The present invention relates to an acoustic metasurface structure, which is an acoustic structure configured to absorb low-frequency sounds, and especially to a super-low-frequency sound-absorbing panel.
In daily lives, lots of activities generate noises, such as people walking, transporting, music playing, and machine operating, etc. To decrease distractions from noises, a variety of noise absorbers is provided nowadays. For example, sound-absorbing plates, sound-absorbing structures using porous/micro-perforated panels cooperating with a resonant backed cavity, active noise absorbers, and mufflers which are made based on a theory of Helmholtz resonance.
Among that, the sound-absorbing plates are made of porous materials such as foam or fibers. Because of material properties, the sound-absorbing plates tend to absorb high-frequency sounds easily and have difficulty absorbing low-frequency sounds. The sound-absorbing structures, using porous/micro-perforated panels cooperating with a resonant backed cavity, are limited in space, so a volume of the resonant back cavity is limited, and hence the sound-absorbing structures are not easy to be applied in absorption of low-frequency noises. The active noise absorbers have complex circuit designs, so they are not easy to be produced and are costly.
Additionally, a muffler made based on the theory of Helmholtz resonance are broadly applied in noise absorptions of a medium-to-narrow frequency bandwidth in tunnels. The muffler comprises a hollow cavity and a neck connected to the cavity. The neck has an opening that is in fluid communication with an external environment. A Helmholtz resonance is a passive muffler and can be seen as a spring-mass system. The cavity is a spring and air in the neck is a mass. The Helmholtz resonance can trap and attenuate noises. A mechanism behind this is that if frequencies of the noises match resonant frequencies of the resonance, the air in the neck vibrates violently, so an energy of the noises is attenuated. The Helmholtz resonance is widely used in engineering fields. Based on the theory of Helmholtz resonance, controlling a size of the opening of the neck, a length of the neck, and a volume of an interior of the cavity can control a preset frequency bandwidth of the muffler. The muffler has a great absorption coefficient in the preset frequency bandwidth but nearly has noise absorbing effects outside the frequency bandwidth.
If hoping to use the muffler made based on the theory of Helmholtz resonance to absorb sounds with lower frequencies, a preset frequency of the muffler should be set to a lower frequency. However, because the preset frequency of the muffler is inversely proportional to the volume of the interior of the cavity, the cavity must have a larger volume to set the preset frequency to a lower frequency, and hence the muffler occupies a larger space. So, within limitations of space, the muffler is hard to be configured to absorb lower-frequency sounds.
To sum up, the noise absorbers nowadays are hard to absorb low-frequency sounds within a limited volume, or must have complex circuit designs, therefore needing to be improved.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide an acoustic metasurface structure to resolve drawbacks that a noise absorber nowadays is hard to absorb low-frequency sounds within a limited volume, or must have complex circuit designs.
The acoustic metasurface structure comprises a main body, an externally-connecting configuration and an inner configuration. The main body has a sound-absorbing hole formed at a surface of the main body. A ratio of a diameter of the main body to a diameter of the sound-absorbing hole is from 9.8:1 to 12.35:1. The externally-connecting configuration is formed inside the main body and has an externally-connecting cavity and an externally-connecting tube, which is disposed inside the externally-connecting cavity. Two ends of the externally-connecting tube are open and in fluid communication with each other. One of the two ends of the externally-connecting tube is connected to the sound-absorbing hole to communicate with an external environment. The other one of the two ends of the externally-connecting tube communicates with the externally-connecting cavity. The inner configuration is formed inside the main body and has an inner cavity and an inner tube, which is disposed inside the inner cavity. Two ends of the inner tube are open and in fluid communication with each other. The inner tube and the externally-connecting tube are spaced apart from each other. One of the two ends of the inner tube communicates with the externally-connecting cavity of the externally-connecting configuration. The inner cavity communicates with the externally-connecting cavity through the inner tube.
