Effects of air-dried leaves of evergreen broad-leaved trees on sound absorption property

Abstract

This research was conducted to analyze the sound absorption effect of air-dried leaves from two evergreen tree species found in Korea's warm-temperate and subtropical regions. As eco-friendly sound absorption materials, Dendropanax morbiferusa, and Fatsia japonica leaves were prepared in three specimen units sizes 0 .5 × 0 .5 cm2, 1.0 × 1.0 cm2, and 2.0 × 2.0 cm2, and each of them was formed at a thickness of 1.00 cm, 1.75 cm, and 2.50 cm. The measured sound absorption coefficients (SAC) for 18 conditions were comparatively analyzed in this study. The SAC of both tree species was significantly improved by increasing the dried leaf layer thickness. These results showed a more consistent and distinct trend for both tree species under the condition of 0.5 cm2 in dried leaf size compared to other leaf specimen sizes. However, as the thickness increased, the difference in sound absorption effect according to the leaf size tends to decrease overall. In the case of D. morbiferus, there was no significant difference in SAC based on leaf size under the condition of 2.5 cm thickness (p < 0.05). The highest mean SAC was found in a 2.5 cm thick condition with a leaf size of 0.5 × 0.5 cm2, 0.549 for D. morbiferusa, and 0.594 for F. japonica, respectively.