Professional Doctorate Engineering Programme in Energy & Process Technology at University of Twente

The Professional Doctorate in Engineering (PDEng) programme Energy & Process Technology offers you a 2-year position combining post MSc education and a design project to be carried out at Comfoor B.V.

The educational programme, carried out at the University of Twente, will have an in-depth and broadening character with ample attention for professional development and will be partly tailored to the design project. In collaboration with Comfoor B.V. in Doetinchem you will work on high level, creative new designs for complex issues.

The project – Development of a flat spectrum filter for 3D printed custom-made hearing protection

Background of the project: If hearing protection is (legally) mandatory, custom-made hearing protection is the best option. The hearing protection fits comfortably (and is therefore used more) and it attenuates noise to a safe level but still allows communication with colleagues for instance. The attenuation of sound due to any hearing protection depends on frequency. Simpler hearing protection products generally reduce higher frequency sounds a lot more than lower frequency sounds. However it does affect communication with colleagues. Especially in dangerous situations, where e.g. a colleague shouts to prevent a hearing protection wearing worker from being injured, it is clear that the speech clarity is of major importance. Hence, although excellent hearing protection and speech clarity seem contradictory in hearing protection devices, it is the aim of this project to proof otherwise.

Aim of the project: Design, build and test an energy-efficient passive acoustic filter to be used inside Comfoor B.V. 3D printed hearing protection devices, to filter noise evenly over all frequencies (a flat spectrum filter). The resulting filter should, as best as possible, evenly filter all audible frequencies. The filter should easily and safely fit into the 3D printed hearing protection devices of Comfoor and manufacturing should be as energy-efficient as possible. The project will lead to a product: a flat spectrum hearing protection device.

Design concept: After designing various concept designs, all will be manufactured for testing (at both UT and Comfoor). The assessment of the manufacturing process will be given special attention. The separate filter will be tested for its flat filter performance in a test setup, which will be built within the scope of the project. In addition, perceptive tests will be conducted to test the performance of the filter within the hearing protection device and whether it meets Comfoor’s perceptive performance.

Deadline Application: 31-10-2017

Further details:
Professional Doctorate Engineering Programme in Energy & Process Technology at University of Twente