The acoustic metasurface structure is designed based on the theory of Helmholtz resonance and is designed with planarization and extending necks. In the externally-connecting configuration, the externally-connecting cavity communicates with the external environment via the externally-connecting tube. In the inner configuration, the inner cavity communicates, via the inner tube, with the externally-connecting cavity of the externally-connecting configuration. Therefore, a series-type structure is formed inside the main body to increase an acoustic impedance of the acoustic metasurface structure, thereby lowering frequencies, which absorption coefficient peaks of the acoustic metasurface structure land on. So, under circumstances of the main body having a limited volume, absorption coefficient of the acoustic metasurface structure toward low frequencies is increased. Besides, the acoustic metasurface structure has a simple configuration, can absorb sounds just by directing the sound-absorbing hole toward sound sources, and is freed from complex circuit designs and from connection to a power source. Hence, the scope of application of the acoustic metasurface structure is enlarged and convenience of use is increased.
With reference to
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Besides, the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner tube 32 are preferably and respectively curved to increase lengths of the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner tube 32 in a limited space. Apart from that, sections of the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner tube 32 can be circular, square, polygonal, etc., all of them can make the acoustic metasurface structure sound-absorbing.
The main body 10a to 10d has a sound-absorbing face 12 and a separating wall 13. The sound-absorbing face 12 is formed at an outer side of the main body 10a to 10d. The sound-absorbing hole 11 is disposed on the sound-absorbing face 12. The separating wall 13 is disposed inside the main body 10a to 10d and separates the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31. One of the two ends of the inner tube 32 is mounted on the separating wall 13 and communicates with the externally-connecting cavity 21.
Furthermore, as shown in
Preferably, the main body 10a to 10d is disc-shaped and the diameter D of the main body 10a to 10d is on the horizontal reference plane. The externally-connecting cavity 21 has an external-cavity height along the Z direction. The inner cavity 31 has an inner-cavity height along the Z direction. The external-cavity height of the externally-connecting cavity 21 is equal to the inner-cavity height of the inner cavity 31, which means the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31 share the same cavity height h. The main body 10a to 10d being disc-shaped is to facilitate experimenting and calculation. A shape of the main body 10a to 10d can be square or polygonal and is not limited by a preferable embodiment of the present invention. Additionally, the main body 10a to 10d comprises a top cover 14, a bottom cover 15 and an outer wall 16. The top cover 14 and the bottom cover 15 are respectively mounted at a top side and a bottom side of the outer wall 16. The separating wall 13 is mounted inside the outer wall 16 to separate a space, which is surrounded and formed by the top cover 14, the bottom cover 15 and the outer wall 16 together, into the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31. One end of the externally-connecting tube 22 is mounted at and embedded in the top cover 14. One end of the inner tube 32 is mounted at and embedded in the separating wall 13.
The acoustic metasurface structure is designed based on a theory of Helmholtz resonance. In the externally-connecting configuration 20, the externally-connecting cavity 21 communicates with the external environment via the externally-connecting tube 22, making the externally-connecting configuration 20 a resonator complying with the theory of Helmholtz resonance. In the inner configuration 30, the inner cavity 31 communicates with the externally-connecting cavity 21 via the inner tube 32, making the inner configuration 30 another resonator complying with the theory of Helmholtz resonance. Said two resonators are connected in series by the inner tube 32, and therefore a series-type structure is formed inside the main body 10a to 10d.
Specifically, as an analogy between electrical circuits and acoustical systems, an acoustic impedance can be equivalent to an electrical impedance, and thus formulas of series and parallel RLC (resistor, inductor and capacitor) circuits can be applied to calculate the acoustic impedance. So, the acoustic metasurface structure can use the series-type structure to increase the acoustic impedance, thereby lowering a preset frequency of the acoustic metasurface structure and increasing an absorption coefficient of the acoustic metasurface structure toward low frequencies under circumstances of the main body 10a to 10d having a limited volume. Besides, the acoustic metasurface structure has a simple configuration, can absorb sounds just by directing the sound-absorbing hole 11 of the main body 10a to 10d toward sound sources, and is freed from complex circuit designs and from connection to a power source. So, the scope of application of the acoustic metasurface structure is enlarged and convenience of use is increased.
