Abstract
The present paper is comparing the results of research studies carried out for three road acoustic screens
of different design and different number of damping layers. For the tests, we selected timber or steel screens
with a traditional multilayer structure and also one innovative type of simplified design. With respect
to particular panels, their sound absorption properties were investigated in the reverberation chamber
after they had been subjected to simulated weathering. In the process, two screens were subjected to the
aging tests of 50–500 cycles in a special climatic chamber, and the innovative screens were subjected to
1000 cycles. The procedure was repeated every 50 or 100 cycles in order to obtain the changes of acoustic
characteristics. The changes taking place in the absorbing material were also investigated with the use
of scanning electron microscopy method (SEM). Basing on the obtained results and on the statistical
analysis, the capability to maintain acoustic properties by the panels during their service life in natural
conditions was estimated. For that purpose, linear statistical models were worked out, which were then
applied to estimate the value of the single number sound absorption coefficient after successive aging
cycles as well as the predicted time periods of acoustic class changes.
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