Claims
- 1. A microporous sheet having both acoustical and structural functionality, said sheet constructed by a process comprising:a) providing a sheet capable of functioning as a single entity structure upon multiple perforation; b) providing a laser device capable of producing a free electron laser beam; and c) directing the free electron laser beam to a surface of the sheet to perforate the sheet at a plurality of sites and thereby form a plurality of generally uniformly dispersed apertures of substantially constant cross section there through of a sufficient size and number whereby the sheet functions as an acoustical noise suppressor and as said single entity structure.
- 2. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the apertures are generally circular in shape.
- 3. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 2 wherein the apertures have a diameter of between about 0.003 inch and about 0.025 inch.
- 4. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the apertures have a cross-sectional area of from about 7×10−6 square inch to about 5×10−4 square inch.
- 5. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 4 wherein the apertures create from about 3% to about 12% open area in the sheet.
- 6. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the apertures create from about 3% to about 12% open area in the sheet.
- 7. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 6 wherein the material is chosen from the group consisting of titanium, aluminum, steel, nickel, and reinforced polymers.
- 8. A microporous sheet as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sheet is constructed of material selected from the group consisting of titanium, aluminum, steel, nickel, and reinforced polymers.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a divisional application of prior application Ser. No. 08/910,945, filed Aug. 14, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,044.
US Referenced Citations (12)