Prediction and Measurement of the

• Im p edance
Acoustical . and . Abso rp fion
Coefficient at Obli
. q
ue Incidence of.
Porous Layers Wltli Perforated Facings*
Philippe Guignouard and Mathias Meisser
Laboratoire d'Application des Sciences Acoustiques, B.P. 30, 78600 Maisons-Laffitte, France
Jean E Mlard, Pascal Rebillard, and Claude Depollier
Laboratoire d'Acoustique Associd au CNRS-URA 1101; Facultd des Sciences du Mans; Route de Laval, B.P. 535;
72017 Le Mans Cedex, France
*Received: 15 May 1990; revised: 3 April 1991

Sound absorbers consisting of a perforated facing backed with a porous material have b e e n
used in architectural acoustics for many years. This paper describes a m e t h o d to calculate the
surface i m p e d a n c e and absorption coefficient at normal and oblique incidences. Two types of
construction, with and without air space, are studied. Comparisons are m a d e b e t w e e n
theoretical predictions and m e a s u r e m e n t s p e r f o r m e d in an anechoic room with the two-
m i c r o p h o n e technique.

field; therefore, the model used in this study employs a motion-

Introduction
Absorbing materials covered with perforated facings are
commonly used in architectural and industrial acoustics. The
perforated facing is used to protect and restrain the absorbing
material, and can improve sound absorption at low frequencies.
Rockwool and fiberglass are frequently used as absorbing ma-
terials. They are both anisotropic fibrous media, meaning that
their flow resistivities in the planar and the normal directions
are not equal) These media have a porosity of nearly 1.0, and
they can be replaced by equivalent fluids, as described by
Pyett, while the propagation constant and the characteristic
impedance in the planar and normal directions are predicted
using the empirical laws of Delany and Bazley.1-4
The surface impedance at normal incidence of porous layers
with perforated facings has been studied previously in several
papers. 5-1°The purpose of this paper is the prediction of the
surface impedance at oblique incidence, with the anisotropy of
the fibrous layers being taken into account. The facing is gener-
ally a metal sheet which is too heavy to vibrate in the acoustic
less facing. The case of an impervious moving facing has previ-
ously been considered in Ref. 11.
The expression of the surface impedance is presented for
two configurations: with and without air space between the
porous material and the backing. Comparisons between pre-
diction and measurement are given as an indication of the ac-
curacy of the model.
Prediction of the Surface Impedance at
Oblique Incidence for a Layer of Fibrous
Material Stuck on an Impervious Floor and
Covered with a Perforated Facing
The perforated facing is represented in Fig. 1. The acoustic
field in the air above the material is plane with an angle of inci-
dence 0. The holes in the facing are circular with a radius ro,
and are much smaller than the wavelength )~in the air. The in-

Volume36/Number3 129
 -boo -boo
cidence plane is xOz and the perforations are periodically dis-
tributed in the two directions Ox and Oy with a period 2d equal U(x,y,O)= ~ ~ Am, cOs(,nrty/d)exp(j21tnsinOx/L)
to the distance between two holes. When the spatial period m=O rt =---~
~,/sin0 in the direction Ox is equal to a multiple 2Nd of the dis- (6)
tance between two holes, the acoustic field is periodic in this di- × (k'mn/k~NZc)[1-exp(-gjk'mnL)],
rection with a period equal to:
or more simply:
N 2.(/= ~,/sin0 . (1)
q-Oo -bOO

The period in the direction Oy is 2d. Consequently, it is pos-

U(x,y,O)= ~ ~ Cm, cos(m~y/d)exp(j2rtnsinOx/L) . (7)
sible to perform a two-dimensional development in the Fourier
m--O n = ---°°
series of the acoustical field in the fibrous layer. Each term of
the development, as in the case of normal incidence, is a solu-
tion of the wave equation. The elementary cell is shown in Fig.
2. The contribution of the (m, n) mode to sound pressure in the
fibrous layer can be written as follows:

Pm,(X, y, Z) = COS(mr~y/d) exp(j2gn sin0 x/L)

x {Am, exp[j(O)t-k'mnz)l+Bmnexp[j(o)t+k'mnZ)] } . (2)

