Acoustic Absorption of Foams Coated with MR Fluid under the Influence of Magnetic Field

Abstract

The article presents results of the acoustic measurements on open-cell porous media coated with a magnetorheological (MR) fluid. Sound absorption of polyurethane foams of different, single and dual porosity was tested in the impedance tube. The measurements were conducted in three stages using clean samples, the same samples moistened with MR fluid, and finally, exposing the MR fluid-coated samples to a constant magnetic field. The transfer function method was employed to determine the acoustic absorption coefficient. Two significant, controllable effects were observed in the curve illustrating the variation of the acoustic absorption coefficient with frequency, especially, for the foams of dual porosity. Namely, relative to the field-free conditions, or to the clean foams, the most substantial peak in the absorption curve could be shifted by applying a magnetic field. Moreover, a resulting significant increase in acoustic absorption yields, in a wide frequency range directly behind the peak.