Poonam Khurana

Investigation of the phase velocities of guided acoustic waves in soft porous layers.

A new experimental method for measuring the phase velocities of guided acoustic waves in soft poroelastic or poroviscoelastic plates is proposed. The method is based on the generation of standing waves in the material and on the spatial Fourier transform of the displacement profile of the upper surface. The plate is glued on a rigid substrate so that it has a free upper surface and a nonmoving lower surface. The displacement is measured with a laser Doppler vibrometer along a line corresponding to the direction of propagation of plane surface waves. A continuous sine with varying frequencies was chosen as excitation signal to maximize the precision of the measurements. The spatial Fourier transform provides the wave numbers, and the phase velocities are obtained from the relationship between wave number and frequency. The phase velocities of several guided modes could be measured in a highly porous foam saturated by air. The modes were also studied theoretically and, from the theoretical results, the experimental results, and a fitting procedure, it was possible to determine the frequency behavior of the complex shear modulus and of the complex Poisson ratio from 200 Hz to 1.4 kHz, in a frequency range higher than the traditional methods.

A description of transversely isotropic sound absorbing porous materials by transfer matrices

A description of wave propagation in transversely isotropic porous materials saturated by air with a recent reformulation of the Biot theory is carried out. The description is performed in terms of a transfer matrix method (TMM). The anisotropy is taken into account in the mechanical parameters (elastic constants) and in the acoustical parameters (flow resistivity, tortuosity, and characteristic lengths). As an illustration, the normal surface impedance at normal and oblique incidences of transversely isotropic porous layers is predicted. Comparisons are performed with experimental results.

Guided elastic waves in porous materials saturated by air under Lamb conditions

The propagation of guided elastic waves in porous materials saturated by air under Lamb conditions is studied theoretically and experimentally. The modes are derived from expressing the boundary conditions on the normal and tangential stresses and the displacements at the interfaces between the porous layer and the surrounding fluid. The stresses and the fluid pressure inside the porous medium are obtained from Biot’s equations of poroelasticity. Symmetrical and antisymmetrical modes are found when the porous layer is loaded by the same fluid on both sides. Damping mechanisms include viscous and thermal exchanges between the solid and the fluid, in addition to the classical structural damping. Using an experimental setup based on the generation of standing waves in the layer and taking the spatial Fourier transform of the displacement profile, the phase velocities of three modes were measured for two porous materials in a frequency range between 80 Hz and 4 kHz. The measurements confirm the theoretical pr...

Anisotropy effects on the acoustical properties of porous materials

Porous materials are now widely used in noise control for their acoustic properties in sound absorption and transmission. These properties are function of the internal porous medium structure. Generally, most of the models assume that the porous medium is isotropic. Mineral wools (as well as some foams) clearly present an anisotropic structure. This communication is concerned with the adaptation of recent works on isotropic materials to the case of anisotropic porous materials. The general theory will be exposed for sound absorbing materials with anisotropic acoustical and mechanical parameters. The case of transverse isotropic materials (with fibers organized in planes running parallels one to each other) will then be detailed in particular in the case when the plane of fibers is not the same than the normal plane of the sample. The influence on the acoustical properties anisotropic porous materials will then be presented. Illustrations are then provided with measurements performed on wools and it will b...

Characterizing viscoelastic and anisotropic porous materials

A wide range of commercial applications (building acoustics, food industry, automotive industry) can be found for porous materials. Accurate material characterization and modeling is vital for the use of these materials in multilayered systems due to increasing demands in acoustic comfort, noise legislation, and quality control during production. There is, however, a distressing lack in raw, accurate material data and measurement methods concerning the characterization of these materials. Measuring and modeling methods for the characterization of these materials will be presented. The experimental technique for the determination of the elastic properties is based upon the excitation of waveguides in porous materials. The other parameters of the Biot‐Allard model are predicted using ultrasound. Acoustical properties can be predicted by using the measured structural material properties and incorporating them into a transfer‐matrix‐based multilayered model.