Development of composite panels based on porous glass aerogels for acoustic applications

Abstract

In this work, we present the results of research on manufacturing composite materials based on porous glass beads for acoustic treatment. A new material with fire resistance, heat resistance, impermeability, longevity, and insulation is made from foam glass beads (made from waste glass) and cement mortar. Firstly, the composite concrete panels with a high level of porosity 66%–82% and spherical pores in millimeter scale (i.e., ranging from 0.15mm to 10mm) are fabricated. Then, acoustical measurements are performed to characterize the sound absorbing coefficient and the transport properties of the selected composite panels. The measurement data are compared to the semi-phenomenological Johnson-Champoux-Allard-Lafarge model to show a good agreement in terms of predicting the sound absorption property. From the obtained results it can be stated that the open porosity and the thickness of the fabricated materials affect strongly their sound absorption performance. Within a panel thickness of 33.3mm, the aerogel-based concrete panel can provide a good sound absorption coefficient which could be more than 0.60 in the frequency range of [820 1290]Hz and reach the value of 0.84 at a low resonance frequency of ~1032Hz. The methodology, therefore, enables the identification and validation of acoustical models for specific porous glass aerogel-based materials and paves the way for an efficient exploration of the parameter space for acoustical materials design.