Additional sound sources are used as actuators in the vast majority of active noise reduction systems. One of the possible opportunities to extend the field of applications of active noise reduction systems is using active structures of variable sound insulation. The paper presents an analysis of ways of reducing noise with a structure of variable sound insulation consisting of a metal plate, active elements (Macro Fiber Composite), and a control system. The paper presents results of acoustic radiation simulations and measurements of sound intensity generated by the structure under the influence of stimulation by an acoustic wave. Simulations of mechanical vibrations and acoustic radiation for the plate were performed with the finite element method and ANSYS software. Simulation results made it possible to select locations for gluing the active elements and sensors. Analyses of the sound pressure level in the space to which the plate is radiating made it possible to determine dominant frequencies in the characteristics and, as a result, indicate vibration modes that can be reduced. Sound intensity measurements were performed with a three-way probe of USP mini Microflown. Results of simulations and measurements show that it is possible to achieve an improvement of the insulating power of a metal plate by approx. 10 dB.

The main problem in the measurement of airborne sound insulation is the measurement of the sound power radiated by the barrier, in practice performed by measuring the sound pressure level and the acoustic absorption in the receiving room. Large variations of the sound pressure level in a reverberation room indicate the presence of dominating strong standing waves, so that it becomes necessary to install diffusing elements. In ISO 10140, the limits have been defined in which the reverberation time at frequencies at and above 100 Hz should be included. Sometimes, however, in the case of rooms with a large volume, obtaining the required parameters is difficult and sometimes even impossible. It should then be checked whether the measured sound insulation depends on the reverberation time.

The paper presents the results of sound insulation measurements at various reverberation time lengths in subsequent stages of diffusing elements installation in the receiving room. An analysis of diffusing materials amount and arrangement influence on the uniformity of the sound pressure level distribution and reverberation time in the room as well as the value of the measured sound insulation was carried out. Uncertainty of sound insulation measurement with partial uncertainties was adopted as a criterion supporting the assessment of the obtained results.

Main aim of this study is to combine the characteristics of the sonic crystal (SC) with acoustic panels and porous materials to improve the sound transmission loss (STL) through the triple-panel structure. SCs cause a bandgap centered around a certain frequency (Bragg’s frequency) due to generation of destructive interference. Initially, an analytical method is developed that extends the previous theory of double-panel structure to predict STL through a triple-panel structure. Finite element (FE) simulations are performed to obtain the STL through the triple-panel, which are validated with the analytical predictions. Various configurations are analyzed using the FE method based on the method of inserting the porous material and SCs between the panels to address the combined effect. STL through the triple-panel structure is compared with that through the double-panel structure having the same total weight and total thickness. It is found that the combined structure of the triple panel and the SC with glass wool as filler gives the best soundproof performance for the same external dimensions. For narrow air gaps, filing with glass wool is more advantageous than inserting one row of SC. In addition, the triple panel combined with a SC has better soundproofing than the two-panel counterparts.

In this paper, we present one approach to improve the soundproofing performance of the double-panel structure (DPS) in the entire audible frequencies, in which two kinds of local resonances, the breathing-type resonance and the Helmholtz resonance, are combined. The thin ring resonator row and slit-type resonator (Helmholtz resonator) row are inserted between two panels of DPS together. Overlapping of the band gaps due to the individual resonances gives a wide and high band gap of sound transmission in the low frequency range. At the same time, the Bragg-type band gap is created by the structural periodicity of the scatterers in the high audible frequency range. In addition, the number of scatterer rows and the filling factor are investigated with regard to the sound insulation of DPS with sonic crystals (SCs). Consequently, the hybrid SC has the potential of increasing the soundproofing performance of DPS in the audible frequency range above 1 kHz by about 15 dB on average compared to DPS filled only with glass wool between two panels, while decreasing the total thickness and mass compared to the counterparts with the other type of local resonant sonic crystal.

