About the project
Become a pioneering researcher in new noise control technologies based on acoustic metamaterials to tackle noise pollution, a growing problem which negatively affects the health and productivity of millions of people.
Controlling noise is an important engineering task, but it is extremely challenging to effectively reduce noise at low-frequencies (<1000 Hz) using conventional approaches. For example, sound insulating partitions need to be very heavy to significantly reduce the transmission of low-frequency sounds.
Acoustic metamaterials recently emerged as a potential solution to this low-frequency challenge, but their sound insulation performance typically degrades at higher frequencies. One mitigation strategy for this is to add a layer of porous material, such as glass wool or foam, to the metamaterial, which is effective at absorbing high-frequency sounds. However, adding porous materials to metamaterials as add-on treatments diminishes some of the advantages of acoustic metamaterials, such as their low thickness and lightweight properties.
In this project you'll explore novel acoustic metamaterial designs that synergetically combine acoustic metamaterial approaches with poroelastic materials to yield a combined broadband noise insulation performance exceeding the sum of each part of the design alone. Using analytical models and numerical simulations, you'll study the physics of poroelastic materials and how their properties can be harnessed to simultaneously achieve metamaterial-like behaviour and high-frequency sound absorption.
Based on these insights, you'll propose novel poroelastic acoustic metamaterials designs, validate their performance using measurements in the world-class acoustic testing facilities at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, and optimise their sound insulation properties for broadband performance.
