Design and simulation of multilayer hybrid foam material for acoustic application

Abstract

New acoustic multilayer absorber fabricated by coupling closed-cell metallic foam and open-cell polymeric foam, which aimed to develop a practical use of metallic foam in the noise control application. In prior, the individual sound absorption coefficient of both foam materials with different thicknesses measured by the impedance tube method as per ASTM E-1050. Using inverse characterization technique, the intrinsic properties needed for five parameter models in a numerical study are predicted. The measured characteristic impedance, complex wave propagation, and sound absorption coefficient of the individual foams are in close agreement with the prediction. Subsequently, a different configuration of multilayer absorber is modeled using obtained properties, and their acoustic performance is evaluated. The result indicates that the coupling of polymeric foam with metallic one exhibits enhanced sound absorption and usage of closed-cell metallic foam in noise control material. Furthermore, the result demonstrates that absorption capability entirely relies on the placement of polymeric foam in the configuration. The proposed hybrid multilayer absorber coupled with test bench car for interior acoustic study, where 5–30 dB is reduction is noticed in 1/3rd octave plot.