Analogous circuits for plastic foams

Presented here are simple analogous circuits derived from Biot theory which allow predictions of the acoustical properties of low flow resistance and very high flow resistance foams.For different foams with low resistance absorption coefficients measured in a Kundt tube have been compared with the predicted ones.For foams with very high flow resistance only the frequency of the first normal incidence absorption peak for a large panel backed with a rigid layer has been measured. Kundt tube measurements being inaccurate because of sample frame vibrations which appear with this kind of foam, the experiment was done in an anechoic room by studying the stationary waves close to the foam.For the two kinds of foams studied, comparison between experimental results and predictions show that simple analogous circuits may supply useful estimations of the trend of absorption.