I was on a flight yesterday, so I can relate to this new development. Wired featured a story that could be helpful to most travelers. One of the more annoying features of flying is the constant roar of the plane hurtling through the air. Depending on the type of plane you are flying, the noise can be increasingly distracting. But hope lies on the horizon:
A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and MIT have designed a lightweight membrane—in its current form, basically a 0.25 millimeter-thick sheet of latex—to cover one side of the lightweight honeycomb structure that is used to build airplanes and helicopters.
The sheet is stretched over one side of the honeycomb matrix like a drum. When low-frequency sound waves (like those from an aircraft engine, say) hit it, they bounce off, dramatically reducing the effect of the engines on passengers. “At low frequencies” [below 500 Hertz], says Yun Jing, lead author of the paper and a professor at NC State, “the honeycomb panel with the membrane blocks 100 to 1,000 times more sound energy than the panel without a membrane.”
Their research shows low frequency sounds transmitted through the fuselage into the cabin can be reduced as much as 30dB1, a significant amount considering that decibels measure logarithmically, while increasing the weight of the honeycomb structure by approximately 6 percent—a key consideration, because airlines are fanatical about weight. The noise reduction benefits decrease significantly at higher frequencies, limiting its use to low frequency noise like engine drone.
Even better, the membrane could, in theory, be applied to existing airframes!
For frequent travelers, this could be quite a benefit. Of course, it may also reduce the need for $300 Bose noise-cancelling headphones....
Here is the link to the full article: How a Latex Membrane Could Deliver Quieter Airline Flights | WIRED
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