Experimental investigation of holes interaction effect on the sound absorption coefficient of micro-perforated panels under high and medium sound levels

This paper experimentally investigates the holes interaction effect on the sound absorption coefficient of micro-perforated panels under high and medium sound levels. The theoretical formulations are based on a semi-empirical approach and the use of Fok's function to model the acoustic surface impedance. For the high sound level regime, an empirical power law involving three coefficients is adapted. It is shown theoretically and experimentally that these coefficients can lead to optimized absorption performance and particularly, a formula relating the critical Reynolds number (Reynolds number value after which the absorption coefficient decreases with the increase of sound level) and the center-to-center distance between the perforations is derived. It is demonstrated that the first coefficient of the nonlinear acoustic resistance strongly depends on the separation distance between the apertures and decreases with a decrease of this latter distance. Analysis of the data reveals the fact that even with Holes Interaction Effect (HIE), the nonlinear reactance dependence on velocity is still very low compared to the resistance-velocity dependence. Four perforated panels of 1.5 mm thickness with different separation distances between the holes (from widely to closely separation) were built and tested. Experimental results performed with an impedance tube are compared with the described model for HIE. To test the dependence of the coefficients on frequency, the experiments are carried out for two different excitation frequencies (292 Hz and 506 Hz). The results can be used for designing optimal perforated panels for ducts, silencers and for the automotive industry. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.