Cross-stitched fabric as potential sound absorber for room acoustics applications

Abstract

Textiles materials are widely used in noise and vibration control engineering. A thin fabric absorber consists of an air cavity and a backing rigid wall, and its main applications include ceiling, curtain, and sound barrier, etc. The main aim of this work is to study the acoustical and sound absorption properties of cross-stitched fabric, which has a similar structure with micro-perforated panel. The sound absorption coefficients of cross-stitched fabrics with different specifications were measured by impedance tube method, where the air cavity distance is 1 cm, 2 cm, and 3 cm, respectively. These distances are suitable to the binding and layout design of cross-stitched fabric painting in practical applications. As industrial textiles, cross-stitched fabric can be made into diversity of artistic patterns through manual or mechanized embroidery technology. This work has also studied the effects of multifarious embroidered patterns on the sound absorption coefficients of fabrics with different air cavity distance. In summary, cross-stitched fabric with exquisite patterns is expected to be a promising sound absorber for room acoustics.