Development of folded expanded metal mesh with sound absorption performance

Reverberation time (RT) is an important factor affecting the quality of indoor acoustics. Using sound-absorbing materials is one method for quickly and effectively controlling RT, and installation in the ceiling is a common location. Sound-absorbing ceilings come in many forms, with light steel joist ceilings commonly used in office spaces, classrooms, and discussion rooms. Light steel joist ceilings are often matched with sound-absorbing materials such as gypsum board, mineral fiberboard, rock wool, and coated glass wool, but such materials may have durability and exfoliation problems. Therefore, considering performance and health, in this research, we aimed to design an expanded metal mesh (EMM) structure specimen for sound-absorption material, namely folded expanded metal mesh (FEMM). The results show that the FEMM can significantly improve the sound-absorption performance of the expanded metal mesh. The α of single panel is 0.05–0.35, and the α of FEMM is 0.65–0.85. On the other hand, the sound-absorption performance of the full frequency band has been significantly improved. Furthermore, the field validation result shows that RT decreased from 1.05–0.56 s at 500 Hz, meanwhile, the sound pressure level (SPL) is still evenly distributed, and speech clarity (C50) is increased by 5.6–6.5.