Behavior of rigid-porous layers at high levels of continuous acoustic excitation: theory and experiment

A model for the propagation of high amplitude continuous sound through hard-backed rigid-porous layers has been developed which allows for Forchheimer's correction to Darcy's law. The nonlinearity associated with this is shown to be particularly important in the range of frequencies around layer resonance. The model is based on the introduction of particle velocity dependent flow resistivity into the equivalent fluid model expression for complex tortuosity. Thermal effects are accounted for by means of a linear complex compressibility function. The model has been used to derive analytical expressions for surface impedance and reflection coefficient as a function of incident pressure amplitude. Depending on the material parameters, sample thickness, and frequency range the model predicts either growth or decrease of reflection coefficient with sound amplitude. Good agreement between model predictions and data for three rigid-porous materials is demonstrated.