Efficiënte theoretische en numerieke voorspellingstechnieken voor het ontwerp en de dynamische analyse van innovatieve lichtgewichtmaterialen met gunstige vibro-akoestische eigenschappen.

The proposed research comes at the crossing of two trends. On the one hand, people become more and more aware of the negative health impact of excessive noise and vibration exposure. On the other hand, every kilogram of mass removed from the logistics chain has a direct economic and ecological benefit. However, noise control engineering solutions typically come with significant mass additions. Therefore, there is a strong need for low-mass, compact-volume material systems with excellent sound transmission loss (STL) and sound absorption characteristics, with a particular focus on the lower frequencies where currently no adequate solutions exist.
The key objective is to design and test novel lightweight material systems for improved STL and/or sound absorption. Resonant metamaterials, where mass is added in an optimized way, can lead to a high STL in a targeted frequency range. Metaporous designs, where inclusions are added in a foam, allow to obtain an improved low-frequency absorption. The applicant will investigate how specific physical damping and resonance phenomena can be exploited, thereby embracing the huge potential, offered by processes such as additive manufacturing, in creating multi-material systems with complex geometries. The eventual design of the innovative material systems will adopt a model based optimization strategy, in which novel virtual prototyping techniques will play a pivotal role, along with extensive experimental campaigns.