The Acoustic Properties of Expanded Clay Granulates

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to characterise experimentally and theoretically the acoustic performance of mixes of loose expanded clay granulates. The surface acoustic impedance is obtained from measurements in the impedance tube and predicted using the Pade approximation approach. The random incidence absorption coefficient is measured using the ISO 345/85 method. Experimental data for the surface acoustic impedance are used to deduce the porosity, tortuosity and the statistical pore size distribution; these parameters are difficult to obtain directly, because of the relatively low density of the loose granulates and the fact that the granular base contains 5–30% of the closed, unconnected pores. Good agreement between the theory and the results is found; 50–100 mm layers of expanded clay granulates can be used efficiently for noise control over a broad frequency range.