Prediction of acoustic properties of polyurethane foams from the macroscopic numerical simulation of foaming process

Abstract

This work aims to present a method to predict the acoustic properties of flexible polyurethane foams from the numerical results of a macroscopic simulation of the foaming process. The foaming process simulation is carried out using a meshless method and a set of models taking into account the main chemical reactions, the exothermic effect as well as the thermo-rheo-kinetic coupling. To predict the acoustic properties of the foam, a semi-phenomenological model is used to avoid the experimental characterization of the foam microstructure. The distribution of the non-acoustical parameters involved in the Johnson-Champoux-Allard model were determined using the proposed method for a square panel mold. These results are used to calculate the normal-incidence sound absorption coefficient, which is compared to experimental and numerical results presented in the literature. The predicted acoustic behavior of the polyurethane foam is in good agreement with results in previous works.