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3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material: A sound solution for automotive NVH
With insights from 3M AASD Product Development Engineer, Taewook Yoo
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Sound inside the vehicle is a big factor for automotive designers, as passenger experience becomes as important as appearance and functionality. Sources of unwanted noise in the cabin are changing, especially in electric vehicles, where road noise is more noticeable over the silence of the engine.
Mitigating noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) involves much more than just gap filling. One of 3M’s leading solutions for noise reduction is 3M Flexile Acoustic Material, which features both absorber and barrier properties in a single dissipative layer.
Unlike typical absorbers and barriers, when sound waves approach a dissipator through a structure, most of the arriving energy is converted to heat. Only a low amount of energy is reflected and passes through to the interior of the vehicle. As a result, dissipators are less sensitive to leakage.
“3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material was developed to solve noise problems where limited space is available,” says 3M Product Development Engineer, Taewook Yoo. “3M™ Thinsulate™ Acoustic Insulation materials are well known for their acoustic absorption performance. However, customers use both a barrier and an absorber to reduce noise. This product can work as a high dissipative material which means it can be used as both a barrier and absorber. ”
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A combination of multiple acoustic properties
3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB Series combines multiple acoustic properties in a single, non-moulded material. It outperforms typical absorbers in the mid frequency range (500-2000 Hz) without sacrificing performance in high frequencies (>2000Hz). It’s also lighter than typical barriers, and thin – giving designers more flexibility and the potential to increase cabin space.
3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB/SF Series is a decoupled version of the product made from
3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB Series and 3M™ Thinsulate™ Acoustic Insulation SF Series. It provides NVH performance across a broad frequency range beginning at 200 Hz.“The FAB Series works very well by itself, ” says Taewook. “When combined with Thinsulate, it can amplify the acoustic performance with only a small weight increase. Now, FAB Series has been expanded to FAB/SF Series and FAM-M Series, giving customers the ability to choose the right material combinations depending on their application.”
Reduce weight around the cabin
3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material FAB Series uses at least 15% renewable resources, and has very low VOC. Its lightweight properties can enable designers to reduce weight around many areas of the cabin.
Many OEMs are already utilising the benefits of 3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material. “It’s already used in a few different applications at different OEMs,” says Taewook. “It’s used in quarter trim panels to reduce tire noise, as well as inner and outer dashes, wheel arch liners, E-motor wrapping, pillars and more. ”
If you have any questions or would like to discuss using 3M™ Flexile Acoustic Material in your designs, please get in contact with your local 3M representative. To learn more visit 3m.com/acousticsolutions and view our 3M Acoustic Insulation catalog.
