Sound absorption theory for micro-perforated panel with petal-shaped perforations

Micro-perforated panel (MPP) absorbers with circular perforations are used in many noise control applications due to their attractive wide-brand sound absorption performance. Different from a common MPP with circular perforations, a unique type of MPP absorber with petal-shaped perforations is proposed. The sound absorption theory for the MPP with petal-shaped perforations is developed by accurately considering the fluid velocity in the petal-shaped perforation hole. This theory can account for the effect of altered perforation morphology (from circular to petal) on sound absorption. Finite element simulations are performed to validate the proposed theory, with good agreement achieved. The sound absorption of MPP with petal-shaped perforations is compared with that of the traditional MPP with the same porosity. It is demonstrated that the change in hole shape significantly modifies the fluid velocity field and the flow resistivity in/of the hole, and hence the sound absorption of the proposed MPP with petal-shaped perforations can outperform that of the traditional MPP in the considered case. This work proposes a general MPP theory that not only contains the classical Maa's theory for circular MPP, but also accounts for the MPP with petal-shaped perforations.