William O. Hughes, Anne M. McNelis, and Mark E. McNelis

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Acoustic Test Characterization of Melamine Foam 

for Usage in NASA’s Payload Fairing Acoustic

Attenuation Systems

NASA/TM—2014-218127

June 2014
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William O. Hughes, Anne M. McNelis, and Mark E. McNelis

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Acoustic Test Characterization of Melamine Foam 

for Usage in NASA’s Payload Fairing Acoustic

Attenuation Systems

NASA/TM—2014-218127

June 2014

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Prepared for the

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Acknowledgments

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NASA/TM—2014-218127 1 

Acoustic Test Characterization of Melamine Foam for Usage in 

NASA’s Payload Fairing Acoustic Attenuation Systems 

William O. Hughes, Anne M. McNelis, and Mark E. McNelis 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Glenn Research Center 

Cleveland, Ohio 44135 

Abstract 

The external acoustic liftoff levels predicted for NASA’s future heavy lift launch vehicles are 

expected to be significantly higher than the environment created by today’s commercial launch vehicles. 

This creates a need to develop an improved acoustic attenuation system for future NASA payload 

fairings. NASA Glenn Research Center initiated an acoustic test series to characterize the acoustic 

performance of melamine foam, with and without various acoustic enhancements. This testing was 

denoted as NEMFAT, which stands for NESC Enhanced Melamine Foam Acoustic Test, and is the 

subject of this paper. Both absorption and transmission loss testing of numerous foam configurations were 

performed at the Riverbank Acoustical Laboratory in July 2013. The NEMFAT test data provides an 

initial acoustic characterization and database of melamine foam for NASA. Because of its acoustic 

performance and lighter mass relative to fiberglass blankets, melamine foam is being strongly considered 

for use in the acoustic attenuation systems of NASA’s future launch vehicles. 

Problem Description and Background 

The increased propulsion capability requirements of NASA’s future heavy lift launch vehicles will 

likely result in the payload fairing being exposed to extremely high external acoustic environment during 

liftoff. Of particular concern are the predicted high acoustic levels occurring at low frequencies internal to 

the fairing. 

Expendable launch vehicle (ELV) fairings typically utilize acoustic treatments (e.g., foam blankets, 

fiberglass blankets, and passive Helmholtz resonator devices) to reduce the acoustic energy that transmits 

through the fairing wall and into the payload region. The typical acoustic blanket treatments applied to 

launch vehicle fairings are effective in reducing the transmission of noise in the 400 Hertz (Hz) and 

higher frequency range. Something beyond the traditional and current state-of-the-art acoustic reduction 

methodologies will be required for future vehicle noise reduction, especially at lower frequencies 

(400 Hz). 

A similar situation occurred in the 1990’s for the NASA Cassini mission to Saturn, which required 

specialized acoustic treatments to address a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) vibration 

concern at 200 and 250 Hz. From an extensive and successful acoustic blanket development test series 

performed for the Titan IV/Cassini Project, NASA accumulated a wealth of knowledge and acoustic 

characterization data on fiberglass blankets (Hughes and McNelis 1996 and Hughes and McNelis 1997). 

The Titan IV/Cassini Project evaluated 19 different fiberglass configurations of varying blanket 

thicknesses, blanket densities, and internal mass barriers with varying placement locations and densities, 

for a series of flat panel acoustic testing at the Riverbank Acoustical Laboratory (RAL) in March to April 

1994. This data was then used to down-select to the two most promising new blanket designs for fullscale acoustic testing at the Lockheed-Martin (Denver) reverberant acoustic chamber in January to 

February 1995. As a result, a new fiberglass barrier blanket, denoted “V5,” was chosen for 

implementation on the Titan IV/Cassini mission and flew in October 1997. This V5 fiberglass barrier 

blanket successfully reduced the acoustic environment to the Cassini spacecraft as needed (Hughes, 

McNelis, and Himelblau 2000). 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 2 

Given the trend within the aerospace industry today to use melamine (ML) foam for payload fairing 

acoustic attenuation, it was deemed prudent to try to assemble a database of acoustic performance test 

data for ML foam, similar (albeit smaller) to what was achieved for the fiberglass blankets for the 

Titan IV/Cassini Project. The initial step for obtaining this database was the NASA Engineering and 

Safety Center (NESC) Enhanced Melamine Foam Acoustic Test (NEMFAT) series of acoustic tests. 