The Oz component Urn, (X, y, Z) of the particle velocity for

the (re,n) mode is given by the following equation:

I
177ZA ! o ! [
Urn, (x, y, z) = eos(mr~y/d), exp(j2r~n sin0 x/L). (k'mn/k'~Zc)

X {Amnexp [j(ogt-k'mnZ)]-Bmnexp[j(o)t +k'm,Z)]} . (3) !. h/$1~ll

_1
-I

In Eqs. (2) and (3), k~vand Z~ are the complex wavenumber

and the characteristic impedance in the Oz direction and k'm,
is equal to:
Figure 1. A perforatedfacing in plane acousticJ'wld;the angle of inci-
k ' , ~ = (1-(m~t/d)~ k,~21in sin0/L)Z)k~~ , (4) dence is 0

k' e being the planar complex wave number in the fibrous mate-
rial. ,-~'~*
The wavenumber k}v and the characteristic impedance Z c re- '
• lk '
m'~ '
/t'x IA '
m., I
lated to sound propagation in the Oz direction can be calcu-
lated by using the empirical laws of Delany and Bazley, the flow
resistivity being measured in the same direction. 4 The
wavenumber k~, in the planar direction was calculated by using
the same laws, but with a flow resistivity (~e in the planar direc- Figure 2. The elementary cellfor the development in Fourierseries
tion equal to:

~p = 8~ N . (5)

The anisotropy parameter s has been evaluated by acoustic X

measurements at grazing and oblique incidences for different p. 0¢d

fiberglass materials, z,3 A value of s close to 0.6 has been ob-
~'.4~z~:~r'_-~:: ~"---,~.~!~$vl-~V
;,t.-~.,5.~- "~
tained, and this value has been used in Eq. (5).
Let L be the thickness of the porous layer (see Fig. 3). At
z=L, the floor being rigid and impervious, Umn(X,y, L) = O, and
Branis equal to Amn exp(-2jk'nL ).
The total particle velocity U(x, y, 0) at z=0 is the sum of the
velocity distributions Umn(X,y, 0) for the (m,n) modes and can Figure 3. A perforatedfacing backed by a porous material stuck on an
be written as follows: imperviousfloor

130 NOISE CONTROLENGINEERINGJOURNAL/May-June1991

 Let us consider the strip represented in Fig. 2, where the ve- /,, -, \ f exp(-2jk'm~L) I
locity is assumed constant on the cross section of each hole and = c" °tk Zc/k (14)
equal to zero elsewhere. Let Uo be the velocity on the hole C O
and let U¢(2dLy,0) be the particle velocity in the hole located at
The contribution to pressure of the (m,n) mode at z-=0 under
x = 2d~:
the perforated facing can be written as
U~(2de,y,O) = uo exp (-j2rce/N) . (8)
em~(X,y,O) = cos(mny/d) exp( j2n sin0 x/L) (k'NZc/k'm~)
Multiplying the left side of Eq. (7) by cos (tony~d). exp (15)
(-j2nn sin0 x/L), and integrating over each hole area, the .fol- • [1 + exp(-2jk' L)]
lowing equation is obtained: X Cmn [i -- exp(-2)k',L)] "
The total pressure P(x,y,O) under the perforated facing is the
I = U0[[S exp (-j2nn sin0 x/'L)cos(tony/d)dx dy] sum of these contributions:
gO
4-oo
(9)
N-1
×E exp [-2nj( fic + n sinO 2edl---~----/] ' P(x,y,O)=~ ~(k~Zc/k'mn)Cos(m~y/d)exp(+j2xnsinOx/'L)
e=O m=0 n=-l; -I+N; -l_+2N ...
(16)
SObeing the surface limited by the circle C O. X Cmn [1 + exp(-2jk',,L)]
In Eq. (9), 2d sin0/'L is equal to I/N, and [1 - exp(-2jk',~.L)J "
N-1
The impedance in the porous material at the location of a
£=o hole can be represented by
(lO)
= 0 otherwise .
f
,]So P(x,y,O) dx dy
The quantity I can also be obtained by multiplying the right ZI
side of Eq. (7) by cos(tony~d) exp(-j2nn sin0 x/E) and inte- nr~ U0 (17)
grating over the elementary cell represented in Fig. 2:
Using Eqs. (12) and (16), Eq. (17) can be restated as
I = NUolexp(-j2xn sin0 x/X) cos(m ~y/d) dx dy = C~nvmdK/sinO ,
Ja +oO
(11)
with ~m = 2 if m = 0 and v m = 1 otherwise. Z1= ~ (Zck~/k, ).8/Vm Nrcr~
2 d L/sin0
m=0 n=-i ; -I_+N;-l+_2N...
(18)
The integral in Eq. (9) has been calculated by Ingard and
Cm, can be written as follows: Jl2{ro[(mdn)2+(2ngKsinO)2]t/21 l +exp(-2jk'mnL )
C~, = (NUo S ~ ) 2nro/v m x 1-exp(-2jk'm,L )
r d 2 231/2
[(mr~ ) + (2nn sin0/L) ]