The locally resonant sonic material (LRSM) is an artificial metamaterial that can block underwater sound. The low-frequency insulation performance of LRSM can be enhanced by coupling local resonance and Bragg scattering effects. However, such method is hard to be experimentally proven as the best optimizing method. Hence, this paper proposes a statistical optimization method, which first finds a group of optimal solutions of an object function by utilizing genetic algorithm multiple times, and then analyzes the distribution of the fitness and the Euclidean distance of the obtained solutions, in order to verify whether the result is the global optimum. By using this method, we obtain the global optimal solution of the low-frequency insulation of LRSM. By varying parameters of the optimum, it can be found that the optimized insulation performance of the LRSM is contributed by the coupling of local resonance with Bragg scattering effect, as well as a distinct impedance mismatch between the matrix of LRSM and the surrounding water. This indicates coupling different effects with impedance mismatches is the best method to enhance the low-frequency insulation performance of LRSM.

For the purpose of reducing the impact noise transmission across floating floors in residential buildings, two main sound transmission paths in the floating floor structure are considered: the stud path and the cavity path. The sound transmission of each path is analysed separately: the sound transmission through the cavity and the stud are predicted by statistical energy analysis (SEA). Then, the sound insulation prediction model of the floating floor is established. There is reasonable agreement between the theoretical prediction and measurement, and the results show that a resilient layer with low stiffness can attenuate the sound bridge effect, resulting in higher impact noise insulation. Then, the influences of the floor covering, the resilient layer and the floor plate on the impact sound insulation are investigated to achieve the optimised structure of the floating floor based on the sound insulation.

The acoustic effect of windows installed in a prefabricated wood frame façade was considered. Windows inserted into a lightweight wall modify its structural scheme. The research aimed to investigate the possible interaction of the façade’s main components and their actual contribution to the total sound insulation. The principal research question involved the prediction of the acoustic performance of the complete prefabricated panel from the performance of its basic elements, an opaque part and windows. As the frequency-dependent characteristics of the elements differ substantially, the use of single number values for prediction and accuracy was of particular interest. The study is based on laboratory measurements. Initially, two full-scale samples of an opaque wall and four windows were tested separately. Then, several variants of the façade consisting of various combinations of these elements were examined. The results of measurements were juxtaposed and compared with calculated values. The frequency-dependent experimental results were fairly consistent with calculations. The estimations based on single number quantities were also in good agreement with measurements. Thus, it may be concluded that the façade elements did not interact significantly, and the single number calculations give reliable results that can be used in practice.

Urethane foam mattresses are commonly used as cushioning when placing panel flooring on the floor slab of a building. Urethane foam consists of elastic fibres with pores. Both elements can affect the performance of the insulation against impact sounds. However, these effects have not yet been detailed, and they may change if the material properties or constitution of the fibres and pores in the cushioning change. In this paper, we propose an analytical model for use in evaluating the performance of insulation against floor impact sound. This model was used to examine the contribution of the pores versus the elastic fibres to wave transmissions from the flooring surface to the slab. The results reveal that the constitution of the foam (either open or closed cells of pores) and the thickness and hardness of the cushion layer strongly affect the sound insulation performance of the floor.

Airborne acoustic properties of composite structural insulated panels CSIPs composed of fibre-magnesium-cement facesheets and expanded polystyrene core were studied. The sound reduction ratings were measured experimentally in an acoustic test laboratory composed of two reverberation chambers. The numerical finite element (FEM) model of an acoustic laboratory available in ABAQUS was used and verified with experimental results. Steady-state and transient FE analyses were performed. The 2D and 3D modelling FE results were compared. Different panel core modifications were numerically tested in order to improve the airborne sound insulation of CSIPs.

An approach is presented to form and broaden the low-frequency band gap of the double panel structure (DPS) by using a locally resonant sonic crystal (LRSC) in this work. The LRSC is made of cylindrical Helmholtz resonators arranged on square lattice. Their designs are similar to a slot-type resonator, but have different depths of slot. Elongating the slit neck inward and distributing the depths of slots produce a broad local resonant band gap at low frequencies: an average insertion loss (IL) of 10.9 dB covering 520 Hz to 1160 Hz with a LRSC of 12 cm width. Next, the effect of porous material filled into the resonators on the local resonant band gap is evaluated. It is shown that filling of porous material into the resonators decreases the height and width of the local resonant band gap. Finally, the transmission losses (TLs) through the DPS with LRSC are calculated as a function of the incident angle of the sound wave for LRSC embedded in porous material and not. The results show that the porous material can be significantly reduce the incident angle dependency of TL through the DPS with LRSC.