Assessment of the Measurement and Prediction Methods for the Acoustic Properties of Natural Fiber Samples and Evaluation of Their Properties

Abstract

Although some studies have been conducted to show how natural fibers canreplace synthetic materials, the use of many natural fibers is still limited. Onthe other hand, the use of natural fibers can become very common in manyapplications once their performance is fully understood. This paper aims topresent a critical assessment of the acoustic properties of natural fibersamples. First, the methods commonly used for the measurement and prediction of the acoustic properties of natural fiber samples are determined.Second, the common techniques for measuring sound absorption coefficients (SACs) and sound transmission losses (STLs) are presented, and theiradvantages and limitations are evaluated. After that, the models commonlyused for the prediction of acoustic properties are presented. Then, the SACsof many natural fiber samples are presented along with the thickness, bulkdensity and flow resistivity of the samples. Furthermore, the SACs of thesamples are normalized using sample thickness and bulk density, and thesound absorption performance of the fiber samples is evaluated. Based onthe results of many natural fiber samples, an empirical model for estimatingthe SACs of natural fiber samples is presented. Finally, the STLs of someporous natural fiber samples are presented.