The project will produce proof-of-concept (POC) demonstrator materials of two different
types of lightweight, slim, high performance noise-proofing building insulation products; one
with thermally insulating materials, the other with thermally conductive properties for use in
schemes that take advantage of thermal mass.
Carbon Air has developed know-how and IP concerning a family of materials that absorb low
frequency noise in thin layers in a much more efficient way than any other conventional
material, particularly at low frequencies. These materials can also boost the performance of
conventional insulation such as rigid foams, which have poor low frequency noise-proofing
characteristics, or provide an acoustic solution for buildings that use exposed thermal mass
like stone and concrete to stabilise temperature swings between day and night. Such surfaces
cannot be covered by normal acoustic insulation because it would block the necessary heat
exchange.
As room dividers and acoustic ceiling beams within a space, the developed materials could act
as free-standing elements or be combined with materials normally used in thermal mass
schemes, such as phase change materials.
The project will see a range of substrate and inclusion candidate materials characterised and
then combined in a virtual prototyping process using multiphysics modelling to develop
optimised designs which will be assembled at large scale and tested thermally and
acoustically, for both random incidence sound absorption and transmission loss.
The results will form the starting point for collaborative development projects with specialist
UK materials producers already identified for outsourced manufacture, and create licensing
opportunities with larger rigid foam insulation manufacturers.