Membrane covered duct lining for high-frequency noise attenuation: Prediction using a Chebyshev collocation method

Abstract

A spectral method of Chebyshev collocation with domain decomposition is introduced for linear interaction between sound and structure in a duct lined with flexible walls backed by cavities with or without a porous material. The spectral convergence is validated by a one-dimensional problem with a closed-form analytical solution, and is then extended to the two-dimensional configuration and compared favorably against a previous method based on the Fourier–Galerkin procedure and a finite element modeling. The nonlocal, exact Dirichlet-to-Neumann boundary condition is embedded in the domain decomposition scheme without imposing extra computational burden. The scheme is applied to the problem of high-frequency sound absorption by duct lining, which is normally ineffective when the wavelength is comparable with or shorter than the duct height. When a tensioned membrane covers the lining, however, it scatters the incident plane wave into higher-order modes, which then penetrate the duct lining more easily and get dissipated. For the frequency range of f=0.3–3 studied here, f=0.5 being the first cut-on frequency of the central duct, the membrane cover is found to offer an additional 0.9dB attenuation per unit axial distance equal to half of the duct height.