Absorbing Airplane Noise!
Modern commercial aircraft are incredible examples of aerospace engineering, but they also emit large amounts of noise (as well as carbon emissions). That’s where engineering plays another role: to design buildings that can withstand or limit the amount of noise from a machine! In this activity, students engineer a solution to reduce airplane noise for a school located directly next to a large international airport. Using the engineering design process, they construct a model building that best keeps out loud sound so that students in the school are not disturbed throughout the day. Students research and use a variety of materials to create and build a model building (about 30 cm by 30 cm by 30 cm) that is soundproof or lets in the least amount of sound. Materials cost money and students are limited to a given budget. Each building is tested and re-tested based on what worked and what did not not work well.
A jet is flying low near a house into Heathrow Airport in London. How can engineers help design buildings using materials that are more soundproof?Copyright 2017 Matt Kieffer, (CC BY-SA 2.0), Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattkieffer/27760152828/
Materials engineers develop, process, and test materials used to create many products. In airplane design, materials engineers select, test, and evaluate the material used in all parts of the aircraft, from the fuselage and wings to the wheels and engines. The inherent nature of aircraft design allows engineers in other fields to design and build machines, structures, or technology used to mitigate the negative effects of an airplane’s impact on the environment.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Test a variety of materials to determine which absorbs sound the best.
- Understand and discuss what materials engineers do.
- Think and outline design iteration suggestions.
- Understand what the engineering design process is and why engineers use it.