Evaluating the Acoustic Properties of Estabragh (Milkweed)/Hollow- Polyester Nonwovens vfor Automotive Applications

Abstract

Reduction in noise pollution in general and particularly in automotive industry has become an important issue that has gained the interest of numerous researchers. The present research is aimed to introduce a new product which could serve as an alternative for other commonly used sound absorbing materials. It is expected that hollow fibers due to their structure can significantly influence noise insulation performance of materials in which these fibers are incorporated. Therefore sound absorbing material compose of blend of natural hollow fibers Milkweed or as it known Estabragh and hollow polyester fibers were used to produce needle-punched nonwoven samples. Eighteen different samples were produced by varying blend ratio, mass per unit area, punching density, and frequency of the incident sound. Noise Absorption Coefficient (NAC) of the samples was evaluated using impedance test method. The evaluation procedures were designed using Taguchi method. Results showed samples solely comprise of Estabragh fibers have attained the ability to absorb noise. It was observed that NAC decreases as the amount of Estabragh in the blend is reduced. Although the results showed an increase in punching density improves NAC of the samples, however statistical analysis dismissed the effectiveness of this parameter on sound absorption characteristics of the samples. It was found that NAC increases in direct relation to increase in mass per unit area (g/m2) of the samples. This was attributed to the increase in tortuosity of the samples and the energy losses due to frictional resistance. Finally it was observed that NAC peaks at frequency of 4000 Hz.