Plate-Type Acoustic Metamaterials: Experimental Evaluation of a Modular Large-Scale Design for Low-Frequency Noise Control

Abstract

For industrial applications, the scalability of a finalised design is an important factor to consider. The scaling process of typical membrane-type acoustic metamaterials may pose manufacturing challenges such as stress uniformity of the membrane and spatial consistency of the platelet. These challenges could be addressed by plate-type acoustic metamaterials with an internal tonraum resonator. By adopting the concept of modularity in a large-scale design (or meta-panel), the acoustical performance of different specimen configurations could be scaled and modularly combined. This study justifies the viability of two meta-panel configurations for low-frequency (80–500 Hz) noise control. The meta-panels were shown to be superior to two commercially available noise barriers at 80–500 Hz. This superiority was substantiated when the sound transmission class (STC) and the outdoor-indoor transmission class (OITC) were compared. The meta-panels were also shown to provide an average noise reduction of 22.7–27.4 dB at 80–400 Hz when evaluated in different noise environments—traffic noise, aircraft flyby noise, and construction noise. Consequently, the meta-panel may be further developed and optimised to obtain a design that is lightweight and yet has good acoustical performance at below 500 Hz, which is the frequency content of most problematic noises.