Low-Frequency Acoustic Absorption of 3D Printed Cylinders

Attenuating low-frequency sound is often problematic, due to the large space required for common absorptive materials to mitigate such noise. However, natural hollow reeds are known to effectively attenuate low frequencies while occupying relatively little space compared to traditional absorptive materials. The present study determines the effect of varied outer diameter and outer spacing on the 200–1600 Hz acoustic absorption of 3D printed arrays of hollow cylinders. Samples were tested in a 100-mm diameter normal incidence impedance tube such that cylinder length was oriented perpendicular to the incoming plane wave. By varying only one geometric element of each array, the absorption due to any parameter can be assessed individually. It was found that minimizing cylinder spacing and maximizing cylinder diameter resulted in increased overall absorption and produced more focused absorption peaks at specific low frequencies. Wider cylinder spacing produced a broader absorptive frequency range, despite shifting upward in frequency. Thus, manipulating these variables can specifically target absorption for low-frequency noise that would otherwise disturb listeners.