<p>Kerfing is a relief cutting process to convert rigid panels into flexible ones. The kerf structures are widely used in both indoor and outdoor architectures due&nbsp;to their ability to make developable surfaces such as cylindrical forms&nbsp;and their pleasing aesthetics. However, they have more potential applications in indoor architecture such as altering the room acoustics. The kerfing technique not only allows one to achieve desired surface topology, kerf structures with different cut densities can vary the propagation of sound waves. This research presents a study on the acoustic responses of kerf unit cells with different cut densities. Mathematical models are used to understand the relationship between the cut densities and acoustic responses of the kerf unit cells. In addition to this, experimental tests using impedance tube methods are performed on the kerf unit cells which are made up of medium density fiberboard (MDF) to measure acoustic properties such as Transmission Loss (TL) and absorption. Responses from the mathematical models are compared to experimental results. Upon achieving an understanding of the acoustic wave characteristics of a kerf unit cell with different densities, the acoustic response of large kerf panels having multiple unit-cells can be understood to determine their application in indoor acoustics.</p>

Altering the Acoustic Responses of Architectural Kerf Structures

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/SMASIS/SMASIS2021/volume/85499

ASME 2021 Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS2021)

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