A preliminary study on the sound absorption of date palm fibers

Abstract

In this study sound absorption properties of a single layer date palm fiber has been investigated. Experimental measurements were carried out using impedance tube at the acoustic lab, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. A constant thickness sample was considered in this study. The results show that the values of absorption coefficient are small at low frequencies, rising with increasing frequency but exhibiting a significant peak. The low density of the sample is reflected in the overall sound absorption performance of the date palm fiber. An improvement in the sound absorption in the lower frequency range was achieved by backing the sample with air gap of different thicknesses of 10 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm. The increase in the air gap thickness moved the peaks toward lower frequencies and improved the low frequencies absorption. However, that increase coincided with reduction of absorption in medium frequency range and reduction in the absorption peak. A linear relationship was found between sound absorption peaks and the air gap thickness. The performance of the date palm fiber can be improved by increasing the density of the sample, using different sample thicknesses and adding perforated plates to the date palm fiber panel.