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The use of periodic structures as noise abatement devices has already been the object of considerable research seeking to understand its efficiency and see to what extent they can provide a functional solu- tion in mitigating noise from different sources. The specific case of sonic crystals consisting of different materials has received special attention in studying the influence of different variables on its acoustic performance. The present work seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the behavior of these structures by implementing an approach based on the numerical method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to model the acoustic behavior of two-dimensional sonic crystals. The MFS formulation proposed here is used to evaluate the performance of crystals composed of circular elements, studying the effect of varying dimen- sions and spacing of the crystal elements as well as their acoustic absorption in the sound attenuation provided by the global structure, in what concerns typical traffic noise sources, and establishing some broad indications for the use of those structures.

The present paper addresses the analysis of structural vibration transmission in the presence of structural joints. The problem is tackled from a numerical point of view, analyzing some scenarios by using finite element models. The numerical results obtained making use of this process are then compared with those evaluated using the EN 12354 standard vibration reduction index concept. It is shown that, even for the simplest cases, the behavior of a structural joint is complex and evidences the frequency dependence. Comparison with results obtained by empirical formulas reveals that those of the standards cannot accurately reproduce the expected behavior, and thus indicate that alternative complementary calculation procedures are required. A simple methodology to estimate the difference between numerical and standard predictions is here proposed allowing the calculation of an adaptation term that makes both approaches converge. This term was found to be solution-dependent, and thus should be evaluated for each structure., This paper represents an improvement and expansion of a paper presented at the 42th CONGRESS OF ACOUSTIC-TECNIACUSTICA (R) 2011, Iberian Meeting on Acoustics and European Symposium on Environmental Acoustics and Sustainable Building Acoustics, organized by the Sociedad Espanola de Acustica (SEA), the Acoustics Laboratory of the University of Extremadura, and the Sociedade Portuguesa de Acustica (SPA), and with the support of the European Acoustics Association (EAA) and the International Commission for Acoustics (ICA).

In this paper, the authors study the 3D propagation of sound waves between two closed spaces. The separation element between the two rooms is considered to include either a small opening or a homogeneous lightweight panel, coupling the two spaces. A numerical study of this configuration is performed, trying to understand the influence of the position and geometry of this opening in the sound pressure level reduction curve at low and midfrequencies. Additionally, the coupling effect between the two acoustic spaces is analyzed, in order to better understand its importance when determining the sound pressure level reduction. Different boundary conditions are ascribed to the walls of these rooms, simulating both the completely reflecting and partially absorbing surfaces. The numerical modelling was performed using a multi-domain formulation of the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS). The system is composed of two coupled rooms, limited by rigid or by absorbing walls, and separated by a thin wall (tending to null thickness) with a small opening. An experimental validation of the pro- posed model is presented, comparing its results with those found experimentally for a reduced-scale model. It is important to note that, for such a configuration, a tra- ditional single-domain approach using methods like the MFS or the BEM would lead to undetermined equation systems, and thus the proposed model makes use of a domain decomposition technique.