Modeling and validation of polyurethane based passive underwater acoustic absorber

The acoustic behavior of an acoustically transparent polyurethane and an interpenetrating polymer network of polyurethane with polydimethyl siloxane were studied using dynamic mechanical analysis, finite element modeling, and experimental evaluation of acoustic properties in a water-filled pulse tube setup. Dynamic mechanical measurements in the temperature range -50 degrees C to +70 degrees C were carried out, and the data were used for time temperature superposition to generate material behavior at high frequencies. These inputs were used for modeling the acoustic behavior of these materials using ATILA, which is a commercial finite element code, capable of computing transmission and reflection characteristics of materials. From this data, absorption characteristics were computed. The results were compared with the experimental results obtained using a water-filled pulse tube facility. (C) 2011 Acoustical Society of America. [DOI: 10.1121/1.3605670]