Patent Application
20050103568
The present invention relates to a soundproof wall. It aims at limiting the effects of the noise, among other things noises issued from various modes of transportation (roads, railways, airports). This soundproof device may be arranged on any type of infrastructure (wall, ceiling, floor, tunnel, building, . . . ).
The solution consisting in covering certain portions of roads or of motorways is not always possible. Often, it is sought to attenuate, if not to suppress, the effects of the noise by the construction on the bank of the carriageway, soundproof walls, also called acoustic screens, along the existing carriageways.
The conception of these soundproof walls results from the application of the circular R/A 89.66 dated 17 May 1989 which defines the requirements thereof in terms of noise, aesthetics and cost.
Generally, it is known that the sizing method of such walls is based on the calculation of the direct transmissions and on the calculation of sound attenuation by absorption, by reflection and by diffraction.
The absorbing panels are generally in the form of a caisson wherein is placed an absorbing material such as mineral wool, clay foam, etc. . . . whereas the masking panels are made of a hard wall such as glass, smoothed concrete, etc . . . .
The present invention falls into the former category, i.e the field of sound-absorbing panels. The device offered forms not only a sound-proof shield, but also enables the absorption thereof and reduces the effect of multiple reflections.
The purpose of the invention is to improve the performances of a soundproof wall fitted with absorbing panels while offering a new geometry consisting, among other things, in increasing the interaction surface of the acoustic waves with a partially absorbing material.
The invention falls within the framework of so-called fractile geometries and space filling surfaces. In particular, it has been sought here to realise such an object in a practical manner, which imposes a restriction on the first orders of fractility.
To this end, the invention relates to a sound-absorbing device notably for roads and railways including an approximately flat base, embossed and/or hollow elements each including at least one recess.
According to the invention, this base reveals, with the embossed and/or hollow elements, a configuration exhibiting a fractility over a length range comprised between 1 cm and 50 cm, of fractile size greater than 2.5 enabling the localisation of certain acoustic modes in the vicinity of said elements.
By fractile dimension D is meant here the average exponent expressing the measurement of the total surface area S(R) separating the air and the absorbing medium and included in a sphere of radius R, centred on this separation surface, in relation to this radius, in the form S(R) proportional to R at the power of D, (S(R)=kRD).
The present invention also relates to the characteristics which will appear in the following description and which should be considered individually or according to all their technically possible combinations:
The following description given by way of non-limiting example will show more clearly how the invention may be realised. It is made with reference with the appended drawings whereon:
The sound-absorption device according to the invention implements the dampening design of fractile acoustic resonators. Here, the expression fractile object means an object whereof the geometry may be described by a non-integer dimension. This approach aims at realising a phonically absorbing object exhibiting maximal surface areas in a given volume, i.e. an object having a space filling surface. This is meant in the sense when the total surface area comprises in a sphere of radius R centred on the object varies more quickly when R increases than the square of the radius R. Such an object exhibits a very irregular geometry which enables the localisation of the modes of the waves over the sound frequency range, in the vicinity of the surfaces. The localisation of these modes for given frequencies, i.e. their concentration in a region of the space close to the phonically absorbing surfaces causes excessive dampening effect of these modes. This excessive dampening effect results from the increase in the amplitude of the modes on the absorbing surface. There is a kind of increased “friction” of the modes of the waves against the absorbing material. Two kinds of modes are therefore distinguished: delocalised modes, for which the absorption by said device is amplified by the considerable increase of the absorbing surface with respect to a simple flat surface and localised modes, for which excessive dampening effect can be observed, added to the absorption already observed previously for the delocalised modes.
The sound-absorbing device according to the invention comprises therefore a substantially flat base, embossed and/or hollow elements 1, each including at least one recess or scalloping 2. According to the invention, this base reveals with the embossed and/or hollow elements a configuration exhibiting a fractility zone comprised between 1 cm and 50 cm, of fractile size greater than 2.5. The device exhibits advantageously variable sizes, in the planes parallel to the base plane, in relation to their distance to said plane of the base. In a preferred embodiment, these sizes and their variations are at least partially irregular. A fractile object has thus been realised in the first order of approximation.
