Enhanced broadband sound absorption of multi-layer composite material based on three-dimensional warp-knitted spacer fabric

Compared with other sound-absorbing materials, spacer fabric with a “sandwich” structure has many advantages, such as light weight, an environmentally friendly production process, recyclability, versatility, low production cost and high efficiency, and strong designability of the organizational structure. However, as a porous sound-absorbing material, the effective sound-absorbing frequency band of the spacer fabric is concentrated at high frequencies, so the sound-absorbing performance needs to be improved. This paper establishes a Johnson–Champoux–Allard theoretical model by using a genetic algorithm to characterize the sound absorption performance of the three-dimensional (3D) warp-knitted spacer fabric. The theoretical model is validated through finite element analysis and experimental methods. Based on this model, two composite materials are designed to improve the sound absorption performance: (1) multi-layer spacer fabric composite material and (2) multi-layer spacer fabric-aluminum foil composite material. Numerical simulation and experimental results show that the sound absorption performance is significantly improved by widening the effective frequency band and increasing the sound absorption coefficient. The contribution of this paper is twofold. Firstly, the theoretical acoustic model of 3D warp-knitted spacer fabric is established. Secondly, the superior sound absorption performance is achieved by proposing multi-layer and multi-material composite material. The spacer fabric-based composite material has broad application prospects in the field of noise reduction and sound insulation. The paper provides a theoretical basis and more strategies for the acoustic and multifunctional design of spacer fabric in the future.