Effect of pineapple leaf fibre composite material thickness on sound absorption performance

What is it about?

Pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) is a natural fibre that has high durability and cellulose content which suitable to replace synthetic fibre material in sound absorbing material. This study explores the effect of PALF-Latex composite material thickness on sound absorption performance of pineapple leaf fibre ( PALF) - natural rubber latex binder (NR Latex) and potential to be used as a sound absorbing material .

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Why is it important?

The study was conducted on 15 PALF composite board samples measuring 296 mm x 296 mm with a thickness of 10 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm that had been fabricated using the hot press technique using a temperature of 150 deg. Celsius for 5 minutes. Each sample board is made with a different mixture ratio of PALF flakes with maximum size of 15 mm and natural rubber latex binder. The mixture ratio and density of each is given. The density is between 261-292 kg/m3. Each sample board is cut into a circular shape with a diameter of 100 mm to be loaded into an impedance tube to measure sound absorption. Composites with different PALF to Latex ratios were tested using an impedance tube to obtain a sound absorption coefficient in the range of 50 Hz to 1600 Hz. It was found that sound absorption has a significant linear relationship with thickness. The thickness of the 30 mm composite produces a high sound absorption performance, especially for the 100%PALF:10%Latex composite. The sound absorption performance of composite material with a thickness of 30mm exceed 0.5 of NRC is categorized as a good sound absorbing material.