In an embodiment, the surface of the embossed and/or hollow elements 1 is generated by a straight line running through an apex and resting on a closed line contained in a plane not running through said apex, said elements 1 being truncated in their upper section 3 by a plane. The closed line may, for example, forms a curve or a polygon. Here, the word base 4 refers to the surface circumscribed by the closed line wherefrom the height of the solid element is calculated in a perpendicular fashion. Advantageously, this closed line describes the contour of a ‘kouglof’ mould, i.e. it comprises a succession of arcs of circle forming a closed line. In a first embodiment, the embossed elements 1 are truncated pyramids 1 such as those represented on
Each of the embossed elements 1 is emptied, so that it includes a hollow truncated cone 2. This truncated recess 2 may, in a first embodiment, have the straight line connecting the apex of the pyramid at the centre of its base 4 as the axis 7 or, in a second embodiment, have its axis 7 parallel to the base 4 of the elements 1. In the first embodiment, the truncated cones 2 are open on the upper section side 3 of the truncated pyramids 1. In the second embodiment, the truncated cones 2 are open at their ends 8.
A theoretical approach has been developed to explain the increase in the sound-absorbing properties by a device composed of such a substantially flat base and of such embossed elements 1.
This theory distinguishes two types of mode, localised modes and delocalised modes. For the latter, the increase in the absorbing power results from the “developed surface” of the wall with respect to its projected surface. The projected surface of the wall is that formed generally and which may be defined as being the surface seen on a macroscopic plane from the sound source. It is of the surface occupied by the device or the wall.
The developed surface is the accumulation of the set of the surfaces, external or internal surfaces, of the absorbing device in contact with air, i.e. with sound waves.
Thus, this developed surface will be, in case when the embossed elements 1 are truncated pyramids, the result from the accumulation of the surfaces of the lateral faces of the truncated pyramids 1 and of the internal surfaces of the hollow truncated cones 2.
It has been noted that the sound absorption obtained with such a device is then proportional to the ratio S of the developed surface Sd to the projected surface of the wall Sm.
For the so-called localised modes, a localisation zone of the sound wave may be observed in the vicinity of the structure absorbing, resulting from the presence of irregularities in said structure. This wave is therefore subjected to a friction phenomenon with the phonically absorbing material which induces excessive dampening effect thereof. This excessive dampening effect will increase the absorbing power already observed for delocalised modes.
The absorbing power by average square meter of projected surface of the device and for a given frequency ω of the sound, is increased by a factor A(ω) given by the formula:
A(ω)=(Sd/Sm)×C(ω)
where Sd and Sm are respectively the developed surface and the projected surface of the wall and C(ω) is the form factor such as:
These theoretical explanations which lead to the same practical realisations, are given here to enable better understanding of the invention and of its extent.
In the following description, we shall consider the case when the embossed elements 1 are, according to a preferred embodiment, truncated pyramids. The invention will not be limited, however, to such an embodiment. Another preferred embodiment of the invention being, for example, truncated cones.
As represented on
The axes 7 of these truncated pyramids 1 are advantageously parallel to one another and their associated bases 4, in order to form a base 10 of the caisson 9 which is plane. The axis 7 of the truncated pyramids 1 may be tilted by an angle θranging between 0 and 5° with respect to the normal to the plane running through the base 4 of the solid elements 1.
The plane delineating the upper section 3 of said truncated pyramids 1 forms an angle φ with respect to the plane running through the base 10 of the caisson 9. This angle φ is advantageously comprised between 2 and 10°. In a preferred embodiment, this angle φ is 6°.
These small values for the angle φ ensure easy casing removal and are therefore suited to the realisation constraints by direct moulding.
