Citation, Dr. Jean-Francois Allard, M. A. Biot Medal, 2008

For his outstanding research contributions in extending Biot theory to the acoustics of air filled sound absorbing porous materials by providing models and measuring techniques for the industry

Professor J.-F. Allard made major contribution in the acoustics of sound absorbing materials. The pioneering work of Maurice A. Biot on wave propagation in porous materials was published in 1956.  Since that time, most of the development of the theory and applications were focused on geomaterials, and materials filled with liquid. Relatively little development was made on the sound propagation and absorption in air filled porous materials.

In today's world, noise generated by transportation and industry is a major concern for public health. (One out of four inhabitants in an urban environment suffers from noise pollution.) Therefore, the ability to predict and to optimize the acoustic properties of sound absorbing and insulating materials becomes increasingly important.

Sound propagation in air filled porous media is more complicated than that filled with liquid, as there are a large number of material properties to be determined. These problems were solved by Prof. Allard, who adapted the Biot theory for air filled porous materials and developed several measuring techniques to measure the material parameters. Today, predictions of performance of sound absorbing and sound insulating materials, such as plastic foams and mineral wool materials, used in building acoustic applications, car manufacturing, and aeronautic industry, are performed using software based on Prof. Allard’s model. Prof. Allard’s book "Propagation of Sound in Porous Media—Modeling Sound Absorbing Materials", published in 1993, is highly cited.

2008