Furthermore, by controlling volumes of the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31, the length and a diameter of the externally-connecting tube 22, and the length and a diameter of the inner tube 32, a total acoustic impedance can be controlled and altered, thereby controlling a preset frequency bandwidth of the acoustic metasurface structure.
Following is a description of a controlling method of the total acoustic impedance of the acoustic metasurface structure. With reference to
Because the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner tube 32 respectively have a long length and a small diameter relative to the length, a narrow channel is formed inside both of the tubes. Hence thermal-viscous losses in the tubes (which are the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner tube 32) should be considered. With reference to “Acoustic perfect absorbers via Helmholtz resonators with embedded apertures” (Sibo Huang; Xinsheng Fang; Xu Wang; Badreddine Assouar; Qian Cheng; Yong Li, J Acoust Soc Am 145, 254-262 (2019)) and “Acoustic perfect absorbers via spiral metasurfaces with embedded apertures” (Sibo Huang; Xinsheng Fang; Xu Wang; Badreddine Assouar; Qian Cheng; Yong Li, Appl. Phys. Lett. 113, 233501 (2018)), the acoustic impedance Zni of a tube can be expressed by the following equation:
In the abovementioned equation (1), Zni is the acoustic impedance of the tube; ρ0 is an air density; c0 is a speed of sound; kci is a wave number; lni is the length of the tube; γ is a specific heat ratio; Ψhi and Ψvi respectively are a thermal function and a viscous function, and they can be respectively expressed by the following equations:
In the abovementioned equations, J2 is Bessel functions of the first kind with order two; J0 is Bessel functions of the first kind with order zero; kh is a thermal wave number; kv is a viscous wave number; dni is an inner diameter of the tube.
Additionally, with reference to “Perforated panel absorbers with viscous energy dissipation enhanced by orifice design” (Randeberg R T, PhD thesis submitted to NTNU, 2000, Trondheim), when considering a sound radiation of the tube into a free space, an effective length of the tube is increased. Thus, an end correction of opening ends of tubes (which means the externally-opening end 222 of the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner-opening end 322 of the inner tube 32) needs to be modified as:
In the abovementioned equation (2), δtotal is a further tube-length complete end correction; y is a ratio of the diameter of the tube to a radius of the semi-circular cavity. In the preferable embodiment of the present invention, the main body 10a to 10d is circular, and the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31 are respectively semi-circular. The ratio y of the diameter of the tube to a radius of the semi-circular cavity can be expressed by the following equation:
In the abovementioned equation (2), δei is an initial tube-length end correction. An acoustic mass is affected by air leaving a hole and entering a free space. The initial tube-length end correction δei can be expressed by the following equation:
After considering the end correction of the tube, an acoustic impedance ZMi contributed by the tube and an opening end of the tube can be expressed by the following equation:
Among that, ω is an angular frequency of sounds and can be expressed by the following equation:
f is a frequency of sounds.
Moreover, an acoustic impedance ZCi contributed by the cavity can be expressed by the following equation:
Wherein p is an acoustic pressure; v is a particle velocity of the air; U is a volume velocity of the air through the semi-circular cavity; Sni is a surface area of the tube; Vi is a volume of the cavity.
In the abovementioned equation (4), the surface area Sni of the tube can be expressed by the following equation:
After that, with reference to “Theory and design of microperforated panel sound-absorbing constructions” (Dah-You Maa, Sci. Sin. 18, 55-71 (1975)) and “On the theory and design of acoustic resonators” (Uno Ingard, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 25, 1037-61 (1953)), considering a friction loss around boundaries of a surface inlet of connecting ends of the tubes, an end correction of an acoustic resistance ZRi contributed by the connecting ends of the tubes (which means the externally-connecting end 221 of the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner-connecting end 321 of the inner tube 32) can be expressed by the following equation:
Wherein η is a dynamic viscosity.