The technical objective of this NESC-funded NEMFAT task was to obtain relevant acoustic test data 

characterizing the acoustic performance of ML foam, both normal and enhanced. This data could then be 

used as a starting point for future acoustic testing and to help baseline predictions for potential use of 

these systems. 

NEMFAT Approach and Overview 

Because the NEMFAT testing was limited to a small budget, consideration had to be given to 

balancing the cost of the foam materials with the cost of testing. Additional thought was given to 

balancing the simplicity of the foam configurations and interpretation of the test data versus testing a 

realistic flight-like acoustic attenuation system configuration. 

It was ultimately decided to purchase seven sheets of ML foam from the Soundcoat Company. Each 

sheet was 4 ft  8 ft  2 in. in dimension. Five sheets were the “standard” density (0.562 lb/ft3

) gray ML 

foam. One sheet was the yellow ML “ultralight” (ML UL) foam, which has a lighter density (0.375 lb/ft3

) 

than the standard ML foam. One sheet was the “standard” density gray ML foam with an internal Sonic 

5666 mass barrier (60 oz/yd2

) placed midway in the foam thickness. A representative fiber-reinforced 

foam (FRF) panel was utilized as the mounting base panel during transmission loss testing. 

Enhancements were also made to two of the gray ML foam sheets. Voids and mass inclusions were 

investigated with these enhancements. These enhancement ideas were based in part on previous work 

(Gardner, et al. 2002, and Kidner, et al. 2005) within the aerospace industry. 

Acoustic testing was conducted at the RAL, located in Geneva, Illinois. RAL performed three 

absorption tests per the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) C423 standard (ASTM 

2009) and six transmission loss (TL) tests per ASTM E90 standard (ASTM 2009) for NEMFAT. The 

NEMFAT testing at RAL was performed on July 9 to 10, 2013. 

The results of these tests are summarized in the Data Analysis section of this paper. Every individual 

ML foam sheet was 2 in. thick. The thicker 4-in. and 8-in. test configurations were assembled by layering 

the appropriate number and type of 2-in.-thick ML foam and ML UL foam sheets. 

The absorption coefficient for both the 2-in. and the 4-in. thicknesses of ML foam were measured; 

that data showed that ML foam has a higher absorption over a broader and higher frequency range 

relative to previously tested 3-in.-thick fiberglass blankets. However, it should be noted that unlike the 

fiberglass blanket the ML foam test article did not include a cover sheet material, which could affect these 

absorption results. These results also showed that the absorption at low frequencies is improved by 

increasing the thickness of the ML foam. 

The TLs of the 4-in. ML foam, the 4-in. ML foam with a mass barrier, and the 8-in. ML UL foam and 

ML foam combination with a mass barrier were measured. It was found that ML foam augmented the TL 

of the baseline panel above 200 Hz. The addition of the mass barrier provided additional TL performance, 

again above 200 Hz. The 8-in.-thick combination of ML UL foam and ML foam with a mass barrier 

provided the greatest TL performance of the six NEMFAT test configurations. 

Limited testing was also performed by enhancing the ML foam using voids (for both the absorption 

and TL tests) and mass inclusions (for the TL tests only). The acoustic performances of the enhanced ML 

foam and the normal ML foam were similar for the three enhanced configurations that were tested. 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 3 

TABLE 1.—WEIGHT SUMMARY OF TEST CONFIGURATIONS 

RAL test 

report no. 

Test configuration 

description 

Panel 

weight, 

lb 

Treatment weight, 

lb 

Total 

weight, 

lb 

Overall dimensions, in. 

