Descrizione del progetto
Metafoam, un nuovo materiale espanso per proteggere dall’inquinamento acustico
L’inquinamento acustico è collegato a una serie di problemi di salute, eppure il numero di europei esposti a livelli elevati di rumore è in aumento. Circa 50 milioni di persone che vivono nelle aree urbane soffrono di livelli eccessivamente elevati di rumore del traffico durante la notte e per 20 milioni di essi il rumore del traffico notturno ha effettivamente un effetto dannoso sulla salute. Le schiume acustiche sono soluzioni esistenti che garantiscono un forte assorbimento acustico e riduzione del rumore. Tuttavia, sono efficaci solo nella gamma di frequenza media e alta. Il progetto METAFOAM, finanziato dall’UE, offre una nuova soluzione per le basse frequenze, utilizzando i cosiddetti metafoam acustici, una nuova classe di materiali costituiti da schiume acustiche arricchite di particelle. Due meccanismi efficaci, la dissipazione visco-termica e la risonanza locale vengono combinati prospettando la creazione di un isolante acustico molto efficace.
Obiettivo
Sound pollution is an omni-present problem in our modern society that affects our well-being and the quality of life. Technical solutions to reduce the impact of sound in a broad frequency range are therefore of vital importance. Moreover, solutions should be economically attractive, since the volumes of sound insulation required in our society are extremely large. Acoustic foams are nowadays one of the best available solution towards this problem, but they are mainly effective in the mid- and high-frequency regime. Novel technical solutions that target the lower frequency regime are therefore urgently needed. Within the ERC-AdG project MECHMAM, a possible solution has been proposed in the research on dynamical metamaterials. One particular category proposed in that ERC-project are acoustic metafoams. This novel class of materials are enriched acoustic foams, whereby a mass is implemented in the cavities of the foams. This combines two effective mechanisms, i.e. visco-thermal dissipation and local resonance. Interestingly, the project showed on a model-basis that the interaction between these two operating mechanisms may lead to an amplification of the damping within the material, leading to a potentially very efficient sound insulator. Within the ERC-AdG-project, most findings were still theoretical or model-based. This PoC-project aims to assess this basic idea and bring it to practice. In order to reach this objective, attention will be given to the metafoam manufacturing methods having potential for large volume production and the validation of the metafoam actual performance. Parallel to the technical activities, a competitive market analysis will be carried out to establish the IPR and the commercialization plan, in collaboration with industrial and societal partners. We will further explore technology transfer towards various end-users. Market outreach will be performed so that the metafoam products and services reach their potential customers.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantIstituzione ospitante
5612 AE Eindhoven
Paesi Bassi