As mentioned above, an acoustic impedance can be equivalent to an electrical impedance, and thus the formulas of series and parallel RLC circuits can be applied to calculate the acoustic impedance. A first embodiment of the acoustic metasurface structure in accordance with the present invention is formed by the externally-connecting configuration 20 and the inner configuration 30 connected in series with each other.
In the abovementioned equation (6), ξ is a ratio of a surface area of the sound-absorbing face 12 of the main body 10a to 10d to an area of the sound-absorbing hole 11, and can be expressed by the following equation:
Among that, A is the surface area of the sound-absorbing face 12 of the main body the main body 10a to 10d and can be expressed by the following equation:
Besides, the absorption coefficient a can be expressed by the following equation:
In the first embodiment of the present invention, substituting i=1 into the abovementioned equations represents the externally-connecting configuration 20, comprising the externally-connecting tube 22 and the externally-connecting cavity 21, and substituting i=2 into the abovementioned equations represents the inner configuration 30, comprising the inner tube 32 and the inner cavity 31. Substituting i=1 and 2 into the equation (3), equation (4) and equation (5) can obtain the acoustic impedances ZM1, ZM2, Zc1, Zc2 and the acoustic resistances ZR1, ZR2, then substituting the acoustic impedances ZM1, ZM2, Zc1, Zc2 and the acoustic resistances ZR1, ZR2 into the equation (6) can obtain a relationship between the total acoustic impedance Ztotal and the frequency f of sounds. Substituting the total acoustic impedance Ztotal into the equation (7) can obtain the absorption coefficient a. The total acoustic impedance Ztotal of the acoustic metasurface structure relates to the thicknesses t of the top cover 14, the bottom cover 15, and the outer wall 16 of the main body 10a, to the diameter D of the main body 10a, the inner diameter dn1 of the externally-connecting tube 22, the inner diameter dn2 of the inner tube 32, the length ln1 of the externally-connecting tube 22, and to the length ln2 of the inner tube 32. Therefore, altering structural dimensions of the acoustic metasurface structure can make the acoustic metasurface structure have a preset frequency with a better absorption coefficient.
With reference to
With reference to
The second embodiment of the present invention can be viewed as a parallel structure formed by setting the first structure and the second structure abreast, so can be equivalent to parallel circuits equation. Therefore, a total acoustic impedance Ztotal of this embodiment can be expressed by the following equation:
In the second embodiment of the present invention, i=1 represents the first externally-connecting cavity 21a and the first externally-connecting tube 22a; i=2 represents the first inner cavity 31a and the first inner tube 32a; i=3 represents the second externally-connecting cavity 21b and the second externally-connecting tube 22b; i=4 represents the second inner cavity 31b and the second inner tube 32b. Substituting i=1, 2, 3, 4 into the equation (3), equation (4) and equation (5) and then into the equation (8), a relationship between the total acoustic impedance Ztotal of the second embodiment of the present invention and the frequency f of sounds can be obtained. Substituting the total acoustic impedance Ztotal into the equation (7) can obtain an absorption coefficient a of this embodiment.