(W  H  T) 

Absorption test 

A13-173 2-in. ML foam No panel 6.0 6.0 96  96  2 

A13-174 2-in. ML foam with 

voids 

No panel 6.0 6.0 96  96  2 

A13-175 4-in. ML foam No panel 12.0 12.00 96  96  4 

TL Test 

TL13-139 FRF panel 39.5 No treatment 39.5 47.75  95.75  1.08 

TL13-140 FRF panel with 4-in. ML 

foam 

39.5 6.0 45.5 47.75  95.75  5.08 

TL13-141 FRF panel with 4-in. ML 

foam with voids 

39.5 6.0 45.5 47.75  95.75  5.08 

TL13-142 FRF panel with 4-in. ML 

foam with mass 

inclusions (in voids) 

39.5 7.8 

with mass inclusions 

47.3 47.75  95.75  5.08 

TL13-143 FRF panel with 4-in. ML 

foam with mass barrier 

39.5 20.0 

with mass barrier 

59.5 47.75  95.75  5.08 

TL13-144 FRF panel with 8-in. ML 

UL foam and ML foam 

combination with mass 

barrier 

39.5 24.8 

with mass barrier 

64.3 47.75  95.75  8.08 

Data Analysis 

The NEMFAT test series consisted of three absorption tests and six TL tests performed at RAL on 

July 9 to 10, 2013. The Vibro-Acoustics (VA One) analysis software, sold by the ESI Group, was used by 

the NASA Glenn Research Center engineers to make pretest TL predictions. A summary of the weights 

and dimensions of the various test configurations as measured at RAL is given in Table 1. 

RAL is accredited to perform sound absorption coefficient measurements and sound TL 

measurements for the one-third octave bands in the frequency range of 100 to 5,000 Hz. Additional 

unofficial representative test data was requested and provided at several extra one-third octave band 

frequencies, both at lower (40 to 80 Hz) and higher (6,300 to 10,000 Hz) frequencies than the ASTM 

standard frequencies. 

The following sections describe the testing and data analysis performed for NEMFAT. 

Absorption Testing 

The choices for the absorption test configurations were based on the test concepts stated in the 

original proposal to NESC, as well as material limitations. For absorption testing, ATSM C423 

recommends that the area of the test specimen be at least 60 ft2

 and recommends 72 ft2. Since the foam 

sheets were each 4  8 ft (32 ft2

), an area of 64 ft2 was achievable by placing two foam sheets next to each 

other. However, lack of sufficient physical materials prevented this from being possible in all cases; for 

example, a total of only 32 ft2

 was available for the ML UL foam, the ML foam with a mass barrier, and 

for the FRF base panel. Therefore, no absorption testing could be performed for these three items. What 

was achievable and actually tested were the following three foam configurations, as illustrated in Figure 1. 

 A13-173—2-in. ML foam 

 A13-174—2-in. ML foam with voids 

 A13-175—4-in. ML foam 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 4 

Figure 1.—Cross-sectional views of NEMFAT 

absorption test configurations. 

Figure 2.—RAL’s absorption test setup (4-in.-thick ML foam, ASTM-C423 reverberation room method). 

This testing allowed an analysis of the effect of thickness on absorption (i.e., a comparison of 

2-in. versus 4-in.-thick ML foam), and also allowed a comparison of ML foam with and without the 

voids. A typical absorption test setup at RAL is shown in Figure 2. 

In Figure 3, a plot of the measured absorption coefficient (Sabine absorption) is shown versus 

frequency for the three configurations tested. The thicker foam (4 in.; A13-175) is a much more effective 

absorber at lower frequencies compared with the thinner foam (2 in.; A13-173). This trend is expected 

from theory and also agrees with previous test data obtained from the Cassini fiberglass blanket testing. 

Note that the Sabine absorption coefficient can exceed a value of 1.0 due to edge diffraction effects and to 

the Sabine formulation itself (Cox and D’Antonio 2004). 

