Thinking towards the future -- There have been some studies done on acoustical properties of aerogels in aerospace and open-office environments. I wonder if anyone has investigated this for automotive use? There are vendors out there trying to pitch automotive industry, but I haven't heard of anyone using it yet for day-to-day use in vehicles. The costs seem to be dropping - perhaps an enterprising engineer will give it a shot?
Acoustic Superinsulation
Besides keeping things toasty (or cool, depending what you’re trying to do), aerogels are excellent acoustic dampers—that is, they work as phenomenal sound proofing. Airloy aerogels, for example, are 10 to 1000 times better sound insulation than even polyurethane foam.
src:
http://www.buyaerogel.com/tg/
Aerogels are a well‐known class of thermal insulation derived from nanoscience that has “green” benefits including translucence, thinness, hydrophobicity, light weight, and flexibility. Recently, the acoustical properties of aerogels have been characterized. Aerogels are currently available in building materials like skylights and exterior glazing, fabrics‐based roofing membranes, and flexible blankets for insulating underwater pipelines and building walls. In 2008–2009, laboratory testing and field research began on the acoustical propertiesof thin profile (2–8‐mm) architectural “tensile membrane” fabrics incorporating silicaaerogel granules. Data from a tension structure in Canada—where aerogel‐enhanced fabric was used to block aircraft noise—exhibited excellent acoustic absorption and acoustic impedance matching properties compared to insulators of comparable thickness. The material increased transmission loss of exterior to interior noise and also reduced indoor reverberation. In the same period, US field tests demonstrated an aerogel blanket materialas a surface treatment in open offices to reduce broadband reverberation, resulting in increased speech intelligibility and privacy and enhanced acoustical comfort. These acoustical attributes combined with aerogels’ thermal value, thin form factor, translucence, hydrophobicity, light weight, and absence of VOCs had led to growing interest in green building applications ranging from aircraft interiors to hospitals.
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