An ultra-lightweight sound insulator for cars
At the CES 2020 held in Las Vegas earlier this year, car manufacturer Nissan unveiled a new sound insulation material: a solution to reduce noise inside cars and make driving more comfortable.
Called an "acoustic meta-material", it consists of a honeycomb structure and a plastic film that controls air vibrations to limit the transmission of noise over wide frequency bands (500-1200 hertz), in other words, the noise associated with the road and the engine.
Sound and energy efficiency
While this new technology offers soundproofing performances equal to or even better than those of traditional materials mainly made of rubber, it is above all much lighter since it weighs only a quarter of their weight. And weight reduction means reduced energy consumption and a reduced environmental impact: a win-win combination for drivers (and passengers) and for the planet!
An economically viable solution
Moreover, the mass production cost of this meta-material is equal to or maybe even lower than that of current materials, and could thus make it possible to use it in certain categories of vehicles which so far have not contained any such materials because of their excessive weight and/or price.
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