Noise control by sonic crystal barriers made of recycled materials

A systematic study of noise barriers based on sonic crystals made of cylinders that use recycled materials like absorbing component is reported here. The barriers consist of only three rows of perforated metal shells filled with rubber crumb. Measurements of reflectance and transmittance by these barriers are reported. Their attenuation properties result from a combination of sound absorption by the rubber crumb and reflection by the periodic distribution of scatterers. It is concluded that the porous cylinders can be used as building blocks whose physical parameters can be optimized in order to design efficient barriers adapted to different noisy environments. (C) 2011 Acoustical Society of America. [DOI: 10.1121/1.3531815]