Design and analysis of compact, lightweight material concepts for sound mitigation in flow ducts.

In applications such as automotive exhaust and HVAC systems, a flow duct is the main transmission path for the noise generated upstream. The increasing legal regulations and customer expectations regarding noise emission call for efficient noise control measures in such systems. However, the conventional solutions require a large volume (and subsequent weight) to be effective at low frequencies, conflicting with the trend towards lightweight design for economical and ecological reasons. As a result, there is a clear need for innovative compact lightweight noise mitigation concepts.

With the advent of novel manufacturing techniques, new classes of noise reducing materials, such as micro-perforated panels and metamaterials, come to the fore. These materials have shown promising results in eg. room acoustics applications, but their behavior in a turbulent flow is not fully understood. This PhD aims at the development of innovative experimental and numerical prediction tools, which are capable of identifying the various aeroacoustic interaction phenomena and their sound absorbing performance effects in these innovative material systems. The tools will be used for the design and the development of some prototypes to demonstrate the potential of metamaterials and micro-perforated panels in lightweight noise control solutions for flow duct applications.