In situ measurements of surface impedance and absorption coefficients of porous materials using two microphones and ambient noise

An in situ measurement method is proposed for obtaining the normal surface impedance and absorption coefficient of porous materials using two microphones located close to the material without a specific sound source such as a loudspeaker. Ambient environmental noise that does not excite distinct modes in the sound field is employed as the sound source. Measurements of the normal surface impedance of glass wool and rockwool have been made using this method in various sound fields. The repeatability and wide applicability of the method are demonstrated by comparing results of measurements in one room with different noise conditions and in three other environments (corridor, cafeteria and terrace). The assumed diffuse nature of the sound field on the material is validated by using absorption characteristics obtained experimentally at oblique incidence. This method allows simple and efficient in situ measurements of absorption characteristics of materials in a diffuse field.     

Applicability of locally reacting boundary conditions to porous material layer backed by rigid wall: Wave-based numerical study in non-diffuse sound field with unevenly distributed sound absorbing surfaces

To clarify the applicability of locally reacting boundary conditions in wave-based numerical analyses of sound fields in rooms, we numerically analyzed a non-diffuse sound field in a room with unevenly distributed sound absorbing surfaces and investigated the differences between the extended and local reactions. Each absorbing surface was a porous material layer backed by a rigid wall. Simulations were performed by the fast multipole boundary element method, a highly efficient boundary element method using the fast multipole method. At low frequencies, the extended and local reactions yielded similar reverberation decay curves because of the influence of the room. However, when the random incidence absorption coefficients were small at low frequencies or frequencies were high, the difference was greater than expected from the corresponding Eyring decay lines. We conclude at high frequencies, the locally reacting boundary conditions lead to a longer reverberation time than that expected from the absorption coefficient differences between the extended and local reactions. These differences were similar in sound-pressure-level and sound-intensity-level distributions, and in the oblique incidence absorption coefficient of the absorbing surfaces, but were increased at low frequencies.     

Phase (interferometric) photothermal method for separate measurements of surface and volume absorption

The possibility of separately measuring the surface and volume absorption by a phase photothermal method is demonstrated with ZnSe polished samples. A theory developed allows us to directly relate the signal amplitude to the coefficients of surface and volume absorption. From the experimentally found dependence of the temperature oscillation amplitude at the sample surface on the angle of incidence, the position of the absorbing surface layer relative to the interface is determined and a mechanism of interaction between the pumping radiation and the target material is assessed.     

Reflection refractometry for nearly normal incidence and at the Brewster angle

We consider and experimentally study two reflection refractometry methods involving reflection of light from the optical surface of a material for nearly normal incidence and for incidence at the Brewster angle. We analyze the sources of error in the methods, and show that it is possible to use laser radiation to measure the refractive index of materials to four decimal places. We note the advantages of the methods in preparing samples for measurements in the case of solid, liquid, film, and weakly absorbing materials.     

The required sample size in measuring oblique incidence absorption coefficient Experimental study

It is an important issue to clarify the minimum required size of a specimen for the accurate measurement of oblique incidence absorption coefficient. Investigation is made on the basis of experimental studies in a laboratory, using Aoshima's time stretched pulse technique. Measurements are carried out for glass fiber with thickness of 50 and 100 mm as highly absorbing materials and for ceramic with a thickness of 52 mm as relatively low absorbing material. The tested surface areas range from 0.0625 to 42 m² for glass fiber and from 0.1563 to 39.168 m² for ceramics. The absorption coefficients are determined at incidence angles from 0 to 45° in increments of 15°. With consideration of an active surface bounded by ellipse orbit, the minimum required surface area is 16 m² with a ratio of length to width of about 1.25. This value is twice the area size of the active surface, which is calculated from the geometry of source and microphone, and the width of the temporal window.     

Propagation of acoustic waves in a one-dimensional macroscopically inhomogeneous poroelastic material

Wave propagation in macroscopically inhomogeneous porous materials has received much attention in recent years. The wave equation, derived from the alternative formulation of Biot's theory of 1962, was reduced and solved recently in the case of rigid frame inhomogeneous porous materials. This paper focuses on the solution of the full wave equation in which the acoustic and the elastic properties of the poroelastic material vary in one-dimension. The reflection coefficient of a one-dimensional macroscopically inhomogeneous porous material on a rigid backing is obtained numerically using the state vector (or the so-called Stroh) formalism and Peano series. This coefficient can then be used to straightforwardly calculate the scattered field. To validate the method of resolution, results obtained by the present method are compared to those calculated by the classical transfer matrix method at both normal and oblique incidence and to experimental measurements at normal incidence for a known two-layers porous material, considered as a single inhomogeneous layer. Finally, discussion about the absorption coefficient for various inhomogeneity profiles gives further perspectives.     

