About the poster

Low-frequency (LF) noise (10 Hz to 2000 Hz) has been acknowledged as a major
environmental issue but has received less attention. One way to address this issue
is to employ sound absorbing materials. Traditionally used sound absorbing
materials are synthetic and either require tedious recycling procedures or have no
such procedures.

Therefore, towards finding a recyclable sound absorbing materials, I have

examined the use of biodegradable hydrogels for the same. First, the different
varieties of the biodegradable hydrogel were studied depending upon their
availability and scalability. The respected hydrogel films were fabricated to the
exact same size of that of the impedance tube to measure the absorption and
transmission coefficient. Over all, the films fabricated were porous and were
found to be the better absorbers than all the synthetic ones available. Finally, I
analytically related the attenuation coefficient to the sound absorption
coefficient.

To attain the objective, fabricated films were tested using the impedance tube,
the two microphone transfer function method has been implemented to identify
the acoustic absorption coefficient of the films. In addition, correlations were
made between theory and experimental measurements.

Source of low- frequency (10 Hz to 2000 Hz) sound

Such LF sounds are commonly generated in industrial and civilian environments

by rotating and reciprocating machineries. Some of these include turbines,
compressors, aircrafts, automobiles, refrigerators, and water pumps, industrial
machining, and et cetera. Military equipment such as artillery and mining
explosions generates sound of magnitude ≅100 dB.

It has been acknowledged as a major environmental issue (reference 1) but

control and minimization of it has received very less attention. The DEFRA
(reference 2) noise programme has emphasized the LF noise issue, and has
introduced a brief physics behind the cause. Continuous exposure to LF noise can
cause health issues such as increase in blood pressure, heart diseases, coughing
and respiratory issues, aural pain, mental stress and can also damage the eardrum
on prolonged exposure.

The distance to which the sound field penetrates before its amplitude diminishes
1
by a factor of = 0.3679 is known as skin depth (δ). Skin depth is also called as
𝑒
viscous penetration depth (reference 3) is given by,

2Ƞ
𝑒 = √
𝑒𝑒

where ⍵is angular frequency, Ƞ is coefficient of shear viscosity, and ⍴ is the

equilibrium density.

Ways to reduce LF noise

1. Minimizing the strength of the source

2. Minizining the amplitude by destructive interference (active noise
cancellation)
3. Employ sound absorbing materials (passive noise cancellation)
Active noise cancellation (ANC) technique

This technique is based on the principle of superposition of the sound waves. By

the superposition of waves, destructive interference between the unwanted noise
and secondary signal can be achieved. Hence, the amplitude of the noise can be
reduced by applying superposition of the secondary signal of the same amplitude
and opposite phase. An example active noise cancellation is employed in noise
cancellation headphones. This type of headphone enables all the desirable sounds
to pass through it and filters the noise.

Fig: cancellation of noise with a generated signal which is 180° out of phase.

Passive noise cancellation technique

If noise cannot be controlled at the source location or in the transmission path,

then it can be minimized by employing a material which absorbs or reflects the
sound waves. For example, ear plugs reflect the sound completely from entering
the ear of the exposed person. Also, headphones have a protective layer of
spongy material which help in absorbing as well as reflecting the external sounds.
Passive noise cancellation techniques work by placing barriers in the transmission
path of acoustic wave. These barriers are primarily solid materials; in some
studies liquids are also being used. While active noise cancellation techniques use
a anti-noise generator but passive noise cancellation use either sound isolating or
sound absorbing materials (reference 4). Among these methods, we focus on the
passive noise technique, where sound waves are absorbed by a material.

Fig: Schematic of an enclosure (a) without sound absorbing materials and (b) with
absorbing materials on walls. The rays indicate propagation of sound waves.

Apart from the mechanical design constraints on stiffness, knowledge on acoustic

characteristics of these materials are essential in designing the interiors of various
applications. These characteristics include sound absorption coefficient (𝛼), the
reflection coefficient (r), and sound transmission coefficient (t). These 3
characteristics are dependent on materials’ elastic and loss moduli, and thickness
of the structure.
 Schematic of sound interaction with sound absorbing material

The above figure shows that when sound wave is incident on the surface of a
material, part of the incident sound energy (I) is reflected (R), part of the energy is
transmitted (T) and the remaining sound energy is absorbed A by the material and
converted into heat energy. Sound absorption coefficient (α) is defined as the
ratio of sound energy absorbed by the material to the total sound energy
impinges on the surface, i.e.

𝑒 𝑒
𝑒 = =
𝑒 + 𝑒 + 𝑒 𝑒

By definition, α Ɛ [0; 1]: In general, it has to be noted that α depends on the

material’s physical properties (density, elastic and loss moduli), geometry, the
acoustic boundary conditions of the material, and frequency. Sound absorption
coefficient is a field parameter rather than a material properties such as elastic
modulus.

Conclusion

The results from this work provide scope to examine the sound absorption
characteristics of other single and multilayered biodegradable materials.