Vibro-Acoustic Characterization of a Composite Structure Featuring an Innovative Phenolic Foam Core

Abstract

Composite panels are being increasingly used in many applications because they can combine several interesting properties, such as high load-bearing capacity, low weight, and excellent thermal insulation. Different core materials can be used for composite sandwich panels, like polystyrene, mineral wool, polyurethane, glass wool, or rigid phenolic foam, which is considered the rigid plastic foam with the best fire-proof properties. During the research and development phase, the use of simulation tools is often required for the improvement of the mechanical behavior of the material. The aim of the paper is to characterize some vibro-acoustic parameters of a sandwich material with phenolic open-cell foam core. The sound transmission loss of the structure is calculated based on its flexural behavior, represented through a frequency-dependent “apparent” bending stiffness which is estimated by natural frequency vibration tests on beam specimens. The comparison between sound transmission loss predictions and measurements in sound transmission suites according to ISO 10140-2 is presented and discussed. Finally, the early-stage prediction potentiality of the mathematical model is investigated when only nominal information is available on the constituent layers, showing that particular attention should be paid to the modifications introduced by the manufacturing process.

State-of-the-Art on Vibro-Acoustics of Structures

“…Therefore, because of its importance, the vibro-acoustic characterization of structures has drawn close attention. Fortini et al [1] determined the vibro-acoustic characteristics of a sandwich plate consisting of phenolic open-cell foam core using both theoretical and experimental methods. The vibro-acoustic characteristics were then used in Nilssion's sandwich beam bending model to calculate the sound transmission loss of the plate.…”

The Influence of Floor Layering on Airborne Sound Insulation and Impact Noise Reduction: A Study on Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) Structures

“…It is thus evident how there is a lack of parametric studies, discussing the influence of single noise reduction action on CLT floors and, in addition, their overall contribution when laid together on the same horizontal partition. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies comprising different acoustic excitation techniques on such floors [17], providing single configuration influence on final sound reduction.…”

Vibro-Acoustic Performance of a Sandwich Plate with Periodically Inserted Resonators

“…As sandwich structures have great potential in application, a quite number of researches can be obtained from the public literatures, with various focus on building theoretical models [5][6][7][8], researching dynamic properties [9][10][11], configuring structures with various types of cores [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], and also realizing the engineering applications [1][2][3][4]. In practice, sandwich structures have various configurations for various specific focus, with the main difference lying on the cores.…”