A Prototypical Silencer–Resonator Concept Applied to a Heat Pump Mock-Up—Experimental and Numerical Studies

Modern, electrically operated heat pumps are characterized by a high degree of efficiency and represent an attractive alternative to conventional heating systems. However, the noise emissions from heat pumps installed outside can lead to increasing noise pollution in densely populated residential areas, which represents an obstacle to widespread use. As part of a research project, a heat pump mock-up was built based on an outdoor unit in the Fraunhofer IBP. With this mock-up, investigations have now been carried out with a prototypical silencer–resonator concept. The aim was to reduce the sound power on the outlet side of the heat pump mock-up. To estimate the effect of this silencer–resonator concept for heat pumps, FEM simulations were first carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics® with a simplified model. The simulation results validated the silencer–resonator concept for heat pumps and indicated the considerable potential for sound reduction. A measurement was then set up, with which different silencer lengths and absorber thicknesses in the silencer were tested. The measured sound attenuation was higher than the simulated values. The results showed that porous absorbers with sufficient thickness can achieve effective performance in the mid-frequency range. A maximum sound power reduction of 5.7 dB was achieved with the 0.15 m absorber. Additionally, Helmholtz resonators were implemented to attenuate the low-frequency range and tonal peaks. With these resonators sound attenuation was increased to 7.7 dB.