Enhanced multiple ultrasonic shear reflection method for the determination of high frequency viscoelastic properties

In this work, we propose a study dedicated to the influence of the delay line nature in transverse ultrasonic sensors, dedicated to dynamic high frequency elastic moduli of viscoelastic materials estimation. In literature, these shear ultrasonic rheometers are using delay lines in glass or quartz and normal or oblique incidence of ultrasonic rays. The oblique incidence is used in order to improve the sensitivity of the measurements. We theoretically demonstrate in this work that the use of delay lines in polymers is recommended to improve the sensitivity. Due to modifications, performed on a 10 MHz commercial ultrasonic sensor, we experimentally show on glycerin (which is a Newtonian material) that it is possible to multiply by a factor 10 the sensitivity; compared to delay lines in quartz using a normal incidence of rays. Hence, we overpass the accuracy of the oblique incidence approach with a simpler experimental setup.     

Sound propagation above a porous road surface with extended reaction by boundary element method

Acoustic impedance of an absorbing interface is easily introduced in boundary element codes provided that a local reaction is assumed. But this assumption is not valid in the case of porous road surface. A two-domain approach was developed for the prediction of sound propagation above a porous layer that takes into account the sound propagation inside the porous material. The porous material is modeled by a homogeneous dissipative fluid medium. An alternative to this time consuming two-domain approach is proposed by using the grazing incidence approximate impedance in the traditional single-domain boundary element method (BEM). It can be checked that this value is numerically consistent with the surface impedance calculated at the interface from the pressure and surface velocity solutions of the two-domain approach. The single-domain BEM introducing this grazing incidence impedance is compared in terms of sound attenuation with analytical solutions and two-domain BEM. The comparison is also performed with the single-domain BEM using the normal incidence impedance, and reveals a much better accuracy for the prediction of sound propagation above a porous interface.     

Determination of embedded layer properties using adaptive time-frequency domain analysis

A general model for determination of the complete set of acoustical and geometrical properties of an isotropic layer embedded between isotropic or anisotropic multilayered solids is developed. These properties include density, longitudinal and shear elastic moduli, layer thickness, and loss factors, simultaneously determined from two measurements, one at normal and one at oblique incidence. The inversion model is an extension of the method proposed by Lavrentyev and Rokhlin [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 3467 (1997)] which is applicable to thick substrates. In this new method, the inversion model mimics an experiment by using the same time-domain gating of the signal reflected from the embedded layer. This allows application of this method to layered solids when reflections from different layers overlap in the time domain. The sensitivity of the method, its stability against data scatter, and the effect of the oblique incident angle are evaluated. The effect of plane-wave approximation versus beam approximation in the inverse algorithm is discussed. Experimental results are given to demonstrate examples of adhesive layer property reconstruction.     

斜入射分层线性各向异性等离子体电磁散射时域有限差分方法分析

提出了斜入射分层线性各向异性等离子体电磁散射的时域有限差分(FDTD)方法,通过将二维麦克斯韦方程等价地转换为一维麦克斯韦方程,避免了用二维时域有限差分方法分析该散射问题,极大地提高了计算效率.分析推导了TEz和TMz波斜入射线性分层各向异性等离子体电磁散射的FDTD方法,然后通过该方法计算不同入射角的各向异性等离子板的电磁波反射系数,并与其解析解进行比较,结果表明该方法的准确性和有效性.最后,将该算法应用于计算涂覆分层各向异性等离子体金属板在不同入射角下的反射系数,分析了不同入射角对反射系数的影响.     

Use of surface plasmon excitation for determination of the thickness and optical constants of very thin surface layers

We present a method using attenuated total reflection (ATR) with excitation of surface plasma waves at different wavelengths and angles of incidence, which allows an accurate determination of the thickness and optical constants of absorbing surface layers from optical measurements only. This method is applied to the case of very thin Au surface layers on (111)Ag, and the results are discussed.     

Absolute surface form measurement of flat optics based on oblique incidence method

In this Letter, a test method based on oblique incidence is practically implemented in the interferometric measurement process. Three sets of wavefront data are achieved through cavity interference measurement with a Fizeau interferometer and one oblique incidence measurement. An iterative algorithm is applied to retrieve the absolute surface shape of the test flat. By adding two sets of measurements, the absolute surface error of the interferometer's reference flat can be obtained. The new method can not only calibrate the reference flat error of interferometer, but also provide the absolute measurement method for high precision optical components applied in high power laser systems.     

Reproducibility experiments on measuring acoustical properties of rigid-frame porous media (round-robin tests)

This paper reports the results of reproducibility experiments on the interlaboratory characterization of the acoustical properties of three types of consolidated porous media: granulated porous rubber, reticulated foam, and fiberglass. The measurements are conducted in several independent laboratories in Europe and North America. The studied acoustical characteristics are the surface complex acoustic impedance at normal incidence and plane wave absorption coefficient which are determined using the standard impedance tube method. The paper provides detailed procedures related to sample preparation and installation and it discusses the dispersion in the acoustical material property observed between individual material samples and laboratories. The importance of the boundary conditions, homogeneity of the porous material structure, and stability of the adopted signal processing method are highlighted.     

