Structural acoustic silencers - Design and experiment

The effectiveness of introducing flexible structural layers into air conveying ducts for controlling noise is investigated through theoretical and experimental means, focusing at low frequencies where conventional passive silencing technology is least effective. Previous theoretical work has shown that using flexible rather than rigid walls has the potential-to achieve high transmission losses. The physical mechanisms responsible for structural acoustic silencing, including the relation between transmission loss peaks and structural resonance corresponding to different transverse structural modes,, are presented. Sensitivity of the performance to acoustic and structural boundary conditions is discussed. To eliminate radiated noise from these walls (breakout noise), a rigid walled cavity is introduced under the flexible plate. The challenge is, to find means to reject plane waves in the two-duct system. Designs that overcome these issues and achieve appreciable transmission loss are investigated: Results based on three-dimensional finite element simulations are compared with experimental results. (C) 2003 Acoustical Society of America.