Master of Science in Engineering, Youngstown State University, 2021, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

As the world population grows into a more urbanized state, the concern for noise pollution continues to grow with it. Noise pollution has been shown to be a source of several negative health consequences, including ill impacts on cardiovascular health, mental health and sleep hygiene. Some solutions are able to effectively reduce noise pollution. One example is highway noise barriers that reduce traffic noise to a bearable level for residential areas located near the highway. These sound barriers, however, not only cost a lot of money and require a significant amount of resources, but structural limitations and the ever growing noise floor will eventually cause these barriers to be obsolete. This study aims to evaluate the design of 3D printed sound absorbing acoustic panels that could augment if not replace current acoustical treatments. In so doing, four different designs of sound panels were 3D printed and tested for their effectiveness in reducing reverberation time and sound amplitude in a controlled environment. It was found that all four of the designs printed in this study notably reduce reverberation time by up to 12.7%, three of which also significantly reduced the amplitude of the sound by up to 5 dB. The aforementioned designs thus can serve as a useful adjunct to reducing sound pollution and all the ill effects caused by it, along with the added benefit of employing the accessibility of 3D printing along with its lower-cost materials.

Committee: Eric MacDonald PhD (Advisor); Anindita Paul PhD (Committee Member); Pedro Cortes PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Acoustics