Characterization of blade Bragg grating modeling with different incident angle profiles for strain sensor applications

This paper presents the design, realization and measurement of a thin lightweight absorbing material for space applications. Absorber design is based on high impedance surfaces loaded with resistors and known as a resistive high impedance surface (RHIS). The behavior of RHIS is analyzed at normal and oblique incidences for TE and TM polarizations. Prototypes have been realized and measured. Final design has a reflection coefficient less than $-$ 15 dB in S-Band (2–2.3 GHz) at normal incidence and till an angular dispersion of 40 $^\circ $ for waves in TE polarization, and 35 $^\circ $ for waves in TM polarization. Simulation results are validated by measurement.     

A model comparison of the absorption coefficient of a Microperforated Insertion Unit in the frequency and time domains

The absorption coefficient of acoustic materials can be measured either in the frequency or the time domain. At normal incidence, a sample of the material is fitted within an impedance tube and the absorption coefficient is calculated in the frequency domain from the measurement of the transfer function between two microphones [ISO 10534-2. Acoustics - determination of sound absorption coefficient and impedance in impedance tubes - Part 2: transfer function method. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland; 1996]. When the acoustic material must be characterized at oblique incidence or in situ (noise barriers, for instance) the absorption coefficient is calculated from measurements of the loudspeaker-microphone impulse response in the time domain, both in free field and in front of the sample [CEN/TS 1793-5. Road traffic noise reduction devices - test method for determining the acoustic performance - Part 5: intrinsic characteristics - in situ values of sound reflection and airborne sound insulation. CEN, Brussels, Belgium; 2003, ISO 13472-1. Acoustic measurement of sound absorption properties of road surfaces in situ - Part I: extended surface method. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland; 2002]. Since the absorption is an intrinsic property of the acoustic material, its measurement in either domain must provide the same result. However, this has not been formally demonstrated yet. The aim of this paper is to carry out a comparison between the absorption coefficient predicted by the impedance model of a Microperforated Insertion Unit and the absorption coefficient predicted from a simulated reflection trace taken into account the finite length of the time window.     

Non-linear effect of wall linings on sound attenuation in ducts

The equivalent surface source method is extended to the analysis of high intensity sound propagation in a duct whose wall is partially treated with a sound absorbing material. The propagation of sound in the gas is assumed to be linear, but the acoustic resistance of the sound absorbing material is assumed to be a function of the normal acoustic velocity. The problem is reduced to a non-linear integro-differential equation for the fluid particle displacement at the lined wall surface, which can be solved by a successive approximation method. Numerical examples show that the non-linear effect decreases or increases the peak sound attenuation rate of the lowest mode depending upon the linear component of the resistance. The dependence of the attenuation spectrum on modal phase difference of multi-mode incident waves is heavily affected by the non-linear effect. In the case of incident waves of multi-circumferential modes, different circumferential modes are generated by the non-linear effect.     

双传声器法测量斜入射吸声系数研究

本文从理论和实验两方面研究了双传声器法测量斜入射吸声系数时,双传声器间距,双传声器离材料表面距离,材料面积大小等因素对测量结果的影响。     

Design and realization of a magnetic-type absorber with a broadened operating frequency band

In this paper, we present an efficient method to obtain absorbers with broadened operating frequency bands. They are accomplished by using conventional magnetic absorbing materials (MAMs) in the forms of array and mesh structures, which are similar to those in the case of a frequency selective surface. The proposed approach is verified not only by simulations but also by experimental results under the normal incidence at microwave frequencies. Moreover, the wideband absorber is lighter than the conventional magnetic absorber. These results indicate that our proposed absorbing structures can be used for designing good electromagnetic absorbers.     

Determination of transport parameters in air-saturated porous materials via reflected ultrasonic waves

An ultrasonic reflectivity method of evaluating the acoustic parameters of porous materials saturated by air (or any other gas) is discussed. The method is based on experimental detection of waves reflected at normal incidence by the first and second interface of the material. This method is based on a temporal model of direct and inverse scattering problems for the propagation of transient ultrasonic waves in a homogeneous isotropic slab of porous material with a rigid frame [Fellah et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 61-73 (2003)]. Generally, the conventional ultrasonic approach can be used to determine tortuosity, and viscous and thermal characteristic lengths via transmitted waves. Porosity cannot be estimated in transmitted mode because of its very weak sensitivity. First interface use of the reflected wave at oblique incidence leads to the determination of porosity and tortuosity [Fellah et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 113, 2424-2433 (2003)] but this is not possible at normal incidence. Using experimental data of reflected waves by the first and second interface at normal incidence simultaneously leads to the determination of porosity, tortuosity, viscous and thermal characteristic lengths. As with the classic ultrasonic approach for characterizing porous material saturated with one gas, both characteristic lengths are estimated individually by assuming a given ratio between them. Tests are performed using weakly resistive industrial plastic foams. Experimental and numerical results, and prospects are discussed.