A Basic Study on the Absorption Properties and Their Prediction of Heterogeneous Micro-Perforated Panels: A Case Study of Micro-Perforated Panels with Heterogeneous Hole Size and Perforation Ratio

Abstract

Micro-perforated panels (MPPs) are one of the most promising alternatives to conventional porous sound-absorbing materials. Traditionally, the theory of the sound absorption properties of MPPs is based on the assumption that MPPs are a homogeneous material with identical pores at regular intervals. However, in recent years, some MPPs have not met these conditions, and although a variety of designs have been created, their properties and prediction methods were studied in only fewer works. In this paper, considering the wide variety of MPP designs, we made a trial production of heterogeneous MPPs, which are MPPs with holes of different diameters, and studied the prediction method applicable to these MPPs. We measured the normal incidence sound absorption characteristics of those MPPs, backed by a rigid backing and air-cavity in-between, in an impedance tube. The prediction method proposed in this work is to treat the heterogeneous MPPs as combinations of several homogeneous components, and to combine them after applying the existing theory on homogeneous MPPs to each component. As a result, except in a few cases, the measured and predicted values of the absorption properties agreed relatively well. We also found that the arrangement of the holes in the material and the depth of the back cavity affected the agreement between the measured and predicted results.