Advantageously, the presence of this tilted plane enables variation in height of the embossed elements 1 and thus reinforces the irregularities of the device which enables widening of the frequency range wherefore is observed the localisation of the modes of the waves and hence an excessive dampening effect.
The sizes of the square bases 4 are comprised between 50 and 140 mm. the heights of the truncated pyramids 1 are comprised between 220 and 350 mm.
In a particular embodiment (see
For easy casing removal when making these caissons 9, a 30 mm spacing is used between each truncated pyramid 1.
In another embodiment, the embossed elements 1 formed on the base 10 plane of the caissons 9, are separated by recesses 2 realised in the base 10 which form hollow elements. The presence of these recesses improves the absorbing power of the device by increasing advantageously the developed surface of the caisson 9 with respect to its projected surface. These recesses 2 are, for example, truncated cones open on the upper section side of the base 10. The caisson 9 may, moreover, be formed by a periodic arrangement of the same elementary mesh 14.
By “type-1 wall” 11 is meant a rigid quadrangular flat portion including a limited number of caissons, advantageously 35. These “type-1 wall” 11 may be mounted individually to form a soundproof wall or fixed to a pre-existing support (tunnels, motorway banks, . . . ).
The caissons 9 may be arranged randomly with respect to one another. In a preferred embodiment, the caissons 9 are grouped in pairs, in order to form a succession of reverted pyramids.
This “type-2 wall” 12 is approximately perpendicular to the carriageway 13. It is formed by the association of caissons 9 classed into two categories, the caissons A designated by 9A whereof the flat base is perpendicular to the general plane of the wall 12, i.e. for example parallel or perpendicular to the carriageway 13, and the elements 9B which are perpendicular to the elements 9A.
The end elements at the top and at the bottom of the wall are preferably type-A elements, the type-A or type-B elements are advantageously grouped according to the succession A, B, A, A, B, A. The intermediate pattern A A B being repeated as often as necessary to cover te whole height of the wall relative to the size of the caissons 9.
In a preferred embodiment, one of the sizes of the base 9 of the caissons 9B which will be called, for example, their width, is half of their other sizes, i.e. their length.
In another preferred embodiment, the type-A caissons 9 are distributed in two categories, respectively, A1 and A2 perpendicular to one another. There is thus provided a type-3 wall, a fractile object of order three in approximation. One obtains thus a factor-five dampening effect relative to the type-1 wall.
The invention has been described until now while considering the utilisation of little absorbing materials. One may still improve the absorption of the device of the invention while making it out of an absorbing material such as, for example concrete-wood, wherefore it is known that the average sound absorption is of the order of 0.5 to 0.7.
It is well known that concrete-wood is the material realised with wood chippings connected together by a cement-like matrix. The wood material used is of Epicea or Douglas Pine type having been advantageously subjected to an antifouling treatment. For one cubic meter of wood chippings, one uses conventionally approximately 410 kg cement. Advantageously, the proportion of the number of wood chippings with respect to the quantity of cement implemented to realise the cement-like matrix is adapted to modify the average dimensions of the vacuums created in the concrete and thereby increase the absorbing power of the absorbing material.
The porous concrete, the concrete including expanded clay balls or any other honeycomb absorbing material may also be implemented.
In another embodiment, the device, according to the invention, is covered with a phonically absorbing material.
In the description made until now, one has endeavoured to realise a wall 12 intended for the absorption of the noise generated on only one of its sides. It might be useful to provide an absorbing device on both its faces, which would enable in particular to reduce the noises reflected by buildings by diffraction or multiple reflections, in the vicinity of a road.
In such a case, the wall 12 will be made by association of caissons 9 directed to the road on the one hand, to the buildings on the other hand.
This noise-absorbing device may advantageously be implemented for limiting the noise pollution derived from diverse modes of transportation (roads, railways). It may be arranged on any type of infrastructure (wall, ceiling, floor, tunnel, building, . . . ).
This sound-absorbing device is advantageously anti-tag.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02/03404 | Mar 2002 | FR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/FR03/00881 | 3/19/2003 | WO |
