Acoustics and Noise Control
Summary
Acoustics and noise control encompasses the generation, propagation and mitigation of unwanted sound in air and other fluids, as well as its transmission through solid structures. Sources range from machinery, transport and industrial processes to architectural systems and vehicle tyres. Noise propagates as airborne waves, as fluidborne vibration in pipelines and as structure-borne vibration in panels and shells, with the energy coupling at interfaces governed by material impedance and modal radiation. Control strategies address the problem at three levels: primary source reduction through mechanical design and material damping; secondary path control by sound-absorbent linings, acoustic barriers, mufflers and metamaterial treatments; and tertiary receiver protection via enclosures, hearing protection and active noise cancellation. Emerging research exploits functionally graded and multifunctional materials, adaptive acoustic liners and optimisation algorithms to tailor sound transmission loss and exploit multi-field coupling. The global imperative to reduce noise exposure in workplaces, urban areas, transport and marine environments drives interdisciplinary innovation in measurement, modelling and design.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have advanced the design of multifunctional composite shells for enhanced sound insulation. One investigation extended first-order shear deformation theory to multilayer cylindrical nanoshells integrating functionally graded cores and piezoelectric faces under combined fluid, acoustic and electrical loads. It demonstrated that adjusting the grading index and applied voltage can boost low-frequency transmission loss. In parallel, work on double-walled sandwich plates composed of magneto-electro-elastic laminates revealed that variations in initial magnetic and electric potentials, thermal conditions, ply orientation and cavity depth each impose significant shifts in sound transmission loss, highlighting the versatility of multi-field coupling for tailoring vibroacoustic performance in advanced structures.
Acoustics and Noise Control publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in acoustics and noise control across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Sound transmission loss (STL): The decibel reduction of acoustic energy as sound passes through a structure or material.
Vibroacoustic coupling: Interaction between structural vibrations and surrounding acoustic fields, governing energy transfer at interfaces.
Functionally graded material (FGM): A composite whose properties vary continuously in space according to a prescribed profile.
Ring frequency: The circumferential mode frequency at which a cylindrical shell radiates sound efficiently due to matching wave speeds.
Coincidence frequency: The bending-wave frequency at which a plate’s flexural wave speed equals the sound speed in the adjacent fluid, reducing insulation.
Helmholtz resonator: An acoustic cavity with a neck that strongly absorbs or blocks sound at its resonant frequency.
Acoustic metamaterial: Engineered composite with sub-wavelength structure, designed to exhibit unusual sound propagation characteristics such as negative refraction or bandgaps.
Tread pattern: The geometric layout of grooves and blocks on a tyre surface, which influences air-pumping noise and impact resonance.
References
- An analytical study of sound transmission loss of functionally graded sandwich cylindrical nanoshell integrated with piezoelectric layers. Scientific Reports (2022).
- Sound transmission loss of double-walled sandwich cross-ply layered magneto-electro-elastic plates under thermal environment. Scientific Reports (2022).
- Review of launcher lift-off noise prediction and mitigation. Results in Engineering (2024).
- A Fast Approach to Optimize Tread Pattern Shape for Tire Noise Reduction. Applied Sciences (2023).
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