An enhancement was made to two of the gray ML foam sheets. The enhancement was to introduce 

18 voids (or holes), each with a 0.25-in. diameter, through the foam thickness direction, in a random 

pattern for each sheet. It can also be seen in Figure 3 that the presence of the voids in the ML foam 

(A13-174) had no significant effect on the absorption of the ML foam compared with the unaltered ML 

foam (A13-173) of the same thickness. Further study is needed to reach any firm conclusion since only 

one enhanced void variation was tested. 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 5 

Figure 3.—NEMFAT absorption test results. 

Figure 4.—Comparison of absorption coefficients for melamine foam versus 

fiberglass (Note: the tested ML foam treatments did not have cover sheets). 

The 2-in. (A13-173) and 4-in. (A13-175) thick ML foam absorption data are compared in Figure 4 

with the absorption data from the 3-in.-thick fiberglass “baseline” blanket (from the 1994 Titan IV/ 

Cassini testing; A94-72). From this comparison, it appears that the ML foam has a higher peak magnitude 

of absorption relative to the fiberglass blanket and that the ML foam has a much greater frequency range 

of effectiveness relative to the fiberglass. However, note that the ML foam tests had no cover sheet 

material for the NEMFAT testing, whereas the Cassini fiberglass blanket was encapsulated in a Teflon 

coated fibrous cover, which may be the cause of the decline in absorption after reaching the peak 

absorption value. Further testing of ML foam with a cover sheet is required to determine those effects. 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 6 

Figure 5.—Cross-sectional views of NEMFAT TL test configurations. 

Transmission Loss Testing 

The choice for the TL test configurations was based first on the test concepts stated in the original 

proposal to NESC and secondly on obtaining additional relevant knowledge. Since the RAL test specimen 

window between the source and receiver rooms was 8  4 ft, only one foam sheet of that size was needed 

for testing. This allowed TL testing of both the ML foam with the mass barrier, and a complex, thicker 

buildup of materials combining the ML UL foam, the ML foam, and the ML foam with the barrier. The 

six TL tests performed, as shown in Figure 5, were as follows: 

 TL13-139—FRF panel 

 TL13-140—FRF panel with 4-in. ML foam 

 TL13-141—FRF panel with 4-in. ML foam with voids 

 TL13-142—FRF panel with 4-in. ML foam with mass inclusions (in voids) 

 TL13-143—FRF panel with 4-in. ML foam with a mass barrier 

 TL13-144—FRF panel with 8-in. total foam thickness: ML UL foam (2 in.) and 

ML foam (6 in.) combination with a mass barrier 

These test configurations allowed for multiple acoustic TL performance comparisons, including (a) 

bare panel versus treated panel, (b) normal ML foam versus enhanced (i.e., voids and mass inclusions) 

ML foam, (c) the effect of the Sonic 5666 mass barrier (0.06 in. thickness), and (d) the effect of complex 

buildup of materials. 

A typical TL test setup at RAL is shown in Figure 6. 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 7 

Figure 6.—RAL’s TL test setup for TL13-142 (ASTM E-90 airborne sound TL for building partitions and elements 

method). 

The TL plots for the six NEMFAT test configurations are shown in Figure 7. The bare untreated 

FRF panel (TL13-139), with a weight of 39.5 lb, provides a nominal TL reduction, reaching a peak of 

28 decibels (dB) at 4,000 Hz (and at 3,150 Hz). The addition of 4 in. of ML foam (by using two 2-in. ML 

foam sheets) to the FRF panel (a total weight of 45.5 lb for panel and treatment) substantially increases the 

TL (TL13-140), reaching 51 dB, respectively, at 4,000 Hz. This 23-dB improvement in TL at 4,000 Hz is 

significantly greater than the 1 to 2 dB that could be attributed to the TL increase due only to the mass law. 