xJl{ro[,mx/d)2+<2n~sinO/L)2it/2} , (12)
f
if m=0 ,
where ~ vm = 2
ifn=-I ;-I+N;-I+2N,-1,-I+3N... ; [ v m=l ifm¢O .

Cmn = 0 otherwise, s The specific impedance Z I just inside the hole is obtained by
using Newton's law to describe the displacement of air in the
hole? This impedance is equal to
In Eq. (12),J1 is the Bessel function of the first order and ro
the radius of the hole. ZI = Z t + icop (t+28) . (19)
The quantities Cm~ and B,,, are given by the following ex-
pressions: In this equation, t is the hole depth and ~i is the end correc-
tion for the aperture. The expression of~ is given by Ingard and
can be written as follow#:
Cmn-Amn(km,/k'NZc)
- ' [ 1-exp(--j2k'm~L) 1 , (13)
and 6=0.24D(nl~-2.5pl~), (20)

Volume36/Number3 131
where D is hole diameter and p the open area ratio which is
equal to
p = ~tD2 / (16 d 2) . (21)
Finally, the impedance Z in free air at the surface of the per-
forated facing is equal to
z: p zj. (22)
Effect of an Air Space Between the Fibrous
Layer and the Floor
The material with an air space between the floor and the fi-
brous layer is represented in Fig. 4. Let Zmnbe the ratio, for the
(m,n) mode, of the pressure and normal component of velocity
in the air layer close to the fibrous material. This quantity is
Comparisons Between Prediction and
Measurement
The surface impedance is measured in an anechoic room
with two microphones set close to the sample on an axis per-
pendicular to the surface of the material. The method of mea-
suring the surface impedance is described in Refs. 12 and 13.
The fibrous material is a fiberglass of high density, with a
normal flow resistivity equal to 70000 Ns/m 4 and of thickness
equal to 3 cm. The thickness of the perforated metal facing is
equal to 75/100 mm, the open area ratio is equal to 17.5%, and
the hole diameter is equal to 5 mm. The thickness of the air in-
terval for the absorbing panel represented in Fig. 4 is equal to
10 cm.
-----L
..b. • ;7"N'o~° •

equal to

Zmn =-jpc{k/[kmn tan (kmn H)]} . (23)

In this equation, p, c and k represent the air density, the

sound velocity and the wavenumber in the air, respectively; H is
the thickness of the air space; and km~ is equal to
,i~III
k2m,= k 2 - (m~d) 2 - (2r~n sin0/'L) 2 . (24)

The ratio for the (m,n) mode of the pressure and the normal Figure 4. A perforatedfacing backed by a porous material with an air
space above the imperviousfloor
component of velocity in the fibrous material at z = L is equal
to Zm~. Using Eqs. (2) through (32) at z -- L, the following rela-
tionship between Branand Amn c a n be established:

[1-k~v Zc / (k'mnZmn)] The surface impedance of the fiberglass at angles of inci-

nmn=Amn [l+k~Zc/(k,mnZmn)] exp(-2jk~nL) . (25) dence 0 = 0 ° and 60 ° is represented in Figs. 5 and 6. The sur-
face impedance of the fiberglass covered with the perforated
facing at 0 = 0 ° and 60 ° is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The surface
The impedance Z l at the location of a hole in the porous ma- impedance for the same angles of incidence is represented in
terial can be written as Figs. 9 and 10 where an air interval exists between the material
with the facing and the impervious floor. The measurement is
+oo compared with the prediction obtained with a ratio between
~ Nltr~ the flow resistivities in the planar and the normal direction
Zi: (ZckINk ~n) " Sh)m - 2 d ~sin 0 equal to 0.6. The predicted and measured impedance is repre-
m=0 n=-I;-I+N;-I+2N ...
sented only at 0 = 0 ° and 0 = 60 °, as this quantity varies almost
imperceptibly with 0. The imaginary part of impedance for the
(26) fiberglass is slightly lower than the corresponding predicted
quantity, as the laws of Delany and Bazley are not perfectly
x

{roI(" suited to the fiberglass studied. Nevertheless, the agreement

between the predicted and measured impedance is reasonably
good at 0 ° and 60 ° for the material with the facing as well as the
material with the facing and the air interval. It must be pointed
f[l+k'NZc/(klmnZmn)]-l-[1-kINZc/(ktmnZmn)lexp(-2
jktmnL) out that the surface impedance is predicted only at discrete fre-
quencies,fi, for which Eq. (1) is valid, and when the centers of
the holes are set on axes parallel to the direction Ox defined by
the intersection of the incidence plane and the perforated fac-
ing (see Fig. 2). Measurement at oblique incidence indicates
The surface impedance Z can be calculated from Eqs. (26), that the surface impedance does not vary when the direction of
(19) and (22). the axis Ox is modified, and that the surface impedance varies

132 NOISE CONTROLENGINEERINGJOURNAlJMay-lune1991

 o
Q
o- o-

,=
E 0 O
n

Frequency(kHz) FrequenCy(kHz)

Figure 5. Surface impedance of the fiberglass. Figure 6. Surface impedance of the fiberglass.
0 = 0° 0 = 60°
ReZ prediction measurement • • ReZ prediction measurement
ImZ prediction measurement • • ImZ prediction measurement

o Q

• • • • D • • • • • •
0 • • • • • • • • 0 0 • •

0
Q. Q.

Frequency(kHz) Frequency(kHz)

Figure 7. Surface impedance of the fiberglass covered with the perfo- Figure 8. Surface impedance of the fiberglass covered with the perfo-
rated facing. rated facing.
0 = 0° 0 = 60 °
ReZ prediction measurement • • • ReZ prediction measurement • • •
ImZ prediction measurement • • • ImZ prediction measurement • • •

continuously between the frequenciesf~. The absorption coeffi-
cient (x at an oblique incidence 0 is related to the surface
impedance by the relation:
In order to indicate the effect of the perforated facing and
the air interval, the predicted absorption coefficient is repre-
sented in Fig. 11, at 0 = 0 ° for the initial porous material and
the panel with tile perforated facing, and the panel with and
without the air interval. The same quantities are represented in

IZ
-Z0/cos0 2
co=l- Z+Z0/cos0 " (27)
Fig. 12 for 0 = 60 °. The interest of the perforated facing and
the air interval appears clearly at low frequencies.

Volume36/Number3 133
 o o
o
8-

Frequency(kHz) Frequency(kHz)

Figure 9. Surface impedance of the fiberglass covered with the perfo- Figure 10. Surface impedance of the fiberglass covered with the perfo-
rated facing with an air space between the fiberglass covered with the rated facing with an air space between the fiberglass covered with the
perforated facing and the rigid floor perforated facing and the rigid floor
0 = 0° 0 = 60 °
ReZ prediction measurement • • • ReZ prediction measurement • • •
ImZ prediction measurement • • • ImZ prediction measurement • • •

0 8

o
JD
<

Frequency (kHz) Frequency (kHz)

