Evaluation of a Hybrid Underwater Sound-Absorbing Metastructure by Using the Transfer Matrix Method

In this study, we designed a novel hybrid underwater sound-absorbing material of the metastructure that contains a viscoelastic substrate with a microperforated panel. Two types of sound-absorbing metastructures were combined to achieve satisfactory sound absorption performance in the low-frequency range. A homogenized equivalent layer and the integrated transfer matrix method were used to theoretically evaluate the sound absorption performance of the designed nonhomogeneous hybrid metastructure. The theoretical results were then compared with the results obtained using the finite-element method. The designed hybrid sound-absorbing metastructure exhibited two absorption peaks because of its different sound-absorbing mechanisms. The acoustic performance of the developed metastructure is considerably better than that of a traditional sound absorber, and the sound absorption coefficient of the developed metastructure is 0.8 in the frequency range of 3–10 kHz. In addition, an adjustment method for the practical underwater application of the designed metastructure is described in this research. Further studies show that the sound absorption coefficient of the adjusted metastructure still has 0.75 in the frequency range of 3–10 kHz, which indicates that this metastructure has the potential to be used as an underwater sound-absorbing structure. The results of this study can be used as a reference in the design of other novel hybrid underwater sound-absorbing structures.