Acoustic Properties of 316L Stainless Steel Lattice Structures Fabricated via Selective Laser Melting

Abstract

A bulk specimen and two different lattice sandwich structures composed of 316L stainless steel were fabricated via selective laser melting. This study analysed the acoustic properties, including sound insulation and sound absorption, of the three kinds of structures, which were produced via selective laser melting under the same process parameters. The results showed that the difference in the unit structures, rather than microstructural difference, was the main reason for the difference in acoustic properties between the samples. Under the same process parameters, the microstructure of the different structures had the same cell structure. However, the sound absorption properties of the lattice sandwich structures were better than those of the bulk sample in the measured frequency range of 1–6.3 kHz. The lattice sandwich structure with 2.5 × 2.5 × 2.5 mm3 unit structures exhibited excellent sound insulation properties in the frequency range of 1–5 kHz.