Random Incidence Absorption and Transmission Loss Testing and Modeling of Microperforated Composites

Flat, constant thickness composites that consisted of a microperforated top layer plus a fibrous decoupler layer were tested for random absorption and transmission loss (TL) performance. The top, microperforated layer consisted of a relatively thick film that contained small, precise micro-perforations. For reference, top layers that consisted of a resistive scrim and an impervious film were also included in this study. Two fibrous materials of constant thickness were used for the decoupler layer between a steel panel and the top microperforated film. The composites' absorption and TL performance were also modeled using the well-known transfer matrix method. This method has been implemented in a commercially available statistical energy analysis (SEA) software package. A comparison of testing and modeling results showed reasonable agreement for absorption results and even better agreement for transmission loss and insertion loss results.