absorption coefficient of the surface under test. The normal incidence acoustic absorption coefficient of a commercial artificial quash surface of Dow Co. obtained from this method was compared with the results from the ASTM E1050 impedance tube method for the same surface. The acoustic absorption coefficients of a test-site grass surfaces were measured for 30 mm and 100 mm length of grass blades in wet and dry soil conditions. Substantial difference in the acoustic absorption coefficient was observed for a similar grass-like artificial surface used for estimating sound power of commercial garden equipments and lawnmowers. The advantage of the in situ method lies in its ability to measure the normal incident acoustic absorption coefficient of any planar surface as installed or in situ. Additionally a quick testing time of less than a minute with the use of a laptop sound card based inexpensive data acquisition system is the main feature of this robust method.     

Optimising the absorption and transmission properties of aircraft microperforated panels

A method for evaluating the absorption and transmission performances of multi-layer micro-perforated structures whose facings are excited by different noise sources is described here. It is applied to determine if the acoustical performances of a number of Micro-Perforated Panels (MPPs), optimised both in absorption and transmission, exceed those of typical aircraft panels undergoing internal and external acoustic excitations. A fully-coupled modal formulation is presented that accounts for the effects of the sub-structure volumetric resonances on the acoustical properties of the partitions. It is validated against full-scale measurements performed with a pressure–velocity probe and a laser vibrometer to estimate the absorption and transmission coefficients of single- and double-layer micro-perforated partitions. The model is used to optimise the sound power dissipated by three layouts obtained from a typical aircraft partition by micro-perforating the trim panel (MPP–Porous–Panel), removing the fibreglass material (MPP–Cavity–Panel) and adding a second MPP inside the separating cavity (MPP–MPP–Panel). It is concluded that the MPP–Porous–Panel and MPP–MPP–Panel layouts provide excess interior noise reduction above 1.8 kHz and 1.2 kHz respectively, whereas the MPP–Cavity–Panel is not acoustically more efficient than a typical aircraft panel.     

A note on the prediction method of reverberation absorption coefficient of double layer micro-perforated membrane

The absorption performance of micro-perforated absorber (MPA) has been usually estimated by equivalent circuit (EC), however, it has been noted that the predicted absorption coefficient by EC does not agree completely with the experiment in some frequency range. Hence impedance transfer method (ITM) is adopted to predict the reverberation absorption coefficient of a double layer micro-perforated membrane (MPM) structure. Experimental studies show that the prediction of ITM is better than that of EC.