Noise control

Physics

Sound energy

Noise reduction

Bandwidth (computing)

Low frequency

Optics

Absorption (acoustics)

Metamaterial

Composite material

Sound (geography)

Acoustics

Materials science

Computer science

Optoelectronics

Broadband

Wavelength

Telecommunications

Applied Physics Letters

We propose a hybrid acoustic metamaterial as a super absorber for a relatively broadband low-frequency sound based on a simple construction with deep-subwavelength thickness (5 cm). The hybrid metamaterial absorber is carefully designed and constructed based on a microperforated panel (MPP) and coiled-up Fabry–Pérot channels. It is demonstrated analytically, numerically, and experimentally that over 99% of acoustic absorption could be achieved at a resonance frequency (&amp;lt;500 Hz) with the working wavelength about 30 times larger than its total thickness. It is revealed that the superior absorption is mainly caused by the friction losses of acoustic wave energy in the MPP. The frequency of the absorption peak could be tuned by adjusting the geometry parameters of the MPP and the channel folding numbers. The relative absorption bandwidth could also be tuned flexibly (up to 82%) with a fixed deep-subwavelength thickness (5 cm). The absorber has wide potential applications in noise control engineering due to its deep-subwavelength thickness, relatively broad bandwidth, and easy fabrication.

Low-frequency sound absorption of hybrid absorber based on micro-perforated panel and coiled-up channels