Enhancements were made to two of the gray ML foam sheets. The enhancement was to introduce 

18 voids (or holes), each with a 0.25-in. diameter, through the foam thickness direction, in a random 

pattern for each sheet. The second enhancement was to later fill these voids with serrated hex flange bolts 

representing mass inclusions. The added weight of the 36 bolts was 1.8 lb. 

There was no measured improvement (or worsening) in the TL due to the voids and the mass 

inclusion enhancements. This is shown by the overlapping of the TL data measurements for the tests of 

the 4-in. ML foam (TL13-140), the 4-in. ML foam with voids (TL13-141), and the 4-in. ML foam with 

mass inclusions (TL13-142) configurations. This observation was disappointing in that both the literature 

(Gardner, et al. 2002, and Kidner, et al. 2005) and the pretest VA One TL analysis with voids 

enhancement predicted an observable increase in TL for the enhanced ML foam. Further efforts are 

necessary to understand the controlling parameters to physically realize this possible improvement. The 

NEMFAT task funding did not allow for testing of multiple enhancements with varying parameters, such 

as void size and number of voids. 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 8 

Figure 7.—NEMFAT TL test results. 

The next TL test (TL13-143) added a mass barrier to 4 in. of ML foam (total weight of 59.5 lb, 

including both panel and treatment). This configuration was a 2-in. ML foam sheet layered with another 

2-in. ML foam sheet with the mass barrier in its center, as shown in Figure 8. Compared with the normal 

4-in. ML foam (TL13-140), the foam/mass barrier configuration was significantly better in resisting 

sound transmission. For example, at 4,000 Hz the TL was 61 dB, a 10-dB improvement over the same 

ML foam thickness without the mass barrier, and an improvement of 33 dB over the bare FRF panel. 

With one remaining TL test to be performed, it was decided to test a complex foam treatment 

configuration (TL13-144). This configuration started with the previously described 4-in. ML foam sheet 

with mass barrier configuration and then added a 2-in.-thick sheet of ML UL foam and a 2-in.-thick sheet 

of ML foam. This resulted in an 8-in.-thick treatment (with a total weight of 64.3 lb for both the panel and 

the treatment), as shown in Figure 9. Not surprisingly, this treatment provided the best TL of the 

NEMFAT treatment configurations tested. At 4,000 Hz, the TL was 67 dB, a 6-dB improvement over the 

4-in. with the mass barrier treatment (TL13-143) and a 39-dB improvement over the bare FRF panel 

(TL13-139). 

As can be seen in Figure 7, the improvements in TL for each of the foam treatments are most evident 

above 200 Hz. Below 100 Hz, the measured TL test data seemed to converge for all configurations tested. 

 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 9 

Figure 8.—The 2-in.-thick ML foam sheet with mass barrier at its center. 

Figure 9.—The 8-in.-thick combination foam treatment (TL13-144) (top to bottom layers: 

FRF panel, 2-in. ML foam, 2-in. ML foam with center mass barrier, 2-in. ML UL foam, 

2-in. ML foam). 

2-in. thick ML foam 

Mass barrier 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 10 

Figure 10.—TL comparison of RAL test data and VA one pretest predictions (top: 4-in. ML 

foam with mass barrier (TL13-143); bottom: 8-in. combination foam treatment (TL13-144)). 

In Figure 10, a comparison is shown of pretest analytical predictions of TL for (a) 4-in. ML foam 

with mass barrier and (b) the 8-in. complex foam treatment with the associated RAL TL test data 

(TL13-143 and TL13-144, respectively). For both cases, the VA One prediction is quite good up to 

1,000 Hz. Above this frequency, the predicted TL continues to increase, whereas the measured TL data 

tend to plateau. Understanding why the analysis does not predict better and improving the comparison 

above 1,000 Hz will be areas of further study. 
NASA/TM—2014-218127 11 

Summary 

The NEMFAT testing was successful in that it established an initial database of acoustic properties of 

ML foam for NASA. This database is being used as the baseline for future, more comprehensive, testing of 

ML foam by the NASA Glenn Research Center. Because of ML foam’s improved acoustic performance and 

lighter mass relative to fiberglass blankets, the use of ML foam is being strongly considered for future 

acoustic attenuation systems for future NASA payload fairings. Additional information on the NEMFAT 

data and results may be found in the official NESC report (Hughes, A. McNelis and M. McNelis 2013) and 

the associated NASA TM (McNelis A., Hughes and M. McNelis 2014). 

