Development of A Sound Muffler Cabinet for Petrol Generators Using Local Acoustic Materials

• Author(s): Onwe, David Nwabueze ; Okafor Victor Chijioke ; Aneke Samuel Chikezie
• Paper ID: 1706128
• Page: 328-334
• Published Date: 14-08-2024
• Published In: Iconic Research And Engineering Journals
• Publisher: IRE Journals
• e-ISSN: 2456-8880
• Volume/Issue: Volume 8 Issue 2 August-2024

Abstract

Irregular and epileptic power supply in Nigerian, Africa and some other parts of the globe has made electric power generators the primary source of power for domestic and commercial purposes in such places. These generators produce noise pollution to the environment. Thus, a petrol generator muffler cabinet was produced to curb noise pollution. The muffler cabinet was designed and fabricated using a 2 mm mild steel and iron brazing to make it sturdy. The inner dimensions were 1 m × 1 m × 1 m. The outer dimensions were 1.12 m × 1.12 m × 1.12 m, creating a hollow of 0.12 m for the acoustic materials. The cabinet was provided with door, air vent and suction fan. Sawdust, sand and foam were used as acoustic materials to lag the cabinet. Five petrol generators of varying capacities 2, 3, 6, 10 and 14 kVA respectively were used for the experiment. A sound level meter was used to measure the sound from the generators at varying distances of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 m respectively. Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the difference between generator sound inside and outside the cabinet at (? = 0.05). The sound intensity from the generator when place outside ranged from 60.9-91.8 dB. The sawdust as acoustic material was most efficient as it reduced the noise intensity to 47-80.1 dB, followed by foam which reduced the noise intensity to 48.5-73.8 dB. Sand as acoustic material reduced the noise intensity to 52.1-78.7 dB. The noise intensity of all the generators generally decreased as distance from the generators increased. There was a significant difference at (? = 0.05) between the noise level from the from generators when placed outside and when placed inside the cabinet with the three different acoustic materials respectively. All three lagging materials used as acoustic materials for the noise muffler cabinet reduced the noise levels from the various generators below 85 dB which is the threshold beyond which sound is considered potentially dangerous.

Keywords

Electricity, Electric generators, Noise, Noise Reduction

Citations

IRE Journals:
Onwe, David Nwabueze , Okafor Victor Chijioke , Aneke Samuel Chikezie "Development of A Sound Muffler Cabinet for Petrol Generators Using Local Acoustic Materials" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 8 Issue 2 2024 Page 328-334

IEEE:
Onwe, David Nwabueze , Okafor Victor Chijioke , Aneke Samuel Chikezie "Development of A Sound Muffler Cabinet for Petrol Generators Using Local Acoustic Materials" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 8(2)