Pyrotek Noise Control has been invited to become part of NZi3 Innovation Institute through the relationship between The Department of Mechanical Engineering and Michael Latimer, Manager of Pyrotek Noise Control.
The NZi3 Innovation Institute is a partnership between the New Zealand government and the University of Canterbury. The Institute was founded in 2006 to commercialise the university’s IT research and to develop a high-tech industry in Canterbury. The NZi3 Innovation Institute offers a link between industry and the university.
Currently, Pyrotek are running research projects and are always looking at methods to improve existing products. Pyrotek’s present projects include:
Development of Vibration Damping Compounds
Researcher Andre Verstappen is investigating the relative effects of damping layer thickness, ambient temperature, substrate material, plate dimensions and clamping conditions on a damping compound in specific application. This will be achieved by developing two test rigs to International Standards, ASTME 756-05 and ISO 6721-3 and developing a further test rig to ascertain performance of damped panels with varying edge constraints.
In addition, Verstappen has also compared measurements of the damping compound between the ASTME 756-05 test method and measurements made with a Dynamic Mechanical Analyser (DMA). The results were presented at the International Congress of Sound and Vibration, in Brazil 2011, titled “Evaluation of viscoelastic vibration damping properties with a Dynamic Mechanical Analyser.”
Light weight sandwich panels increasing acoustic performance
Pyrotek’s researcher Tim Philips is developing new sandwich panels with optimised sound transmission loss for use in various marine and industrial applications, particularly with damped plywood products. The goal of the project is to complete a design guide for a range of panels with an analysis of their expected acoustic performance.
Philips has also developed a test rig to measure the dynamic bending stiffness and loss factor of small beam samples to accurately model the acoustic performance of full sized panels. This test will help develop new products and systems for the control of noise, particularly in marine applications.
Sound transmission loss of composite panels
Researcher Andre Cowan’s project is concerned with the sound transmission of wave slap and the control of noise through composite panels in marine applications. The existing construction methods require further evaluation and development to help improve the STL of multilayered composite systems using damped plywood.
Cowan’s objectives in the project include determining STL of various composite panels, model the STL of composite panels and developing composite panels that have increased overall STL using damped plywood panels.
Pyrotek Noise Control are dedicated in continuing their research to better understand and develop new and innovative noise control products, especially in marine applications for the super yacht industry.
