Sound Absorbing Panels
ID# 2021-5278
Technology Summary
Penn State researchers developed a sound-absorbing panel that can achieve broader frequency ranges of high acoustic absorption. The panel has a specific thickness thinner than the structures of conventional porous sound absorption materials and micro-perforated panels (MPP). A unit cell within the panel collectively absorbs noise with a certain range of frequency. Different unit cells are combined to create a supercell that provides a plurality of resonant modes for broadband sound absorption.
Application & Market Utility
A sound absorber with broadband and high absorption at a deep-subwavelength scale is applicable to many fields, such as room acoustics, automobiles, and aerospace engineering. Currently, to achieve a deep-subwavelength scale, a thin decorated membrane is used as well as a modified geometry of the conventional porous sound absorption material and microperforated panel. Those strategies have relatively narrow absorption bandwidth which hinders practical applications. This design, which consists of a combined supercell structure, can achieve broader frequency ranges from 20 Hz to 6 kHz.
Next Steps
The inventors are pursuing a possible licensing opportunity.