Many applications have been found for the microperforated panel (MPP) absorber, on which the perforations are reduced to submillimeter size so that they themselves will provide enough acoustic resistance and also sufficiently low acoustic mass reactance necessary for a wide-band sound absorber. The most important parameter of the MPP is found to be the perforate constant k which is proportional to the ratio of the perforation radius to the viscous boundary layer thickness inside the holes. This, together with the relative (to the characteristic acoustic impedance in air) acoustic resistance r and the frequency f(0) of maximum absorption of the MPP absorber, decides the entire structure of the MPP absorber and its frequency characteristics. In other words, the MPP absorber may be designed according to the required absorbing characteristics in terms of the parameters k, r, and f(0) Formulas and curves are presented toward this end. It is shown that the MPP absorber has tremendous potential for wide-band absorption up to 3 or 4 octaves and for low-frequency absorption with a cavity of depth small compared to the wavelength. Techniques of making minute holes (of 0.1-0.3 mm, say) have to be developed, though. (C) 1998 Acoustical Society of America. [S0001-4966(98)05710-5]