Taking the second embodiment of the present invention as an example, the structural dimensions of the acoustic metasurface structure are set as follows: the diameter D of the main body 10b is 100 mm; the inner diameter dn1 of the first externally-connecting tube 22a, the inner diameter dn2 of the first inner tube 32a, the inner diameter dn3 of the second externally-connecting tube 22b, the inner diameter dn4 of the second inner tube 32b are all 10 mm respectively; both the length ln1 of the first externally-connecting tube 22a and the length ln2 of the first inner tube 32a are 42.3 mm; both the length ln3 of the second externally-connecting tube 22b and the length ln4 of the second inner tube 32b are 33 mm; the thicknesses t of the separating wall 13, the top cover 14, the bottom cover 15, and the outer wall 16 of the main body 10b are 1.5 mm; the cavity heights h of the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31 are 14 mm. With reference to
Among that, both of the length ln1 of the first externally-connecting tube 22a and the length ln2 of the first inner tube 32a of the first structure are larger than both of the length ln3 of the second externally-connecting tube 22b and the length ln4 of the second inner tube 32b of the second structure, so an absorption coefficient peak of the first structure lands on a relatively low frequency while an absorption coefficient peak of the second structure lands on a relatively high frequency. The frequencies, which the two absorption coefficient peaks of the two structures land on, are spaced, therefore increasing the frequency bandwidth, which has the absorption coefficient higher than 0.5, of this embodiment. Besides, if arranging multiple of the first embodiment of the present invention abreast and setting said multiple first embodiments to respectively have the externally-connecting tube 22 and the inner tube 32 with different lengths, said multiple first embodiments will have absorption coefficient peaks landing on different frequencies, therefore still increasing the frequency bandwidth having the absorption coefficient higher than 0.5.
With reference to
In this embodiment, with reference to “Perfect acoustic absorption of Helmholtz resonators via tapered necks” (Song C; Huang S; Zhou Z; Zhang J; Jia B; Zhou C; Li Y; Pan Y, Appl Phys Express 2022; 15: 084006), an acoustic impedance Ze,p of the tube can be expressed by the following equation:
Wherein substituting p=1 into the abovementioned equations represents the externally-connecting configuration 20, comprising the externally-connecting tube 22 and the externally-connecting cavity 21. Substituting p=2 into the abovementioned equations represents the inner configuration 30, comprising the inner tube 32 and the inner cavity 31. e1 is the connecting end of the tube and e2 is the opening end of the tube. A is a total sectional area of the main body 10c. la,p is the length of the tube. b is a thickness of the top cover 14. Vt,p is a volume of the tube. Re1,p is a resistance end correction of the connecting end of the tube, and Re2,p is a resistance end correction of the opening end of the tube. Xe1,p is a reactance end correction of the connecting end of the tube, and Xe2,p is a reactance end correction of the opening end of the tube. σx,p is a porosity, which means a ratio of a changing sectional area of the tube to the total sectional area of the main body 10c. kx,p is a perforation constant. J0 is Bessel functions of the first kind with order zero. J1 is Bessel functions of the first kind with order one. x represents a length from the opening end along the tube.
In addition, the resistance end corrections Re1,p and Re2,p of the connecting end and the opening end of the tube can be expressed by the following equation:
Wherein da1,p is an inner diameter of the connecting end of the tube and da2,p is an inner diameter of the opening end of the tube. Besides, the resistance end correction Re2,p can be obtained by replacing da1,p in the abovementioned equation with da2,p.
Further to explain, in this embodiment, as shown in
Besides, the reactance end corrections Xe1,p and Xe2,p of the connecting end and the opening end of the tube can be expressed by the following equation:
Additionally, the reactance end correction Xe2,p can be obtained by replacing da1,p in the abovementioned equation with da2,p.
Further, the porosity σx,p can be expressed by the following equation:
In addition, the perforation constant kx,p can be expressed by the following equation:
Furthermore, an acoustic impedance ZC,p of the cavity can be expressed by the following equation:
Wherein Sa,p is an average sectional area of the connecting end and the opening end of the tube. Vc,p is the volume of the cavity.
The third embodiment of the present invention is still a series-type structure, so a total acoustic impedance Zseries of the acoustic metasurface structure can be expressed by the following equation:
In the third embodiment of the present invention, substituting p=1 into the abovementioned equations represents the externally-connecting configuration 20, comprising the externally-connecting tube 22 and the externally-connecting cavity 21. Substituting p=2 into the abovementioned equations represents the inner configuration 30, comprising the inner tube 32 and the inner cavity 31. e1 is the connecting end of the tube and e2 is the opening end of the tube. By substituting p=1 and 2 into equation (9) and equation (10), and then substituting obtained answers into equation (11), a relationship between the total acoustic impedance Zseries of the third embodiment of the present invention and the frequency f of sounds can be obtained. Substituting the total acoustic impedance Zseries into the equation (7) can obtain an absorption coefficient a of this embodiment.
