Sustainable Perforated Acoustic Wooden Panels Designed Using Third-Degree-of-Freedom Bezier Curves with Broadband Sound Absorption Coefficients

Abstract

The current interior design scope places high demands on acoustic treatment manufacturers. The state of the art does not provide satisfactory material proposals for architects to satisfy design needs. There is a need for a novel approach concerning decorative, recognized materials that adapts them to the acoustic surface properties. The final design proposed in this study presents a modern functional solution with high acoustic properties, which can be produced with sustainable materials such as FSC wood and has a low environmental impact because of its low waste production. This research presents the complete design process of a novel type of wooden acoustic panel. A comprehensive explanation of the scientific development is covered, including basic material testing in an impedance tube, FEM simulations of the initial designs, and final measurements in a reverberation chamber. The solution’s novelty is based on the optimized placement of the perforation holes on the surface of a wooden overlay using a ship deck optimization algorithm. The methods used cover the original solution of mixing FEM modeling of the surface impedance with the application of the Jeong–Thomasson correction for random incidence sound absorption coefficient simulation. The contribution of this research is the development of wooden perforated panels with Class A sound absorption and an overall depth of 90 mm, including the 50 mm depth of the backing material. The discussion will explain the difficulties of working with this material and the need for a combination of the aesthetic and acoustic sides of the project.