References 

American Society for Testing and Materials, “Standard Test Method for Sound Absorption and Sound 

Absorption Coefficients by the Reverberation Room Method,” ASTM C423-09a, October 15, 2009. 

American Society for Testing and Materials, “Standard Test Method for Laboratory Measurement of 

Airborne Sound Transmission Loss of Building Partitions and Elements,” ASTM E90-09, July 1, 

2009. 

Cox, T.J. and P.D’ Antonio, Acoustic Absorbers and Diffusers, Taylor & Francis, New York, 2004. 

Gardner, B., B. Burkewitz, P. Bremner, C. Fuller, and N. Atalla, “Advanced Acoustic Blanket Concepts 

for Payload Fairings,” Spacecraft and Launch Vehicle Dynamic Environments Workshop, June 2002. 

Hughes, W.O. and A.M. McNelis, “Cassini/Titan IV Acoustic Blanket Development and Testing,” 

NASA-TM-107266, July 1996. 

Hughes, W.O. and A.M. McNelis, “Acoustic Testing of the Cassini Spacecraft and Titan IV Payload 

Fairing, Part 1—Introduction and Test Configuration,” NASA-TM-107474, July 1997. 

Hughes, W.O. and A.M. McNelis, “Acoustic Testing of the Cassini Spacecraft and Titan IV Payload 

Fairing, Part 2—Results,” NASA-TM-107475, July 1997. 

Hughes, W.O., A.M. McNelis, and H. Himelblau, “Investigation of Acoustic Fields for the Cassini 

Spacecraft: Reverberant Versus Launch Environments,” NASA/TM—2000-209387, September 

2000. 

Hughes, W.O., A.M. McNelis and M.E. McNelis, “NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) 

Enhanced Melamine (ML) Foam Acoustic Test (NEMFAT), NESC-RP-13-00919, December 12, 

2013. 

Kidner, M., C. Fuller, and B. Gardner, “Increase in Transmission Loss of Single Panels by Addition of 

Mass Inclusions to a Poro-elastic Layer: Experimental Investigation,” March 2005. 

McNelis, A.M., W.O. Hughes and M.E. McNelis, “NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) 

Enhanced Melamine (ML) Foam Acoustic Test (NEMFAT),” NASA/TM—2014-218162, February 

2014.
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Acoustic Test Characterization of Melamine Foam for Usage in NASA’s Payload Fairing

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14. ABSTRACT

The external acoustic liftoff levels predicted for NASA’s future heavy lift launch vehicles are expected to be significantly higher than the

environment created by today’s commercial launch vehicles. This creates a need to develop an improved acoustic attenuation system for

future NASA payload fairings. NASA Glenn Research Center initiated an acoustic test series to characterize the acoustic performance of

melamine foam, with and without various acoustic enhancements. This testing was denoted as NEMFAT, which stands for NESC Enhanced

Melamine Foam Acoustic Test, and is the subject of this paper. Both absorption and transmission loss testing of numerous foam

configurations were performed at the Riverbank Acoustical Laboratory in July 2013. The NEMFAT test data provides an initial acoustic

characterization and database of melamine foam for NASA. Because of its acoustic performance and lighter mass relative to fiberglass

blankets, melamine foam is being strongly considered for use in the acoustic attenuation systems of NASA’s future launch vehicles.

15. SUBJECT TERMS

Acoustic attenuation systems; Acoustic testing; Payload fairing acoustics; Absorption; Transmission loss; Noise reduction; NEMFAT

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