Application in sound absorption bedroom boards
Acoustic foam is used in the manufacture of the sound-absorbing boards used in bedrooms. This is made possible by the major property of melamine foam whereby the foam is safe in terms of the health perspective attributed to the low levels of volatile organic compounds compared to the polyurethane foam (Liu et al., 2019). Thus, the health benefits attributed to such low VOC levels allows its use in bedroom for making wall and ceiling boards thereby ensuring that on top of enhancing the sound-proofing benefits, the health of the occupants of the rooms is not compromised.
Application in music and studio theaters
The acoustic foam is used in studio and music theaters whereby melamine foam makes the sound smooth and soft. Qi et al. (2021) illustrate that melamine foam is made up of microscopic cells and patented surface pattern that allows noise reduction and echo absorption.
An effective sound absorber as explained by Li et al. (2019) should have an acoustic sound absorption coefficient that is greater than 0.75. This is evident in melamine foam that allows the dissipation of sound in such noisy environments. Also, the melamine foam has a sound reflection coefficient of over 1.5 seconds thereby discouraging echo formation (Yang et al., 2019).
For noise reduction, the acoustic foam is used in automobiles attributed to its high temperature-resistance property. Melamine foam is effectively used in automobiles such as cars whereby despite the rise in temperatures within the automobiles, the heat-resistant property of the melamine foam enhances the sound-proofing benefits without the foam being damaged by rise in temperatures (Qi et al., 2021).
The foam is used as filler in the automotive industry to not only block the radiate heat but also consume the heat emitted by the engines after absorping the noise transmitted through the air medium.
The acoustic foam is used in the aviation industry whereby it used as sound insulators particularly while the aircrafts are flying at high altitudes. This is attributed to the melamine foam’s light weight compared to the other foams. Compared to the polyurethane foam, among other alternatives, the melamine foam has the ability to provide both low and high frequency isolation without the need to use a sufficient thickness (Hoppen et al., 2019).
Considering that melamine foam performs at a higher Noise Reduction Coefficient at an average thickness of 2mm as explained by Hoppen et al. (2019), such allows the use of melamine foam in the aviation industry without the need of using thick layers of the foam to achieve sound absorption benefits.
Application in insulation silencers
In order to facilitate installation, the acoustic foam is used insulation silencers used in heaters and boilers attributed to the fire-retardant properties (Liu et al., 2019). Thus, the melamine foam with a self-adhesive makes a better choice and another physical fixation method that avoids the pollution of glue in such silencers and thus offering a more environmental friendly alternative.
Considering that melamine foam develops a coating due to its ability to release carbon and nitrogen after being subjected to a flame of fire, such a property makes its suitable for use in insulation silencers used in heaters and boilers to absorb the extra sound emitted by these high-voltage appliances.