Optimization of an absorbing surface with 2D Helmholtz resonators for reduced sensitivity to the incidence angle

Abstract

It has been shown in several recent publications that acoustic materials consisting of a combination of resonators tuned to different frequencies can render high absorption coefficient values over an extended frequency range while maintaining compactness. This makes them attractive solutions for applications in which low frequency sound control is needed, and/or when there are significant space constraints. Nevertheless, the acoustic performance of these surfaces varies with the angle at which a wave impinges on the surface. The changes in the absorption characteristics with the incidence angle occur both on the maximum absorption coefficient, and on the effective frequency bandwidth. Numerical optimization is a tool that can help realize designs with a large degree of geometrical freedom, and using this framework we have demonstrated an array of coupled 2D Helmholtz resonators that is less sensitive to changes in the incidence angle.