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The experimental determination of the sound-absorbing properties of poroelastic panels or room-separating walls is known to be both expensive and time-consuming. That is why it seems beneficial to replace such experiments by adequate computer simulations. Since such panels or walls usually feature a plate-like geometry, a two-dimensional model is preferred over a three-dimensional one. The goal of this step is to increase the efficiency of the computation due to the eliminated need of discretizing the structure over its thickness. The development of a two-dimensional formulation relies on a proper integration over the thickness. In contrast to classical plate theories in which this integration is enabled by the introduction of some kinematical assumptions, the approach chosen in this work consists in replacing all quantities by power series in thickness direction and truncating them according to the needed level of accuracy. In this way, the requirement of formulating a priori assumptions regarding the systems response in thickness direction is bypassed. This method is shown to adequately aproximate the much costlier three-dimensional model. Also, the coupling of the two-dimensional model with a surrounding fluid is developed and results are presented.

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