Taking the third embodiment of the present invention as an example, the structural dimensions of the acoustic metasurface structure are set as the following: the diameter D of the main body 10c is 100 mm; the thicknesses t of the separating wall 13, the top cover 14, the bottom cover 15, and the outer wall 16 of the main body 10c are 1 mm; the cavity heights h of the externally-connecting cavity 21 and the inner cavity 31 are 16 mm; the length l1 of the externally-connecting tube 22 is 74.4 mm; the length l2 of the inner tube 32 is 67.4 mm; the inner diameter d11 of the externally-connecting end 221 of the externally-connecting tube 22 is 9.2 mm; the inner diameter d12 of the externally-opening end 222 of the externally-connecting tube 22 is 8.8 mm; the inner diameter d21 of the inner-connecting end 321 of the inner tube 32 is 13.6 mm; the inner diameter d22 of the inner-opening end 322 of the inner tube 32 is 5.8 mm. With reference to
With reference to
The externally-connecting configuration 20, the inner configuration 30 and the multiple extending configurations 40 communicate with one another in sequence, so the fourth embodiment of the present invention is formed as a continuously series-type structure. That is, the fourth embodiment of the present invention is a series-type design, having four cavities communicating in sequence, and formed by the externally-connecting configuration 20, the inner configuration 30 and two of the multiple extending configurations 40 communicating in sequence, so series RLC circuits can be applied. Hence, a total acoustic impedance Ztotal of this embodiment of the acoustic metasurface structure can be expressed by the following equation:
With reference to
Furthermore, by using Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO) cooperating with the abovementioned equations, a specific sound-absorbing frequency can be set, and structural dimensions for the acoustic metasurface structure to possess a best absorption coefficient for the specific sound-absorbing frequency can be found. Therefore, the acoustic metasurface structure has an effect of sound absorption in accordance with different requirements. The acoustic metasurface structure can be applied to absorb low-frequency noises generated by mechanical processing (comprising machine tools), textile factories, and electric generators using water power, firepower and wind power. The acoustic metasurface structure can be pasted at walls of cabin engine rooms of steamships, cargo ships, merchant ships, fishing boats, yachts, warships and submarines to absorb low-frequency noises generated by engines. The acoustic metasurface structure can be mounted at outer-side surfaces of outdoor air-conditioner compressor, motors of rolling doors, and ventilation pipes to reduce noises with specific frequencies. The acoustic metasurface structure can be mounted inside air filters and mainframe computers to reduce noises from fans operating, can be mounted at a bottom side of a washing machine to reduce noises generated by motors, and can be mounted at bottom sides of vehicles of mass transportation such as metro, railway and high-speed rail, etc. to reduce noises transported into the vehicles. The acoustic metasurface structure can be applied to military bases, mounted around, for example, rocket launch pads, missile and artillery launch sites, etc., to reduce noises with specific frequencies. The acoustic metasurface structure can be mounted at an outer frame of a window to absorb noises from specific constructions or transportations. Besides, multiple said acoustic metasurface structures can be widely mounted at a wall to increase a noise-absorbing effect. Mounting multiple said acoustic metasurface structures with different structural dimensions designs together on a wall can broaden a frequency bandwidth of noise absorption.
To sum up, the acoustic metasurface structure is configured to absorb 8 sounds. By the externally-connecting configuration 20 and the inner configuration 30 forming the series-type inside the main body 10a to 10d, an acoustic impedance of the present invention is increased and frequencies, on which absorption coefficient peaks of the acoustic metasurface structure land, are lowered. Therefore, under circumstances of the main body 10a to 10d having a limited volume, an absorption coefficient of the acoustic metasurface structure toward low frequencies is increased. The acoustic metasurface structure can be viewed as a super-low-frequency sound-absorbing panel.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the board general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.