Figure 12. The predicted absorption coefficient at oblique incidence (0

Figure 11. The predicted absorption coefficient at normal incidence for = 60°)for thefiberglass, thefiberglass covered with the perforated fac-
the fiberglass, the fiberglass covered with the perforated facing, and an ing, and an air gap between the fiberglass covered with the facing and
air gap between the fiberglass covered with the facing and the floor. the floor
fiberglass • • • fiberglass • • •
fiberglass covered with the facing • • • fiberglass covered with the facing • • •
air gap • • • air gap • • •

134 NOISE CONTROL ENGINEERING JOURNAL/May-June 1991


Conclusion
A method of predicting the surface impedance at oblique in-
cidence of fibrous media with perforated facing, and with or
without air interval between the backing and the material, is
presented with the anisotropy of the material taken into ac-
count, Prediction and measurement are in agreement for mate-
rials with and without the air gap. The model is simple, and
prediction can easily be obtained with a personal computer.
References
1. J.S. _Pyett,"The Acoustic Impedance of a Porous Layer at Oblique
Incidence," Acustica, 3, pp. 376-382 (1953).
2. J.F. Allm-d,R. Bourdier and A. UEsp6rance, "Anisotropy Effect in
Glass Wool on Normal Impedance in Oblique Ineidenee/'Journal
of Sound and Vibration, 114, pp. 233-238~1987).
3. J. Nicolas and J. Lue Berry, "Propagation du Son et Effet de Sol,"
Revue d'Acoustique, 71, pp. 191-200 (1984).
4. M.E. Delmayand E.N. Bazley, "Acoustical Properties of Fibrous
Absorbent Materials," Applied Acoustics, 3, pp. 115-116, (1970).
5. R.H. Bolt, "On the Design of Perforated Facings for Acoustic Ma-
terials,"Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 19, pp. 917-
In t h e Next Issue...
j : .
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by W.T. Chu ....
• Measurements o f the Sound:Transmlssion
Characteristics of Model Aircraft
Fuselages Using a Reciprocity Technique
by Frank J. Fahy and J,M. Mason
• Sound Shielding Et~cien
: cy of a Barrie r
with Cylinder at the Edge
by K. Fujiwara and N. Furuta : :
• Technical Note: Free Field Sound
Reflection Measurements on Screens :
Used for Aircraft Ground Run-Up :
by Williem M. Schullevand F.D. Van der eloeg
• Noise Source Identification of an i:
Automobile Alternator by RPM
Dependent Noise and Vibration Spectrum
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Byung Duk Lira
II IIIII : (
Volume36/Number3
921 (1947).
6. J. Brillouin, "ThOorie de l'Abso/ption du Son par les Structures h
Panneaux PerforOs," Cahier~ du centre scientifique et technique
du batiment, 31, pp. 1-15 (1951).
7. U. lngard and R.H. Bolt, "Absorption Characteristics of Acoustic
Mate?ial with Perforated Facings-,"Journal of the Acousical Soci-
ety of America, 23, pp. 533-540 (1951).
8. U. Ingard "On the Theory and Design of Acoustic Resonators,"
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 25, pp. 1037-1061
(1953).
9. U. Ingard, "Perforated Facing and Sound Absorption," Journal of
the Acoustical Society of Arnerica, 26, pp. 151-154 (1954).
10. K.P. Byrne, "Calculation of the Specific Normal Impedance of
Perforated Facing-porous Backing Constructions," Journal of Ap-
plied Acoustics, 13, pp. 43-55 (1980).
11. W. Lanriks, A. Cops, J.E Mlard, C. Depollier, and P. Rebillard,
"Modelization at O~olique Incidence of Layered Porous Materials
with Impervious Screens," Journal of the Acoustical ,Society ~f
Anwrica, 87, pp. I200-1206(1990).
12. J.F. Allard and B. Sieben, "Measurement of Acoustic Impedance
in a Free Field with Two Microphones and a Spectrum Analyzer,"
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 77, pp. 1617-1618
(1985).
13. J.E Mlard and Y. Champoux, "In Situ Two Microphones Tech-
nique for the Measurement of the Acoustic Surface Impedanee of
Material," Noise Control Engineering Journal, 32 (1), pp. 15-23
(1989).
i i
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