The Sound Absorption Performance of Laser-Sintered Composite Biomimetic Wood Porous Structures

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Acoustics Engineering
• Biomimetics

Background:

• Traditional sound-absorbing materials often have limitations in terms of broadband performance and specific frequency targeting.
• Wood's natural porous structure exhibits effective sound absorption properties, offering a potential model for synthetic materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop biomimetic sound-absorbing components using laser sintering technology inspired by wood's porous structure.
• To investigate the influence of structural configurations, material composition, and thickness on sound absorption performance.
• To establish the feasibility of creating tunable, multi-frequency sound-absorbing materials.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of composite specimens using pine wood powder/phenolic resin via laser sintering.
• Creation of various structures: solid, fully porous, and varying straight-pore ratios with different cavity thicknesses.
• Evaluation of sound absorption performance using the impedance tube transfer function method.

Main Results:

• Solid laser-sintered samples showed inherent sound absorption (absorption coefficients > 0.234) due to microscopic pores.
• Biomimetic wood-like structures with multi-scale porosity exhibited enhanced broadband sound absorption, especially in mid-high frequencies.
• Optimized structural parameters and thickness allowed for targeted, frequency-specific sound absorption with double-peak absorption curves.

Conclusions:

• Laser sintering is a viable technology for creating biomimetic sound-absorbing materials inspired by wood.
• The developed materials demonstrate tunable, multi-frequency sound absorption capabilities.
• This research provides a foundation for advanced acoustic engineering applications using novel biomimetic structures.