Patent ID: 8087494

Claim:
A method of making a structurally stiff composite panel characterized by having a subsonic transverse wave speed for reduced vibrational sound radiation, comprising the steps of: providing a lightweight core, a first sheet, and a second sheet; sandwiching said lightweight core between said first sheet and said second sheet; attaching at least one of said first sheet and said second sheet to said lightweight core at first regions thereof wherein second regions of said lightweight core remain unattached to said at least one of said first and second sheet to thereby form a composite panel such that subsonic transverse wave speed characteristics are exhibited by the composite panel at said second regions; and said step of attaching including the step of adjusting a total area of said first regions that defines a structural stiffness of the composite panel and a total area of said second regions that defines sound radiation efficiency and sound power transmission loss of the composite panel, wherein a desired balance is formed between the composite panel's structural stiffness and the composite panel's sound radiation efficiency and sound pressure transmission loss.