The Impact of Fiber Size on the Sound Absorption Behavior of Composites Made from Sugarcane Bagasse Wastes Fibers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Natural fibers obtained from the agricultural wastes are a promising source within the field of acoustic and have already shown favorable results for mitigating the noise pollution. Supported by the experimental data and via an eco-friendly approach, the current study evaluates the impact of fiber size on the sound absorption values of the samples fabricated from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) waste fibers. The samples were formed based on the fiber size and constant bulk densities and thicknesses. The empirical models such as Delany-Bazley (D-B model) along with Best-fit-Nelder-Mead method were also employed to predict the acoustic absorption coefficients of the samples. Therefore, the least-square fit procedure was taken to evaluate the results which is compatible with both the impedance test tube and prediction models. Hence, according to the analyses, the lowest fiber size measured the highest absorption performance (α≃0.63) and airflow resistivity (σ = 6750), indicating that the performance of the fibers reached peaks at lower frequency and slightly decreased at mid and high frequency ranges while the fiber size 0.29–0.37 mm saw a slight rise again. Also, airflow resistivity and sound absorption performance of the SCB fibers decreased with increased fiber sizes.