Analytical modelling of sound transmission through finite clamped double-wall sandwich panels lined with poroelastic materials

This paper addresses analytically the vibroacoustic problem of sound transmission across a rectangular double-wall sandwich panel clamp mounted on an infinite rigid baffle and lined with poroelastic materials. The wave propagation in poroelastic media is described by Biot's theory and the coupling methods between the poroelastic core and the panel determine the various configurations and associated boundary conditions. The modal superposition theory and the weighted residual (Galerkin) method are employed to account for the finite extension with the clamped boundary and to obtain a double-series solution of the problem through a matrix equation. The sound transmission loss (STL) of the structure is calculated for a single incident wave after validating the analytical model against previous theories and experiments. The numerical results show that the finite panel and clamped boundary influence the STL dominantly in the low-frequency range. The poroelastic materials exhibit strong damping effects on the resonances of STL spectra at high frequencies as well as panel vibrations and enhance significantly the sound insulation performance of the sandwich panel. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.